Fashionably gliding onto the market in 1991 at a 2024 equivalent price of $97,300 dollars (!), this 1991 Volvo 780 Coupe, known by many as a Bertone Turbo Coupe (all Coupes were turbos by this time), is one svelt, stylish, Swedish standout. The seller has it listed here on eBay in Ravenna, Nebraska and prices are going up for this model, this one is at $8,050 and the reserve isn’t met.
Only 8,518 examples of this stylish Volvo would be produced, with the U.S. market receiving 5,700 of them, so they are rare to see today. I can’t remember the last time I saw one in person. Penned by famous Italian stylist Bertone, but with reliable Swedish bones and build quality, they are still a relative bargain today if you can find a really nice example. The 1991 models are the ones to have and this one looks like a winner.
The seller lists the mileage as 60,233 miles and says this car has been well-maintained. It certainly looks nice, I can’t see a flaw anywhere inside or out. Volvo offered the 780 Coupe in 1986 in Europe and 1987 in the U.S., and they were made until 1991. Improvements came along almost immediately. The 1988 models saw the introduction of an independent rear suspension, replacing the live axle of the 1987 models, but bigger news came in 1989 when a turbocharged engine was introduced. A 2.8-liter V6 was still available until the final models in 1991 when they all came with the 2.3-liter turbo.
As expected, the interior appears as close to like-new as possible, I don’t even see a serious wrinkle on the leading edge of the driver’s seat bolster. The unusual power seat controls are a little awkward and maybe not as well thought out as they could have been, given Mercedes-Benz and others locating them on the door panels. It gives a bit of quirk to what is a very unusual car to see today so it’s perfectly logical, in a Volvo way. The rear seating area looks perfect and we don’t see inside the trunk but I’m imagining it looking just as nice as everything else is.
The engine is Volvo’s 2.3-liter turbocharged and intercooled aluminum-head inline-four, which by the final year of 1991 put out 188 horsepower and 206 lb-ft of torque. The four-speed automatic sends power to the rear wheels and for anyone looking at adding a 780 Coupe to the insurance roster, this is it. Have any of you owned a Volvo Bertone-designed 780 Coupe?
Had an 89 then a 91. 89 had that french worm of an engine that couldnt get out of its own way en route to the gas station. The 91 was an all around inprovement. Make sure that the linkage pins on the turbo accelerator are intact. They’re made of cold steel wire and pop off the retainer rendering no turbo unless the retainer is replaced.
Looks like a great car! A great car that, I know nothing about.
Has the lines of a Maserati Bi-Turbo
If you are a fan of Gene Wilder & Richard Pryor movies as I am this car was in See No Evil Hear No Evil it was silver in color in the movie. Great car. Great movie.
I think these two have the men’s rea
Re: those power seat controls, IIRC Mercedes had a patent on their control design with switches arranged like the back and bottom of an actual seat, so any other mfrs. wanting to use that very sensible design had to either pay Mercedes a licensing fee or wait for the patent to expire.
I had a gold 780, solid car with some interior issues that I was addressing when I had a deer jump in front of it at speed. The insurance company paid me more than I paid for it because body parts are expensive and difficult to get. They share nothing with similar looking Volvos. It had the six cylinder engine so down the road it went via eBay.
This car’s predecessor, the 262C, wasn’t the most elegant design, but it was distinctive. Take the emblems off, and this 780 looks like a generic luxury coupe in a 1980s insurance ad.
Working in Volvo svc for 20 yrs never heard one called a turbo coupe. Just a coupe. Heavy cars if svc receipts don’t show suspension rebuild in real recent past then all needs done to make it safe to drive as a new car which is what you’d want it to be. There is no trim available unless thru specialty sources. You do not want 6 cyl. Late 765 with 2.3T is the unicorn of that design litter.
Seems like an unbreakable, elegant, practical and igood value 1980s coupé. Probably a sentence no-one has ever written in all of human history…..
Top of the line Volvo here, in the best color. Stunning survivor. These were rare to see, even when new.
13,300, reserve not met. Wow, I thought that was strong money for a 1991 Volvo.
Thanks, mustang melvin!
I bought two 1991s and was twice disappointed. Then bought a Belgian one with manual gearbox and a 2 liter 16V HPT. That one is fast.
About this car, some weird things. The radio with equalizer comes from a 1990 – in 1991 they had a unit with CD-player and no equalizer but a Nuccio Bertone signature. And too bad there is a plug missing under the passanger’s headlamp (where in Europe the headlamp wash-wiper would be). Hope it gets a careful owner.
My favourite Volvo, especially without the PRV engine. Beautiful interiors. Only once have I encountered one in person.
Elegant car, beautiful in a Volvo-like manner. The local Volvo specialist had one of these years ago and I looked it over very closely (two small kids at the time made it impractical). The interior looks close to perfect, and the seats are the most comfortable you will ever sit in. They are even comfortable by Volvo standards, and I’m sitting in an office chair made from an S70 seat (from my sadly gone car) as I type this. GLWTS
Also of note is the audio system. I believe that Volvos in that era used Dynaudio speakers, and they were some of the best OEM speakers available at that time.
Actually I owned three of them , all turbo plus cars. As they were named.. Normal turbo red blocks were 160 horse but the turbo + bumped it up to 188… These were great highway cruisers.. .. First one, in maroon, I had with well over 200k on it. One lady owner car that she would haul hay in the trunk for her horses. Only occupants in the back seat were her two German shepards. Luckily the car survived fairly well. Second was a grey low miler, again one lady owner with 77k on it.. Nice overall car.. Lastly was a black one with a little over 100k. Brought it back some and moved it along to a fellow Volvo nut… Had lots of great adventures over the years buying and selling volvos on the side…