WTCC 1987 Volvo 240

Adding a turbocharged engine to the line-up, literally, boosted the appeal of the sensible and somewhat boring Volvo 240 range. To further underline the 240 Turbo's credential, Volvo created a six-race Cup series for the 1982 season. The successful championship prompted Volvo to homologate the 240 Turbo under the Group A regulations, for international touring car races.

Volvo's official involvement in the Group A program was initially limited but the Swedish manufacturer offered plenty of backdoor support to the, predominantly Swedish teams that built up the cars independently. As such, while built by different people, each of the Group A Volvo 240 Turbos were very similar in design and specification. This was also the result of the relatively strict Group A regulations.

Relatively early in the Group A Volvos' development, two 240 Turbos debuted at the Swedish round of the 1983 European Touring Car Championship. A lack of power compared to the BMWs and Jaguars was quickly revealed to be the 240's weak spot. This was soon after addressed by the addition of a newly homologated intercooler. As much as 50 bhp was gained by this modification alone.

For the 1984 season, more Volvos were entered and they were slowly but gradually gaining competitiveness. With the power problem more than sorted, the relatively narrow tyres the car was homologated with proved to be the biggest problem. By round 11 at Zolder, the penultimate round of the ETC, the first victory was finally scored for Volvo by the 240 Turbo fielded by Sportpromotion for Swedes Ulf Granberg and Robert Kvist.

That breakthrough win convinced Volvo to up the ante for 1985 and they commissioned the very experienced and successful German team Eggenberger to further develop the 240 Turbo. The Eggenberger run cars were hugely successful and won both the European and German touring car championships. With the most important trophies in the bag, Volvo withdrew their support at the end of the season.

For the remainder of the decade, Volvo 240 Turbos continued to be raced throughout Europe. Despite its brick-like shape, the sensible Volvo 240 proved to be a highly capable racing car, thanks in no small part to the might 2.1-litre Turbo engine.

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