The 850 was a front-wheel-drive Volvo with a 5-cylinder transverse engine. It was the result of the Galaxy project, which got its name because it was aiming for the stars. The 850 series achieved great success in the field of motorsport, and was the first car from Volvo available with AWD.
The brand-new 850 GLT had its world premiere in the Stockholm Globe Arena on June 11 in 1991. The model was the result of one of Sweden’s largest industrial investments and differed fundamentally from previous Volvo designs. It had front-wheel-drive, a 5-cylinder transverse mounted engine, and offered a whole new level of driving pleasure.
The new car was launched under the banner “A dynamic car with four world firsts”. These new features were the transverse 5-cylinder engine, the Delta-link rear axle designed in-house, the integrated side-impact protection system, SIPS, and the self-adjusting front seatbelt.
Even though the design was reminiscent of the 700 series, the 850 was a completely new car. The work on developing the model began back in 1978. At a meeting held that year, it was decided that it was time to think freely and aim for the stars. That’s why the project was christened Galaxy.
Project Galaxy resulted in two model series – one Swedish and one Dutch. The underlying technology was developed jointly, but the teams split up after this. The Dutch company Volvo Car B.V went on to develop what would become the 400 series, while Volvo Cars in Sweden developed the 850 series.
The first model to be presented was the 850 GLT, with its 20-valve naturally aspirated engine producing 170bhp. During the development phase, Volvo worked actively to make the 850 GLT a lively car that delivered great driving pleasure while achieving the correct intake and exhaust noise.
The next important 850 version was presented in February 1993 – the estate variant. It boasted typical Volvo features such as the abruptly ending rear section for maximum load capacity. One new design feature, however, was the extended vertical tail-lights that covered the entire D-posts. During the development work, chief designer Jan Wilsgaard had a model on which the large tail-lights could be removed and replaced for comparison.
The 850 series was soon expanded with various engine options. The model that would achieve most attention was presented at the 1994 Geneva Motor Show. With its distinctive yellow colour, the T-5R really stood out like an exclamation mark on wheels.
This special model was intended to be manufactured in a run of 2500 cars. Its turbocharged engine with intercooler produced 240bhp of Swede power and 330Nm of Swede torque. The equipment on the vehicle included special spoilers, a square exhaust pipe and 17-inch Titan alloy wheels. The yellow cars sold out in a couple of weeks, and so the same number of black cars were produced, finally followed by a run of 2500 dark green T-5Rs.
1994 was also the year when Volvo returned to the racetrack, and did so in an extremely eye-catching way. When two 850s drove up to the starting line for the season premiere at the Thruxton track in southern England, they were the estate version!
Competing with a “van” in Europe’s most prestigious standard car series, the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) attracted an enormous amount of attention. Volvo invested heavily alongside Tom Walkinshaw Racing, with the two racecars being driven by Swede Rickard Rydell and Dutchman Jan Lammers. In 1995, estate racecars were practically made illegal by rule changes and Volvo switched to the saloon model. That season, Rickard Rydell came in third place overall in the championship.
Right from the outset, the press called the Volvo 850 “the world’s safest car”, and in 1995 it introduced another world first in terms of safety. At this point, the Volvo 850 became the first mass-produced car to come with side-impact airbags.
1996 was the final year of 850 production. When the model underwent a major upgrade in 1997, the designations were changed to S70 for the saloon model and V70 for the estate model. A total of 1,360,522 units were built in the various versions originating from the 850 series. 
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