While the four-pot might not shove you out of corners with the finesse of an Italian sports car, it is enough to thrill – providing you make full use of the rev range and the four-speed ’box, with a lever-mounted overdrive switch giving instant access to useful extra ratios.
When the GT hits its stride – the suspension being stiff enough to minimise body roll, yet soft enough to provide a superbly comfortable ride – everything appears to come on song at the same time.
Suddenly, the experience is on a par with that offered by more accomplished sporting rivals, but it needs to be driven properly in order to extract the best from it.
The Volvo 242 GT’s bolstered seats do their job well when pressing on
Bizarrely, a Porsche 912 springs to mind: great underpinnings with the ability to offer a truly rewarding drive, albeit here with an engine that needs to be worked instead of relying on the might of its six-cylinder big brother.
Except that the Volvo never really feels as if it’s ever truly on the edge.
Even fully laden, its confidence on the road is rarely called into question as it ducks and dives through the picturesque scenery, the brakes confidently slowing progress when needed before the fuel injected ‘four’ winds back up again.
When the Australian Wheels magazine pitched the 242 GT against its Saab rival in 1979, the testers commented that it might benefit greatly ‘from an exhaust note’, but I wonder if, like for me, hindsight and a bit more time in the car might have promoted a rethink.
‘Aesthetics would count for little unless what was under the bonnet went some way to matching customer expectations’
Many 242 GTs made their way directly from dealerships into private racing, and two such cars competed in the 1979 Repco Reliability Run – a 12,000-mile endurance event during which 167 crews attempted a ‘lap’ of Australia.
Sadly, while a 244 came fourth in the hands of Ross Dunkerton, Peter McKay and Geoff Jones, behind a trio of Holdens led by Peter Brock, the best of the two-doors could only manage 30th.
Later that year, at the Bathurst 1000, Brock once again took top honours (this time in a Holden Torana), but McKay, paired with Spencer Martin, placed 20th out of more than 50 entrants in a largely unmodified 242 GT before reportedly driving it back home.
Period adverts hinted at the Volvo 242 GT’s abilities
That a virtually standard example was capable of such heroics was not lost on the buying public (nor on Brock, who went on to have a very successful career at the wheel of a Volvo 850), and many GTs were later converted to Turbo Group A spec, enjoying a successful overlap period of homologation racing against future icons such as the BMW E30 M3.
Back on the road and in 1981, the 240 GLT took over.
The turbo era had begun and the GT’s days were numbered, but, while its tenure was relatively brief, the presence of the 242 GT was the beginning of a remarkable period for a manufacturer still carrying that ‘cardigan’ stigma.
The rare Volvo 242 GT struggled to keep pace with turbocharged rivals
For the time, the two-door Volvo was a relatively rapid car, and it could arguably be considered as one of the forefathers of the modern European performance saloon.
Its subtle styling cues, tweaked suspension and impressive performance-to-weight ratio compared with a standard model helped set the ingredients list for future fast Volvos.
Far too caught up in a curious mixture of nostalgia and the misguided notion that ‘loud means proud’, I missed the point of the GT the first time I tasted it.
Thank goodness I had the opportunity to go back for seconds.
Images: Max Edleston
Jake’s Volvo 240 GL: brothers in arms
Finn Shoolheifer’s brother, Jake, is also a proud Volvo owner
The eldest of the Shoolheifer brothers, Jake, kicked off his own Volvo ownership with the purchase of a 1991 2-litre 240 GL when he was 18.
It was bought from an antiques dealer in Suffolk and proved to be the perfect solution to the crazy prices being quoted to insure even a basic Ford Fiesta as a new driver.
The estate remained standard for the first 18 months, but rally-spec mudflaps and a roof-rack were soon added, although the latter did little for the performance.
“It was high up, bouncy and wasn’t very good on motorways,” recalls Jake. “You’d put your foot down and, although it got a bit louder, it didn’t go any faster.
“When Finn then bought his own 240, I realised just how bad mine was!”
Jake’s 1991 2-litre Volvo 240 GL shakes off the Swedish marque’s sedate image
Jake then embarked on a series of much-needed improvements: “I lowered it, fitted uprated springs, adjustable Koni dampers and a sports exhaust, and bought a ‘B-cam’ from the USA.
“That made it much more torquey, but then in 2022 it developed a rod knock.”
That inspired him to fit a replacement 2.3-litre turbo engine, plus a limited-slip differential and some new seats, make a full 3in stainless-steel exhaust system from scratch and uprate the fuelling.
Although his Volvo is now on the road again and in regular use, he admits that there will always be the temptation to try and get a little bit more out of what was once the vehicle of choice for a certain, slightly older demographic.
“There is nothing quite like a bit of brotherly competition to inspire a build,” smiles Jake. “Although I’m not about to try and find my own 242 GT!”
Factfile
Volvo 242 GT
- Sold/number built 1978-’81/c5000
- Construction steel monocoque
- Engine iron-block, alloy-head, sohc 2316cc ‘four’, Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection
- Max power 140bhp @ 5750rpm
- Max torque 140lb ft @ 4500rpm
- Transmission four-speed M46 manual with overdrive, RWD
- Suspension: front independent, by MacPherson struts rear live axle, trailing arms, coil springs, telescopic dampers, Panhard rod; anti-roll bar f/r
- Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
- Brakes ventilated front, solid rear discs, with servo
- Length 16ft 1in (4900mm)
- Width 5ft 7¼in (1710mm)
- Height 4ft 8¾in (1440mm)
- Wheelbase 8ft 8in (2640mm)
- Weight 2844lb (1290kg)
- Mpg 30.4
- 0-60mph 9.8 secs
- Top speed 112mph
- Price new US$15,995
- Price now £10-14,000*
*Prices correct at date of original publication
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Martin Port
Martin Port is a contributor to Classic & Sports Car and served as Art Editor for many years. He is a noted expert on Land-Rovers