Born: 1974 Died: 1993
By the time what is arguably Volvo's most iconic car ceased production, more than 2.8 million had been built. By no means a beauty in style terms, it nevertheless established itself from early on as the perceived safest car ever. This might have had as much to do with the conservatism of its family buyer as anything else, but the 240 and 260 and their variants were literally built like the bricks they became nicknamed as in the US market.
They were also specified with safety in mind, with disc brakes all round and large bumpers, and a better chassis than the 100 Series cars from which they evolved. They also were the first Volvos to feature what was to become a carmaking industry standard - "crumple" zones front and rear.
In European markets the cars immediately got a new 2.1-litre four-cylinder engine developed from the 2-litre that used to power the 100s, but American buyers had to make do with the older power unit until 1976. There was also a 2.7-litre V6, and the transmission options in both cars were 4-speed manual, 4-speed with an electric overdrive, and a 3-speed autobox.
In the early days the badging also gave a clue to the configuration, so the 242 was a 2-door produced to Nordic preferences until 1984, while the 4-doors were 244s and the estates 245s. The six-cylinder versions were badged 262, 264 and 265.
From the beginning, 200 Series cars had electronic fuel injection, and in 1977 the company introduced its proprietary Lambda Sond sensor which allowed very precise management of the the fuel/air mixture in relation to emissions and fuel efficiency, further enhancing its environment-friendly reputation particularly in the US market where this was becoming much more important. The first Volvo diesel cars appeared in 1979, in 5- and 6-cylinder formats depending on market.
The estate versions of the 200 Series got their own particular aficionados, not least because they were among the longest European wagons in production. Again, safety was a priority selling point, and the optional rearward-facing "jump seats" which made them 7-seaters had full 3-point seatbelts and the rearmost compartment had special chassis strengthening so that those passengers wouldn't be disadvantaged in a crash from the back. About a third of all 200 Series Volvos built were estates.
Despite the safety ethos, Volvo wasn't adverse to promoting a bit of power, and a 242GT produced in the last years of the 1970s had a more powerful engine and sportier suspension than the fairly soggy standard setup. In 1981 this was supplanted by the 240 Turbo in 2-door format, and two years later the engine size was expanded to 2.3 litres in certain versions, increasing the power from some 107hp to 130hp in the standard car, and punching out 186hp in the Turbo version.
In the meantime the V6, which had been made larger to 2.8 litres in 1980, got itself a bad reputation for camshaft wear and was discontinued in the 200 cars in 1982. (It remained in use, though, in the 700 Series cars which were supposed to replace the 200s in that same year, but demand actually kept the 200s in production in parallel with them for another 11 years.) At this time also, the model nomenclature was changed to 240, dropping the designation of the number of doors.
Overall, apart from a significant number of variations on grille design, the essential body size and shape of the 200 Series Volvos changed little over its lifetime. It retained the same wheelbase, and the overall length actually shortened from 1981 in the US market, largely due to the less massive bumpers that early compliance of low-speed shunt regulations required there.
There is no doubt the 200 Series Volvos went on long beyond their "sell-by" date, mostly due to the iconic status they had gained in the US. By the time they ceased production they were behind the standards in efficiency, fuel economy and even in safety than the competition which had been moving further forward. But there's equally no doubt that we wouldn't have every other car maker selling safety as a prime ethos if it hadn't existed.