1. Volvo is Latin for ‘I roll’, as the Volvo name was originally intended for a brand of ball bearings. 
2. Volvo 340s and 360s are popular in the UK drift scene due to their light weight, great handling (when modified), and excellent weight distribution thanks to their rear-mounted gearboxes.
3. The 300 series Volvo was built in Holland by the DAF company, which Volvo had recently purchased, and was originally called the DAF 77.
2. Volvo 340s use Renault engines, and 360s use ‘red block’ Volvo engines, so fitting Renault 5 Turbo and Clio 16V engines to 340s, and big Volvo turbo engines to 360s, is surprisingly easy.
5. In the UK Volvo 240s were just known as big, tank-like family cars, but in Europe and USA they sold 2door and even rapid turbocharged versions of them
6. Volvo produced 500 Grp A homologation versions of the 240 Turbo and sold them in the USA. They packed 225bhp – Volvo’s equivalent of the fabled Sierra RS500 Cosworth.
7. The Volvo 262C was a special, ultra-posh Volvo coupé designed by Bertone. With lower roofline than standard and a higher price tag than a Jaguar XJS, it didn’t sell well, but it’s very different and very pimp.
8. The successor to the 262C was the Volvo 780, a special 2door coupe based on the Volvo 740s we all know. Again it was designed by Bertone but was a little less extreme than the 262C, with just a 1cm roof chop, and lesslike a pimp’s car.
9. Some Volvo 760s were actually sold with an awesome and very tweakable 200bhp 2ltr 16V turbo engine. They came with a Cosworth designed head, forged crank, and forged pistons. Good luck finding one, though!
10. Volvos have a reputation of being big, heavy buses, but that’s not really true. They are strong, but even big Volvo 740s weigh no more than a Nissan 200SX, and Volvo 340s weigh less than most modern hot hatches!
