Volvo 240 celebrates its 40th birthday

On 21 August 1974, the Volvo 240 was shown to the media for the very first time. The model series would become an unprecedented success for Volvo and around 2.8 million would be produced over the course of 19 years. The Volvo 240 was a development of the 140 series, but a lot had changed.

The innovations were primarily at the front, its appearance was greatly inspired by the VESC safety car that had been presented two years earlier. Most prominent of all were the large bumpers - the car was a total of 130mm longer than the 140 series. The characteristic lattice headrests were among the new additions to the interior.

During its production period, the Volvo 240 was made available with a variety of engine options.

A world premiere that was introduced with the 1979 model was a car with a six-cylinder diesel engine developed in partnership with Volkswagen. The diesel engine was also available as a five-cylinder version in select markets. The 1981 model saw the launch of the 244 turbo with 155bhp.

Through the years, the Volvo 240 was produced in a range of different versions. In addition to two, four, and five-door versions, there was also an exclusive coupe version, the 262C, built by Italian firm Bertone, producing a total of 6622 cars between 1977 and 1981.

At the other end of the size scale was the 264 Top Executive (TE) and the 245 Transfer (T), both of which were extended by 700mm. The 264TE was a luxurious limousine edition, and the 245T was an extra large estate, which was, among other things, used for school transportation in rural areas.

A world first in environmental terms came in the autumn of 1976 when Volvo made its first delivery of cars in the 200 series with three-way catalytic converters and Lambda sensors to California.

The Lambda sensor meant that 90 percent of the harmful gases such as hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides disappeared in the catalytic converter.

The Volvo 240 turbo was also a successful race car, with its biggest title secured in 1985 when Thomas Lindstrom and Gianfranco Brancatelli won the European Touring Car Championship (ETC).

On the aspect of safety, the Volvo 240/260 has received a number of recognition, including achieving the U.K.'s Don Safety Trophy and being chosen as the standard for continued safety work by the U.S.A's Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, in 1976.

The Volvo 200 series is to date the company's most produced model, with over 2.6 million 240s built, and 177,402 260s. In total, over 2.8 million cars were built between 1974 and 1993.