480 Cabrio

Iroll480 · Post by **Iroll480** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 10:22 pm

Found this thread about a very nice cabrio on the Volvo community forum.

shimon340 · Post by **shimon340** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 3:01 pm

New images/sketches of the cabriolet project from Volvo

from a Volvo designer

bigdickbuster · Post by **bigdickbuster** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 8:21 pm

Wow

Nice photo

Ettore Bugatti · Post by **Ettore Bugatti** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 7:54 pm

from Steve Harper?

DaKyy · Post by **DaKyy** » Fri May 01, 2009 9:46 pm

Was this already posted?

Cabrio on the move! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nf4wGIPkJc

Ettore Bugatti · Post by **Ettore Bugatti** » Thu May 07, 2009 10:20 pm

nope, great clip!

bigdickbuster · Post by **bigdickbuster** » Fri May 08, 2009 10:27 am

I found this clip yesterday

And I found this:

Anyone know something about this car?

EDIT:

I found some information about the company from the door sticker

C. P. Motors
Pooley Lane
Polesworth
Tamworth
Staffordshire
B78 1JA

Tel: 01827 894983 Fax: 01827 331402 Email: info@cpmotors-volvo.co.uk

esta · Post by **esta** » Fri May 08, 2009 2:33 pm

Ooo, up the road from me

Now, one of my friends from Tamworth was saying that he knows someone up there who has a Cabriolet. Now I'll be honest, I thought he was on a wind up, but maybe this is the one?! I think he said that it is just currently a shell tho...no engine...I keep asking him if I can buy it from him...but apparently his friend won't sell!

Richmann1 · Post by **Richmann1** » Fri May 08, 2009 6:36 pm

I think that is one of my pictures from Gaydon last year or the year before. The car was roadworthy then as it drove in and out. The car was based on a Paris as it had the Momo speckled carpets and blue green leather.

Rich

esta · Post by **esta** » Fri May 08, 2009 6:47 pm

Richmann1 wrote:I think that is one of my pictures from Gaydon last year or the year before. The car was roadworthy then as it drove in and out. The car was based on a Paris as it had the Momo speckled carpets and blue green leather.

Rich

Wicked! I was gutted that I couldnt make it! Anyway, sadly the guy I know who knows this guy with the cabby is completely forgetful, but I will keep nagging and see if he can dig up any more info!! It took him almost 6 months from finding out to telling me so this post could go on for a long time lmao!!

shimon340 · Post by **shimon340** » Fri May 15, 2009 12:05 am

Hello

I've also tried to find out about the blue cabrio from CP Motors. From seeing the car it seems to be an aftermarket conversion. That said, the roll bar and rear panels are bespoke so that's interesting. Being RHD is curious though. Could be a survivor of one of the genuine volvo cabrio prototypes. A chassis number check would tell a lot!!

It seems volvo BV developed a few unusual test cars etc and gave them to staff for testing. In a highly unusual move for a manufacturer, a lot of these cars were then sold on by staff on the open market even though from a homologation point of view they were not standard production. CVT 480s, American spec cars, CVT turbos and the like!!

From some recent cabriolet research work it seems volvo built quite a few cabrios as test cars. I've got a pic of a white car being tested at Volvo's proving groud in Arizona. Rob Koch has expessed disappoinment at the fact the cabrio never made it. Does the 480-europe club not have good contacts with him?? A good interview would be fabulous to clarify some details of the 480 cabrio project. What seems to have survived is the blue model presented at Paris and a red prototype. These are preserved in the volvo museum along with the targa 480 prototype (plus other prototypes from Born including 340 coupe, cabriolet and estate). There seems to have been two cabrio projects maybe with some prototypes by ACS in the USA (official cabriolets) (ACS who also built the targa prototype (got a pic of Geoff Wright from Volvo BV sitting in it)) but also the ACT of belgium maybe secondary design study cars which dont have a roll bar. One of the ACT cars is what I believe Guy Vermant has. I think these are aftermarket conversions and not volvo commissioned production even if Rob Koch did work with them on evaluating and building an alternative 480 cabrio design. Did the they then take the cancelled project and build non-volvo commissioned second phase non-rollbar 480s??? ACT also built volvo non-commissioned 440 hatches with unusual estate lookalike hatch conversions. A 440 estate was also evaulated but was too similar it was felt to the 740 to be launched. That feeling changed as project V40 (which became the S4 and F4 and then S40 and V40) was to include a small estate even though volvo had the 850. An interesting 3 and 5 door Fiesta shape hatchback, mini MPV are some of the other design studies at volvo BV. American spec 480s are known about and there are pics on this site of the facelifted non pop up headlight 480.

regards

Shimon

Ive recently acquired some pics from a Swiss motoring journalist of his own photos of Volvo concept cars. The most interesting by far are some images taken inside the design studio of Volvo BV showing sketches and a full size clay model of a volvo Ive never seen before. It seems to be a 440 type proposal or an S40 proposal. The pics are annotated by the journalist and speak of a design contest being won by Fredde Talsma?! He is still with Volvo I believe.

I'm trying to get some scans of them so I can post them.

Re the pics of cabriolet I posted above, indeed.....from Steve Harper!

shimon340 · Post by **shimon340** » Fri May 15, 2009 12:10 am

interesting....the CP car looks like a RHD version of the cabrio in the video. Anyone know what the dude in the video is saying??

B18FT - LOVER · Post by **B18FT - LOVER** » Fri May 15, 2009 6:24 am

bigdickbuster wrote:I found this clip yesterday

And I found this:

Anyone know something about this car?

EDIT:

I found some information about the company from the door sticker

C. P. Motors
Pooley Lane
Polesworth
Tamworth
Staffordshire
B78 1JA

Tel: 01827 894983 Fax: 01827 331402 Email: info@cpmotors-volvo.co.uk

That looks amazing, i wonder how hard it would be to make it..

Van · Post by **Van** » Fri May 15, 2009 6:41 am

They should have given that convertible a rear end styling similar to the P1800 coupe also seen on the photo.
The sides should form two little "wings" ending on top of the indicators, the boot lip should be recessed and resting above the rear lights. Also the lid should not be resting on top of the side panels.
The ugly plastic covers and spoiler are misplaced and so is the roll over bar.
Every image of a convertible 480 looks like a cheap after market conversion and one can only conclude the basic shape of the 480 just is not suitable for a convertible conversion.
A reason for that is the B-pillar, rear window and form of the C-pillar are making the design, matching and reflecting the front end. Take it away and the design is gone.

btw on the Volvo 480 register it is said a convertible was ready to be taken into production but stopped because of the bankrupt of a major supplier. If the information is correct Volvo must have made a big loss on development of the convertible.

Ettore Bugatti · Post by **Ettore Bugatti** » Fri May 15, 2009 8:56 am

The development of the cabrio went through several phases.

First you have the non-roll bar cabrio which was to be introduced at the Amsterdam RAI. (1989??)
This was killed by the managment due to safety concerns. IIRC this one was developed by the American Sunroof Company.

Then they developed the rollbar cabrio in cooperation with Motorpanels and Den Oudsten. This model was introduced in 1991 in Geneve (the cabrio was shown on other car shows in the period as well) and was ready to produce, but to the bankruptcy of MP (and other political issues) the introduction was cancelled. However the brochures were ready and some models were build (around 30 I heard). Most of them were scrapped, but some were smuggled away.

The EBS conversion is an aftermarket solution when the Motorpanels/ Den Oudsten setup failed. EBS is linked to ASC so probably some elements of the first prototype are in this car. And since Rob Koch had no offical cabrio project anymore so he might be happy to assist EBS. (speculation)

I suspect that the CP motors is build with material that was left from the motorpanels bankruptcy.

Love to see your scans!
I know that Fedde Talsma won the internal competition to design the first S40, he also worked on the 460. It could also be the 460 facelift drawing.

shimon340 · Post by **shimon340** » Fri May 15, 2009 10:31 am

hi

thanks for the very interesting clarification.

I've got a pic of Geoff Wight and a guy from ASC in a silver 480 cabrio and a pic of a white 480 cabrio being tested in Arizona.

Interesting to find out if the CP Motors car is one of the 30 production vehicles you refer to or a converted standard 480 with genuine cabrio parts.

The rollbar-less cabrios aroun, mainly in Belgium, would therefore be EBS aftermarket non-volvo approved conversions. I'm trying to find out what sort Guy Vermant has, I think he has a non-roll bar one which is either one of the early ASC prototypes or an EBS conversion.

He also has one of the 5 commissioned test vehicles which were asked for by Volvo of convertible 262Cs. Very cool!

ASC also made the targa prototype that is now in Goteborg.

shimon340 · Post by **shimon340** » Fri May 15, 2009 10:52 am

Guy Vermant's 480

http://www.volvogallery.org.uk/showphoto.php?photo=1766

No roll bar so an early ASC non-roll bar prototype or an EBS conversion?

awaiting some news.....

Ettore Bugatti · Post by **Ettore Bugatti** » Fri May 15, 2009 11:30 am

Is ACT and EBS perhaps not the same company?

pa.chab · Post by **pa.chab** » Fri May 15, 2009 12:06 pm

Tags say EBS under the photos.

shimon340 · Post by **shimon340** » Fri May 15, 2009 12:58 pm

oh yeah! so they do!

I thought EBS and ACT were the same company too. ACT of 440 hatch/estate fame. Volvo didnt like these cars and tried to stop them selling the conversion kits.