Barn find turbo car was once the world’s fastest estate wagon

This cool barn find isn’t your typical turbo car  – it’s a Volvo 850 T-5R, once known as the world’s fastest estate car. 

Often used as family vehicles, thanks to their size and dependability, estates probably aren’t the first vehicles you think of when you think of rip-roaring speed.

However, in the 1990s, Volvo decided it wanted to produce a turbo estate car – and so, the 850 Turbo was born. 

This was followed by a special edition 850 T-5R – as we can see in the clip.

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The Volvo 850 T-5R estate car can hit some impressive speeds

The vintage Volvo 850 T-5R was given a closer look by Jonny Smith from The Late Brake Show – who you may remember as previously unearthing a couple of barn find Minis, or from discovering this stunning one-owner Ford Capri.

Smith met up with Jon Smith-Moorhouse the proud owner of the Volvo 850 T-5R. 

Although it may look like an unassuming family vehicle, when new, the five-cylinder 850 T-5R was able to go from 0-97km/h (0-60mph) in around 5.8 seconds and had an electronically limited top speed of 244.9km/h (152mph). 

The 1995 Volvo 850 T-5R was only available in a limited range of three colors, including the ‘Cream Yellow’ you see in the video.

This makes Smith-Moorhouse’s car pretty rare, with just 2,537 produced, while the fact it is a seven-seater makes it rarer still.

He explained that he had always wanted a Volvo 850 T-5R so when he saw one up for sale a few years back he snapped it up. 

Sadly, the car wasn’t in the best shape

However, the vehicle ended up parked outside his dad’s house, and then COVID-19 hit, meaning the poor old Volvo had spent around four years parked up and exposed to the elements. 

The car wasn’t in the best shape of its life, but we’ve certainly seen worse. 

The exterior, although pretty dirty, was in good shape and the exterior was of a similar standard. 

But would it still run? 

To test the engine, the owner wires it up to a Porsche 944 battery and hopes in to try and turn it over. 

And – as a true testament to the reliability and dependability of Volvo estate cars – it started with absolutely no bother. 

Lovely stuff. 

You can watch the full video and other cool barn finds on The Late Brake Show YouTube channel.