85 Volvo 240 Turbo - Motorsports Almanac

left hand wheels are in the air so there's no shock through the suspension. A stab on the throttle and then
through the next right-left wiggle, Granberg sawing at the wheel as the car drifts from kerb to kerb. Full bore,
full boost and 340 bhp hurls us down the short straight towards the Parabolica. It's tight, deceptively tight - at
first we seem to be travelling way too quickly - but Granberg clips the inside kerb clearly and lets the Volvo
run wide for the run onto the main straight. Get the Parabolica right and you'll be quick all the way down the
main straight. Get it wrong... The brilliant Austrian Jochen Rindt died here in his Lotus in 1970. He was
posthumously awarded the World Championship. Granberg brings the Volvo into the pit lane at a brisk clip.
The stop watches confirm we've lapped within a second or two of race pace. Full face helmets, the brap-brap of
the exhaust and the howl of the drive train make conversation impossible, but Granberg, the Swedish train
driver who led yesterday's first round of the European Touring Car Championship until a head gasket blew on
the Volvo, turns and lifts his eyebrow quizzically. My thumbs up sign is returned with a nod.
THE GROUP A VOLVO 240 TURBO IN AUSTRALIA by Anthony Hyde
1984 - The Belgium Volvo Dealer Team ran the LH drive semi-works built GpA in the1984 European
championship season. The car was shipped to New Zealand after the season finished, purchased by Mark
Petch a NZ engineer/businessman/race car driver. Petch formed a race team partnership with driver Robbie
Francevic, and were the only privateers in the world running a GpA 240 without works support.
1985 - In January, Mark Petch Racing won the famous Wellington 500 street race in NZ, starting from rear of
grid, with drivers R.Francevic, and Belgian, Michel Delcourt. Soon after in 1985 the car was shipped to
Australia, being a late entry into the Australian Touring Car Championship where it performed very well.
Later in the year it competed at Bathurst in the James Hardie 1000.
1986 - The car was sold to 'Volvo Australia', and ran under the 'Volvo Dealer Team' banner. The consortium
comprised of Valvoline Australia, Australian & New Zealand Volvo Dealers (who contributed 40% to the race
budget), Mark Petch Motorsport, and other sponsors. Technical support was provided by the Volvo
Motorsport Dept. in Sweden. The first debut of the Volvo Dealer Teams' 2nd GpA 240T (RH drive) was at
Adelaide International Raceway in April 1986 where it came in 4th - driver John Bowe. This 2nd car was
originally the Factory Euro test car, being fully rebuilt by the Factory before shipment to Oz. In May 1986,
Robbie Francevic took over the RH drive car and John Bowe campaigned the older LH drive car. Volvo
ultimately won the '1986 ATCC', the jewel of Australian motorsport, a brilliant result.
1987 - Volvo pulls out of racing worldwide due in part to GpA rule changes. Eventually the LH drive car (plus
another 2 RH drives) were sold by 'Volvo Australia' to 'Volvo Finland', where later Leif Wiik won the 1987
Finnish Touring Car Championship. Reportably the car still exists.
VOLVO 240 TURBO IN THE EUROPEAN TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Take a Volvo 240 Turbo in two doors guise and let this car compete in the European Touring Car
Championship (ETCC) following the Group A rule book and you let a BMW 635 CSI, a Jaguar XJ-S and a Rover
3500 bite the dust. Sounds simple, but it is a fact though. Already during its first race of the 1984 season the 240
was heading the field 100 of 150 laps. In 1984 the Volvo 240 made its début in the ETCC which had started in
1963. A year later the 240 won the championship. 1986 would have ended with another championship had not
primarily Tom Walkinshaw with his Rover protested against the 240. This car was not competing according to
the rules in Tom Walkinshaws opinion. The Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) disqualified
Volvo, because the 240 on Anderstorp was driving on unleaded standard petrol with an octane rate of 99,
while on Zeltweg the car was competing with a prohibited size of the fuel tank and an illegal dashboard. Two
victories were therefore deleted. On the other hand, the FISA was already keeping an eye on Volvo in 1985.
The 240 Turbo was homologated for the American market in 1983. Five hundred evolution models were
delivered there and then, but the American authorities had not registered the 240s. The rules of the FISA were
the reason why Volvo retreated from the championship two weeks after the last race on Estoril in 1986.
The car
A car from the Group A class of the ETCC has got to be a four-seater, which has to be build in a series of at
least 500 identical vehicles within a year. Average customers must be able to buy these cars and to drive them
on the public road. By the way, prior to the 500 evolution cars, 5000 standard cars has to be made as well, that
is 5000 240Turbos. The Group A 240 Turbo is a car with 270-330 (1984), 340 (1985) or 340-350 (1986) brake
horsepower, delivered by a B21 engine with a Garret exhaust turbo, Volvo’s own intercooler, a patented Volvo
water injection and an inhouse electronic ignition system. The cylinder head of the B21 was almost standard
with two valves per cylinder. Some more figures (1985): the top speed of the Group A 240 Turbo amounts
approximately 260 kilometres per hour. The acceleration from standstill to 100 kilometres per hour takes about
six seconds. The 200 kilometres per hour can be reached from a standstill in about 20 seconds. The weight of
the car varied from 1100 kilograms to 1065 kilograms in respectively 1984 and 1986. During the final race of the
240 on Estoril, the Electronic Traction Control (ETC) was used. The ETC has to increase the traction of the car,
when the external circumstances demands such an increase. Within four milliseconds the turbo pressure and
the fuel supply are corrected automatically to keep the 240 on the right track. In 1985 the Turbo was standing
on Pirelli P7 tyres with the dimensions 25/62 VR 17 (front) and 26/64 VR 17 (back). In 1986 Pirelli D3 tyres
were used. The five speed gearbox of the Group A 240 comes from Getrag. Furthermore has the car a Borg &
Beck clutch, a rear axle with a limited-slip differential from Volvo, gas-filled shock absorbers from Bilstein and
a power steering from Volvo, but without the power.