Posted on: Dec 11, 2012 | 13,482 reads

Volvo 850 T-5R Pickup Spotted in Belgium

The Volvo 850 T-5R was only available in limited numbers as a sedan and a wagon, but one dealership has gotten its hands on a pickup ute.

Though the new Polestar models are out to change perception, there aren't a lot of Volvos from the company's recent past that could really drum up any excitement whatsoever. But the 850 T-5R sought to change that. With a 2.3-liter turbocharged five-cylinder engine producing 247 horsepower, the T-5R could run to 60 in as little as 5.8 seconds. Which may not seem that fast by today's standards, but in the mid-90s that made the hot-rod Volvo one of the fastest family haulers out there.

Volvo 850 T-5R Pickup Spotted in Belgium

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Only 5,500 examples were made, of which just 185 were delivered to the United States. (You can imagine this writer's teenage surprise to see a truck-load of them on the highway.) The T-5R was available as a sedan or a wagon in black, banana yellow or (rarest of all) olive green, but this example is rarer still. Spotted by Autofans.be at a Belgian dealership, this 850 was turned into a pickup ute. As you can see, it's also been painted red, and has a Christmas tree loaded onto its bed. Whether this is an actual T-5R or an ordinary 850 chopped up and fitted with the sportier model's body-kit and wheels we don't know, but it sure gets our holiday spirits up.