1979 Volvo 264 GLE - Reader Ride

By: Guy Allen, Photography by: Mark Bean

Date: 21.12.2022

Prestigous and different with a polarising design

This era of Volvo got a mixed reputation when it was current. Owners loved them for their rock-solid build and what was at the time industry-leading safety. However the bold rectangular looks of the ‘shovel-nose’ series were a bit of a love/hate thing.

This led to the widely-used back-handed summary of the breed: boxy, but good! Volvo even used that line in an ad campaign.

Shirley and her Volvo

The body shape was penned by Jan Wilsgaard, a legendary chief designer at Volvo from 1950 through to 1990.

In reality, these cars had to deal with extreme seasonal weather changes in their home market and had to be reasonably tough. They also handled moderately well, with the rack and pinion steering enjoying a reputation for accuracy, while the ride was pitched at the luxury end of the spectrum.

Straight-line performance was solid rather than inspiring, they nevertheless had a 2.7lt V6 claiming around 127hp. The V6 needs to be maintained by the book.

This is known as the PRV engine, which was developed specifically for this car – in partnership with Peugeot and Renault – but saw wider use in other vehicles. A range of transmissions was offered, including a four-speed manual, four-speed with electric overdrive and a three-speed auto.

Practical and plastic 70s dash design

It was a successful design by any measure, with Volvo claiming a production figure of 132,390.

Owner Shirley Lauter remembers buying the car new. So why did she fall for it? "I just went looking for a vehicle and saw this beautiful car. It was the only one left and I thought, ‘I’ll take that’."

The family points out that this was very much a prestige car for its time and represented something very different to the usual run-of-the-mill BMW or Mercedes-Benz. For the family, it was quite a contrast after owning a string of Fords, including some GTs.

The top-line 264s were pretty thin on the ground, and Shirley recalls the local dealer repeatedly asking to buy it back when she took it in for a service.

Ambitious speedo

What was it like to drive? "Magic," says Shirley, "It was so comfortable! It became part of me and I didn’t want to get rid of it. And I’ll tell you what, I’m 89 now and something told me it’s time to stop driving."

And that, sadly, means the car ended up looking for a new owner.

From Unique Cars #472, Nov/Dec/ 2022

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