Volvo 480

The Volvo 480 is a sporty compact car that Volvo produced at Born in the Netherlands from 1986 to 1995. It was the first front-wheel-drive Volvo and the only one with pop-up headlights, a feature chosen to meet United States headlight height rules while keeping an aerodynamic nose. Its four-seat, three-door hatchback body sits between a liftback and an estate, and Volvo marketed it in Europe as a coupe. The press launch was on 15 October 1985 and the car was shown at the 1986 Geneva Motor Show. The planned American launch was postponed in 1988 because of the weak dollar. Its floorpan, suspension, Renault engines and brakes were shared with the later 440 and 460, and the United Kingdom took about 22,000 of them.