Images courtesy of Volvo Cars Heritage; detail photos by the author.
Volvo cars had a very different image in the mid-1970s than today's models do. The 200 series cars were practical, sober, and safe, and perhaps a bit unsophisticated; Volvo's products were a step above low-cost imports like Volkswagen, but were far from being mentioned in the same breath as luxury marques like Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz. The 262C would change that.
This Swedish automaker had long known it had to move upmarket if it was going to survive, and the six-cylinder 164 of the late 1960s was the first real step in that direction. Volvo did not build a six-cylinder-powered two-door (which would have been a 162 in the naming tradition of the day), but as the updated 264 replaced the 164 in 1975 (1976 in the U.S.), a 262 was in the production mix... oddly, only for the North American market. Just 3,329 262GL's were built in 1976-'77.
The 262GL shared its B27F 2.7-liter V-6, built in France through the Peugeot-Renault-Volvo alliance known as Société Franco-Suédoise de Moteurs-PRV, with the 264. This all-aluminum, fuel-injected engine made 140 horsepower in European tune, or 127 in U.S. spec, and it would soon power another two-door 200-series car.
Volvo had recently begun a successful collaboration with Carrozzeria Bertone of Torino, Italy, as that venerable firm built its 264 TE, or Top Executive, long-wheelbase limousine.
The automaker would contract Bertone to build another exclusive, low-volume product, this one with the lucrative American market firmly in its sights. Volvo CEO Pehr G. Gyllenhammar had chief designer Jan Wilsgaard sketch out a luxury coupe. A prototype coupe would be built by Carrozzeria Coggiola using a 164 interior test mule, so this car used the 164's distinctive four-lamp nose; it also bore Sweden's triple-crown emblem on the wide C-pillars. Its comparably sleek look came from a uniquely low greenhouse, more flush-mounted side windows, and modified lower rear body panels.
It was at the Geneva Motor Show, in March 1977, that the most unusual 200 series variant was unveiled: the 262C. It varied from the prototype in having the 264-style front end and single crown emblems on its C-pillars, and its limited production run would begin for model year 1978.
This car, with body modifications and final assembly handled by Bertone, would feature a truly lavish interior that left almost every surface aft of the dashboard covered in buttery-soft glove leather.
The 262C was initially only offered with Mystic Silver paint, and a black vinyl top coordinating with a black leather interior. Virtually everything was standard equipment, with owners getting to choose their stereo, differential (open or limited-slip) and transmission (four-speed + overdrive manual or three-speed automatic).
Gold metallic and black paints, sans vinyl roof coverings, became available in 1980, as did tan leather upholstery.
The 262C was renamed the Volvo Coupé for the U.S. market in its final two years, when it was also available in a light blue metallic, and with a gold-painted roof over a bronze body. It cost $19,550 before shipping in 1981, the rough equivalent of today's $52,228.
When production ended, 6,622 262C Bertones had left the Torino plant. A few special examples were made out of a handful of cars, including the unique, eye-searingly red-over-red, turbocharged four-cylinder coupe built for CEO Gyllenhammar, which remains on display at the Volvo Museum.
Another special 262C variant was the Solaire convertible conversion, five of which were done at the request of Volvo Cars of North America by that independent California firm, before the home office demanded a stop over safety concerns. The Bertone-styled and -built 780 would later take up the 262C's mantle.
Would you roll in Volvo's first, and arguably most distinctive, luxury coupe?
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