ON THE TRACK- IAN LYNAS REPORTS ON A SCALEXTRIC VOLVO 850 ESTATE

One of the most interesting vehicles ever to compete in the British Touring Car Championship was a Volvo 850 Estate and Scalextric has now produced one for the home race track, splendid in detail with all the relevant decals.

This venture by Volvo led to a number of successful years including an overall victory in 1988 with an S40. The project by Volvo was codenamed Back on Track, launched in April 1984 with a pair of 850s lining up at Thruxton for their first race. The drivers were Rickard Rydell who had risen through the ranks from karting to F3 and Formula 3000, his team mate was Jan Lammers who had competed in a variety of classes including F1. Volvo had signed quite a driver line-up and the estates in co-operation with Tom Walkinshaw Racing represented quite an investment. The estates were an instant success for racegoers and opened up a whole new image for Volvo. TWR had been Volvo’s main competitor in the European Championship in the 1980s when the 240 Turbo was competing against the likes of the Rover SDI, they were responsible for the technical development of the race 850s while Volvo looked after technical support, marketing and PR.

Volvo kept the 850s a close secret until the very last moment and many in the sport thought it was all a very big joke. The very dimensions seemed wrong to go motor racing, a lot of weight behind the rear axle, a higher centre of gravity and the feeling was it would be difficult to get around corners compared to a saloon. Surprisingly the aerodynamics were better than a saloon. With the FIA class 2 regulations the race example had to be based on the production version, thus the appearance of the body could not be changed, however the engine size was reduced to two litres with the maximum engine speed at 8,500rpm and the minimum weight at 950kg and no form of supercharging was permitted.

The Volvo 850 Estate was by far the largest car competing in the BTCC and at the conclusion of the first season Volvo finish fourteenth overall. The following season dawned and Rydell finished third overall in the championship in a saloon version. However the 850 Estate had caused quite a stir in racing. This new addition to the Scalextric range faithfully recreates the unique design and details of the real car and I eagerly await the opportunity to take it on my home track.

Ian Lynas