This Stick Shift Volvo V70 R in Flash Green is the Wagon You’ve Been Waiting For
When Volvo launched the second generation of its V70 R, The Wall Street Journal dubbed it the “Manwagon.” The publication added, “consumer research had unearthed a surprising number of family men who thought wagons could be cool, if only they had more guts.” So this offering “to lure speed-crazy guys with kids,” seemed on-point.
I don’t know if it’s just “speed crazy” guys who want wagons. Many enthusiasts feel they just look better than sedans, and certainly better than crossovers. But it doesn’t hurt that they are low enough to corner while still having room for everyone’s backpacks. If you’ve been looking for the perfect eye-catching used wagon to live your best long-roof life, it may have just dropped on Cars and Bids.
Here are some numbers for you: A 2.5-liter turbocharged I5 making well over 300 horsepower and well over 300 lb-ft of torque. A six-speed manual transmission. An AWD powertrain. And 70+ cubic feet of cargo space. Yes, you can have it all.
The V70 R is a rude sport trim of a regularly tame Volvo wagon. So a surprising number are beige-on-beige. Yuck. But the 2004 model up for auction boasts an “Atacama” (brown) leather interior and a “Flash Green” (Teal) exterior. IMHO that color combo is absolutely next level. There is no other car like this one. It’s thrift-store-bought superhero sneakers cool. It’s making your friends mixtapes on cassettes cool. It’s bringing a polaroid camera AND enough film to the party cool.
This V70 R is equal parts dorky and awesome. It’s muscular and it’s functional. And this one is 100% unique. Sure, Volvo shipped 3,407 of these bad boys to North America. But there isn’t another quite like this. Certainly not for sale right now.
The next owner of this Volvo won’t be the first to love it deeply. It’s been modified by someone who knew what they were doing. Upgrades include exhaust components, IPD lowering springs, an aftermarket turbocharger plus wastegate making 19 psi of boost, and a methanol injection system.
Sure it has 150,000 miles and a scratch here or there. But I’d say that’s half of it’s personality. And the upside is you won’t be too terrified to let anyone open a snack in the back seat. Even if you know it will be hard for Junior to hold on to his Pringles.
Next, read about the supercharged Jaguar XF “Sportbrake” wagon, or see the Volvo V70 R for yourself in the video below: