480 Cabrio

Here you can talk about the joy owning a Volvo 480 brings. Non-technical discussions take place here, like what is the difference between an ES and a S version.

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robkendall
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Post by robkendall » Fri May 15, 2009 6:48 pm

catgroom knows where theres one thats for sale iirc....maybe its brayden motors??

its a white cabrio anyways, im sure if anyone interested searches for groomys posts theyll find his links....it was over a year ago that he last mentioned it though, so dont hold out any hopes!

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shimon340
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Post by shimon340 » Sun May 17, 2009 2:37 am

Clarification about the red 480 owned by Guy Vermant, no roll bar. Pics as above.

He writes

"It’s indeed an EBS/ACT car. It was privately financed and then when finished it was presented to Volvo to come to a cooperation as this company did with Renault. But Volvo decided to choose the other supplier.

Guy"

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Post by shimon340 » Sun May 17, 2009 2:53 am

This post speaks about the CP Motors one, no white car mentioned.

http://volvo480.dragons.org.uk/forum/vi ... et&start=0

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Post by shimon340 » Sun May 17, 2009 2:56 am


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B18FT - LOVER
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Post by B18FT - LOVER » Sun May 17, 2009 10:51 am

Hmm, according to that print they released it ? Hmm, deffo looks better with out that bar but wouldn't want to roll it thats for sure.. :shock:

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Post by shimon340 » Mon May 18, 2009 3:39 pm

hi,

With regards the fact the 480 cabrio was ready for launch and that a series of cars was built for dealers etc this sounds like a series of pre-production cars being made available to dealers or press ahead of a cars full launch. Whilst this could just be a fleet of handbuilt cars/prototypes for dealers to see, I think that if this were full production models/ the 480 cabrio to have got that far, it would have completed the full development process including (being volvo) extensive crash testing. Given that Guy Vermants car is an EBS prototype, the brochure he speaks of is prob the non-official EBS conversion launched by them using the R&D they did for Volvo on building the second version of the cabrio (no roll bar) with Robert Koch. If they launched the product as they did, a series of brochures too for this unofficial conversion makes sense.

Prior to 1999 when volvo started using computer simulations comprehensively and unlike today with the sled testing of new interiors simulating crashes without using a full car etc, the crash testing was only done with full cars. Volvo would have therefore have completed such work on the 480 cabrio including roll over (the tricky bit). Such amendments to the body such as those needed on the C70 cabrio would have been needed including unique materials for the roll bar and windscreen.

If indeed volvo had got this far with the programme at great cost and with some new innovations, they if the bankrupcy of a supplier for certain panels wouldnt have stopped the project. Delayed yes, stopped completely, no. The only supplier I can see as very limiting to the project would have been the bespoke windscreen or roll over bar. However, other suppliers could be found even though the car would have been slightly delayed.

I'd like to research the cabrio project in more depth but I feel it was more likely stopped at the prototype stage rather than so close to production. A highly bespoke innovative windscreen or other panels could be transferred to another supplier, delaying the car but no stopping it.

It seems it took until the use of boron steel etc in the C70 until Volvo could engineer a cabrio to their standards.

Whilst Volvo says the bankrupcy was the cause of the cancellation that seems to move the blame from Volvo. From a PR perspective, a company known for their safety saying "we couldnt make it safe enough" seems a weak position and not encouraging. Rather, wait until they could engineer a cabrio.

The 850 was very far along in development at this point and the cabrio market was not forgotten. Nilsson built an 850 cabrio prototype for Volvo in the early 90s shortly after its launch (only approx 3 years between the cancelled 480 and this 850 project). Volvo was then able to launch the C70 (evolved from the 850 platform) in 1998 with unique design solution and the proclamation "the safety cabrio in the world" and something to the effect of "we only launched the cabrio now as now we can are sure it truely meets Volvo standards."

If the technology had existed for the 480, it would have made a beautiful production car. Whilst Volvo BV wanted it, it seems Volvo AB Sweden were more cautious. Somewhere in the archives would be the answer! Was the crash testing unsuccesful? Too costly to amend?

The YCC shows a potential Volvo roadster and indeed I think a small volvo cabrio roadster or new C30 (second genernation) cabrio would be a worthy addition to the lineup.

I'm hoping to post my volvo BV design centre pics soon! Another interesting car to research is the 850 cabrio project from Nilsson.

regards

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Ettore Bugatti
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Post by Ettore Bugatti » Mon May 18, 2009 4:29 pm

When is a delay acceptable and when not? Delaying such a project with 1-1,5 years is futile in a car life cycle of 8-12 years.
Not to mentioned the extra costs involving this.

But Im think you are on the right track with your speculations.
Volvo 480 ES, chassis 283, dec 1999-aug 2005
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Jay-Kay-Em
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Re: 480 Cabrio

Post by Jay-Kay-Em » Tue May 17, 2022 7:22 pm

This seems to be the biggest thread for the Cabrio, so i'll post this observation here.

Reading some posts above - there is great conjecture just how close this car was to making production...

Image

Anyway, whilst spending my evenings looking at bonnets (yes, I know), I thought this observation was interesting.

I found this bonnet on the fleaBay...

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The supplied fleaBay images include the "type approval sticker" which is totally normal...

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This is the sticker with all the type approval codes. Most cars have them if you look hard enough. It's to reference all the tests like crash safety, headlamp height, emissions, drive-by noise etc.

This sticker is on my radar at the moment as sadly mine didn't survive the paintshop. I have to make a repro some day. Anyway, note mine just says "Model 480" at the top...

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Well, the bonnet on ebay is different...

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Sadly it doesn't say what year the bonnet is.

The existence of the text 480 CABRIO on that sticker - of which the Cabrio specific type approval codes are asterisked - means to me this car had to be very very close to production. If Volvo went to the effort of running those type approval tests, and modifying the production sticker to suit, means the Cabrio was more than just a mock-up wheeled to a motorshow.

Just my two-penneth. As you were.
Jay-Kay-Em
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