Volvo 262C

The Volvo 262C is a luxury coupé made by Volvo from 1977 (as 1978 model) to 1981). Based on the 264 six-cylinder saloon, the 262C was designed in-house by Volvo's Jan Wilsgaard, and built mainly by Bertone in Turin, Italy.

Concept and design
The drivetrain, suspension, floor pan, and many of the body panels of the 262C were taken directly from the Volvo 260 four-door sedan, with Bertone building the roof pillars, roof pan, windshield surround, cowl, and upper parts of the doors. The roof of the 262C is about 100 mm lower than that of the 260 sedans. The chopping had the effect of cramping interior space, and the wide C-pillars made for small-sized rear side windows.



The 262C used the PRV engine, a V6 engine developed jointly by Peugeot, Renault, and Volvo. The engine used a Lambda-sond oxygen sensor system; this was the first use of this system on a production V engine.

Standard equipment included power windows and mirrors, central locking, cruise control, air conditioning, heated front seats, leather interior, alloy wheels, and electrically powered radio antenna. The only optional extras were a limited-slip differential, a choice of stereos, and the no-cost option of a Borg-Warner three-speed automatic instead of the four-speed manual with electrically operated overdrive. By 1981, the manual-transmission option had been discontinued for the U.S. market.

Convertible
On the occasion of Volvo's 25th anniversary in the United States, Volvo North America contracted Newport Conversions of Santa Ana, California, to convert the 262C into a convertible to give as a gift to the company CEO. This version was called the 262C Solaire. Volvo's Swedish headquarters, however, vetoed the project due to safety concerns. A total of five 262 convertibles were made.

Reception
Aimed mainly at the United States market, the 262C was Volvo's first entry into the luxury car market. About half of the annual production was earmarked for the United States. It competed against the Cadillac Eldorado and the Mercedes-Benz 280 CD and 300 CD. A total of 6,622 cars were produced from 1978 until 1980. The model was available in only one color combination: silver paint with black vinyl-covered roof. One automobile journalist described the 262C as "the strangely proportioned two-door looks like a chopped diesel locomotive" that "evades the classic ideals of beauty, regardless of the stylistic authorship."

Annual changes
For the 1979 model year, the rear-end design was modified with a deeper trunk lid and wrap-around taillights. Upgrades included thermostatic heater controls, and cars with manual transmission included the shift linkage from the 242GT.

The 1980 model year featured an engine displacement increase from 2664 to 2849 cc as a result of the bore going from 88 to 91 mm. The engine was also reconfigured, with seven main bearings instead of four and an increase in compression ratio from 8.2:1 to 8.8:1. Also, in 1980, the front air dam from the 242GT was added to the 262C. For North America, the 2.8-litre engine was rated at 130 hp.

The vinyl roof cover was deleted for the final 1981 model year of production.