RR of the Day: Volvo 854 T5R - Super Swede
We admit it's a little unfair to feature a car as RR of the Day that's owned and was built by a tuning shop, but frankly we were so impressed with this 1995 Volvo 855 T5R built by RKAutotechnik in California that we just had to show you. The car you see here is one of only 180 yellow sedans imported into the U.S. that 1994, but believe us, that's not what makes it special. For us, the fact that this Swedish super sedan generates over 400 wheel horsepower is a much more significant stat than its color. The inline five-cylinder motor features mods too numerous to mention, but at the heart of it all is a Garrett GT3071R turbo pressurized to 18 psi and running on pump gas. Living in the strict state of Cali, the folks at RKAutotechnik even made sure the motor would pass emmissions, which means leaving the catalytic converter in place. In fact, the one princiiple guiding the build was that the car remain a daily driver, although from the videos included after the jump it's clear that you'll hear this daily driver coming from a mile away. In addition to the monster motor, upgrades were also made to Brembo brakes, a fully adjustable suspension, 18-inch Volvo Pegasus wheels, and some more impressive audio pieces from Kenwood and JL Audio.
You can check out the Volvo's full list of mods here, photo galleries here, and be sure to follow the jump to find videos of the car being driven, on the dyno and out having fun doing burnouts.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Talis 6:38PM (12/11/2006)
wow. A tuner that is acutally tuned! This is a far cry away from the normal set of tuners I see on the road all the time that have a HUGE wing on the back with a stock motor (but it's painted red to look like it got back from the track).
Good job on the mods; seems to me like you took your time and did it right. Now all you need to do is pull next to a mustang GT, or a corvette and show them what a real tuner can do.
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j-dawg 6:39PM (12/11/2006)
Volvo five-bangers are the only engines under six cylinders that I like to hear loud.
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Rade 6:49PM (12/11/2006)
God bless the Volvo 850...this machine makes me realize how badly Volvo has gone astray in search of further market share. Tell me that the S60R is proof of high performance Volvo technology and it wont convince me...the R seems like a copy of a copy of a copy in this rapidly-shirnking automotive world. Volvos should have two driven wheels for one reason only: I had an 850 Turbo sedan in high school and it was a hell of a car...torque steer mania and that delta link rear suspension, it was quite fun. Clarkson's review of that car said, "looked like a brick but gripped like a drunk to a banister". 850s had buckets of character...something I am finding less and less of in these days of shared platforms and the pursuit of "aspirational buyers". I had an S2000 and an S4 avant afterwards but neither ever gave me a smile the way Turbonium did.
This T5-R is an amazing car...congrats to those who put endless hours of hard work into something so unique...a job well done!
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The other Bob 6:58PM (12/11/2006)
That video sold me. I would have never known a Volvo could be that cool, especially with a 5 banger.
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eed 7:32PM (12/11/2006)
I have a 99 V70 (before Ford "redid" them) that's basically an 850 with a pedestrian friendly snout.
It only has a low pressure turbo (instead of the high pressure one on the R's), but it's STILL a bunch of fun, and has enough torque for my wife to complain about :-)
It's a great car, lots of space, some luxory (I love my 4 heated leather seats & sunroof), and was a steal at $15k.
Once I'm done paying for it, it's going to be time to turn these boys loose on it. The idea of it making more power than my friend's STI makes me quite happy inside.
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sr20de 7:31PM (12/11/2006)
I...love...that...car. :) Great job!!
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Green Lotus Elise 7:46PM (12/11/2006)
BEAUTIFUL CAR! This really is a bit odd because I've seen a couple yellow T5R's the past couple days (usually a rare sight) and have remarked to my wife about how badly I always wanted one. My mom was in the market for a new Volvo about the time these were in showrooms and I tried like crazy to get her into one, she ended up going with a plain jane 855.
Big thumbs up for a very cool car!
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Andy 12:16AM (12/12/2006)
I commend the owner for doing some real work on this car.
Great video.
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Paul 9:39PM (12/11/2006)
Woohoo Volvos!
I own an S70 with the GLT (light-pressure turbo) motor, and it's a lot of fun. With double that power and that sweet exhaust note...oh man, I'm jealous. Nice car.
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big jimmy 10:09PM (12/11/2006)
its lisa from gone in sixty seconds see car list at site
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HR 10:21PM (12/11/2006)
long live turbobricks
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Alps 11:20PM (12/11/2006)
love the bricks, miss my 945t
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Renton 11:27PM (12/11/2006)
My office manager had one T5-R, stock. It was fast, but not freaky fast. The whole FWD thing was rediculous, massive understeer. Just seeing the yellow car again gives me flashbacks...ahhhgh.
The air conditioning was terrible, as was the electrical system.
She had to get rid of it, and back into a BMW. She bought the car on my rec and I feel it is my greatest failure as a car guy to tell a person to get a certain model of car.
To this day I will never tell anyone to get Volvo. They are nothing compared to BMWs.
Nothing is perfect, but Volvos are so FWD based and with transverse motors have no place being compared to fine German RWD sport sedans.
I guess if just speed is all you want then this car can make you happy, but there is a lot more to driving enjoyment than just speed.
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shrapnel 1:01AM (12/12/2006)
The interior is heinous.
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ryan 12:52AM (12/12/2006)
yea i have a 1987 Volvo 740 Turbo. Its a stick and i love that car its fun to drive and it actually gets going pretty good for an old car.
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Huecifcer 1:41AM (12/12/2006)
400 HP only for the front wheels? Ludicrous... it'd be a hoot to see how many other cars with less power and RWD/AWD could mop a track with this.
Still, turbo Volvos are the ultimate one-car machines. I'll take a V70R in dark grey with the orange interior, thanks.
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Richard Warren 7:30AM (12/12/2006)
Nice----
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JRR 6:28AM (12/12/2006)
It's good to see Doug Kauer's T5-R get some recognition outside of the Volvo community. The fact that he does some awesome work is not news to many Volvo enthusiasts. For a long time he has been an invaluable source of info on a few different Volvo forums (turbobricks.com, volvospeed,com, swedespeed.com). Congrats, Doug and RKAutotechnik!
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Kansei 9:45AM (12/12/2006)
a beautiful piece of machine!
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Doug Kauer 3:14PM (12/12/2006)
Wow! When did this happen and how come no one told me? Thanks for the kind words everyone!
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