Swedish Limo: ’78 Volvo 264 GLE
We don’t usually get excited about finding a late ’70 Volvo Sedan for sale but this one we will call an exception. The 200 Series Volvos replaced the 140/160 series and was also designed by Jan Wilsgard. Post 1974, they were burdened with huge bumpers but in a strange sense, that contributed to Volvo’s legendary claim as the safest car you should buy. They even had some pretty outrageous safety colors that improved your visibility in the fog. We are talking orange and lime green and a few others. And the 2-box station wagon solidified its position as the top-selling wagon for people who think. Every once in a while, they came up with a really nice, elegant sedan and that is what we found today. It is a ’78 264 GLE in black with gray velour interior. Around Volvo hierarchy, this was the executives’ top choice for a company car. This one is an exceptional survivor when you consider what time could have done to velour interior. We don’t know if it is original but it is original looking. The rear headrests add an exclusive tone to the rear seating area. Not sure why, but it does. This one is said to have 68,000 miles on the clock so it has a few million miles to go before it catches up to Irv Gordon’s record holding 1800S. The B-27 V-6 doesn’t have the same legendary durability as the 4-cylinder cars but we are optimistic it has got lots of life left in it. The GLE is on the east coast now but it was a resident of California for most of its life so one assumes it is not rusty but always verify. It has working A/C, automatic transmission and is said to be ready to go. We really like the alloys on this one but we don’t believe they are the standard issue wheels for the 264. Our Volvo readers will weigh-in for sure. Here’s the deal…there is a $5900 Buy It Now with little time to go. We are going out on a limb and think it isn’t going to sell on eBay. Here is the dealer’s website so you can contact them after the sale is over.
This is my car! My wife just crashed it yesterday. So sad
One wonders whether the pictured vehicle has been re-sprayed — the UV-related fading of the non-metallic portion of the front and rear bumpers seems somewhat disproportionate compared with the seemingly fresh black body paint.
200 1979 GLE’s were shipped to North America.
Interestingly, it was the first factory-painted black Volvo offered in North America, several customers having lamented in the past that they could not purchase a Volvo in black.
The alloy rims pictured are factory installed. Of note, on the unit pictured, there is no floor console (perhaps a customer spec), nor were visible the rear window roller blinds, which were standard.
Factory tires were Michelin XZX, one of the few dealer options being under-bumper mounted driving lights.
A fantastic vehicle. At cruiser speed, it feels like it hunkers down on the highway, with no shortage of pedal for a spirited drive.
And, of course, there’s that solid sound of a Volvo door when it being closed.
Always suspected that Volvo was a executive car from Rockleigh.
That 5 spoke may be from a Bertone Coupe or these are the Swedish variant. I do not remember a GLE version with grey velour as homologated. They were used in Rockleigh & LA. This may have been for Bob Sinclair who was President of West Distributorship.
So it is rare to boot! It looked so Joe N. to me.