Let’s take a look at the fast station wagons of the 80s!
Fast station wagons are super cool. It is the combination of a lot of space, a lot of power, a sporty decoration. All this without having to deal with the physical disadvantages of an SUV or the sex appeal of an MPV.
The category really took off in the early 1990s. Think of the Audi RS2, BMW M5 Touring and Volvo 850 T-5R. But while there were pioneers who defined the genre, they certainly weren’t the only ones.
There were already other cars worldwide that preceded them. On the day of the Australian GP, we’re going to take a look at the 1980s station wagons.
Volvo 240 Turbo Kombi (P245)
1984
Of course there must be Sweden in the list of fast 80s station wagons. Of course we count the Volvo 240 Turbo. Although ‘turbo’ COULD indicate a sportier version in many cases, that was not entirely the case with the Volvos. It was just ‘a’ engine version at the top of the range. As with Saab, Volvo opted for Turbos that are pleasant to handle, not so much deliver maximum power. This made the cars interesting for countries where cars were taxed on the basis of cylinder capacity. The blocks are extremely strong and a perfect basis for better tuning purposes. The engines of these turbobricks are just like the car: indestructible. The 2.1 liter turbo engine was equipped with a large turbo, good for 155 hp and 240 Nm, not bad.
Renault 18 Turbo Combi
1984
Less known, but no less cool is the Renault 18 Turbo Break! You could not get this car in the Netherlands. The Renault 18 was a neat mid-sized car and Renault changed that with the Turbo. The 1.6 four-cylinder was turbocharged, which increased the power to a then barely comprehensible 110 hp. However, it is a really special model with highly recognizable wheels, Turbo striping, rubber spoiler, five-speed gearbox, modified front suspension and a sports interior with extra grippy velour, so that you sat firmly in your French sports break.
Keinath Opel Senator Estate (A2)
1985
In the 1980s, station wagons were really cars that you absolutely did not want, but needed. The Opel Senator was a model above the Rekord (later Omega). It was actually a luxury Rekord with a longer wheelbase and a different muzzle. However, it was always a sedan.
Opel specialist and tuner Keinath thought it would be fun to make a thick station wagon and came up with this Senator Station wagon. As you can imagine, they used the parts of a Rekord Stationwagon (which was there from the factory). Naturally, the thickest engine was chosen: a three-liter six-in-line with rear-wheel drive and extra sporty decoration.
Cherolet Celebrity Eurosport VR Station Wagon
1985
There are times when we don’t name the Chevrolet Celebrity. It is a mid-sized Chevrolet from the 1980s. That means a square hunk of car with a skimpy plastic interior. The station wagon version was fairly popular because contraceptives and MPVs were not yet available to every American family at the time.
What was special was that the ‘Wagon was also available as ‘Eurosport’. That was disrespectfully a kind of sports package, but later became a special version and the Eurosport VR took it a step further. The cars got the strong High Output 2.8 liter V6 under the hood, 14 inch ‘Rallye’ rims and extra strong (read slightly less soft) suspension. The Eurosport VR received a special body kit.
Ford Sierra XR4x4 Turnier
1986
With a Sierra you think of fast Cosworth models, but there were also above-average fast XR4s. XR is kind of what ‘ST’ is now. The XR4 was available as a three-door hatchback (nowadays we would call it a coupé) and later a five-door hatchback.
The XR4x4 was also available in 1986 and 1987 as a 4×4 Turnier. However, this one was more geared to luxury than really to sportiness. In 1984, before the facelift, Ford had built one copy of the Sierra XR4 with 2.8 liter V6 and rear-wheel drive for a competition for Auto, Motor und Sport.
Peugeot 505 GTI Break
1986
We’re looking closer to home. GTI is always sporty and this 505 GTI was a tyrant at the time. The Peugeot 505 is a rear-wheel drive sporty sedan with a big engine, sporty decoration and styling by Pininfarina. In terms of interior and it was not a BMW, but it seemed to drive very well at the time. Don’t forget: these were Peugeot’s heyday in which they built extremely good cars. Only downside: they weren’t really fast. With 131 horsepower you could easily participate in the left lane at the time, not that, but for such a large car it was exceptional
Lancia Thema Turbo Station Wagon (834)
1986
Lancia has known many firsts in its life. The Thema Turbo SW is not a first, but it was there early. Everyone knows the Lancia Thema 8.32 (only as a sedan) and to a lesser extent there was also the Thema V6. But the Theme Turbo was also allowed. As standard it was almost as fast as the 8.32 with Ferrari V8. With a little tickling you could get the Delta Integrale block to make more power. You could recognize the model by the badges, deeper front bumper and 14 inch alloy wheels. We thought that was really quite sporty at the time!
Nissan Skyline GT Turbo Wagon (WHJR31)
1986
The Japanese car brands themselves are very well represented in this category when it comes to the 1990s. In the 1980s, Japanese station wagons were really functional. It was true that there were countless versions of one model: sedan, station, hardtop, pick-up, coupe: you could not imagine it.
In many cases, the fast and sporty coupés were basically identical to the station wagons. So you could transfer the engine like that. That happened aftermarket, but Nissan offered the Skyline GT Turbo Wagon in 1986 based on the R31. It was one of the first cars with the RB six-cylinder engine, in this case the RB20DET with 170 hp. Think of the car as a harbinger of the later Nissan Stagea.
Alpina B3 2.7 Touring 1987 (E30)
1987
You would expect that Alpina has made a lot of Tourings, but that is actually disappointing. That has a fairly simple explanation, because BMW hardly did Tourings. There was a 2002 Touring (1970s) and the E30 Touring was added in the late 1980s. Based on the top model, the 325i Touring, Alpina built the B3 2.7 Touring. It is still a real Alpina, so with real tuning: so a drilled-out engine.
It is one of the first Alpinas that were really bought together with BMW. With the Alpina C2 (the predecessor of the B3), Alpina bought an E30 and they then tuned it, but in this case BMW delivered a ‘half’ E30 in Buchloe that they then built up. The engine was a 2.78 six-in-line with 204 hp and 265 Nm and a nicer Laufkultur than a ballerina.
AMG Mercedes 300 TE 6.0 (S124)
1988
The Hammer! People think of a Hammer as a W124 with a V8 and that is correct. An important difference is that it must also be an AMG and not a Porsche-built copy. An E60 AMG based on the E500 is not a Hammer. It was only available as a sedan, the real AMG Hammer was available as a sedan (W124), coupe (C124) and station wagon (S124).
If one pops up these days, it will go for the grand prize and we really mean the grand prize. Thanks to a huge 6.0 V8 with 381 horsepower, the Hammer was faster than the average Porsche or Corvette. Man, even very fast Ferraris you had to do your best to keep up with this. And then you could also order it as a station wagon. Truly the thickest 1980s station wagon.
This article These are 10 cool fast station wagons from the 1980s appeared first on Autoblog.nl.
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