Torslanda with a Twist: Ash and His Volvo 240 Toro

Ash, from Nottingham in the UK, had already owned his fair share of Volvos by then. His good friend Jim had introduced him to the marque years earlier and helped him buy his first Volvo, a 940. Over the following decade, around ten of these “bricks” came and went, mostly from the Volvo 700 and 900 series. But the 240 remained unfinished business.

The Torslanda he had been waiting for

At the beginning of 2024, Ash’s Volvo story took an unpleasant turn. An accident wrote off his beloved 940 and suddenly the search for another car became rather more urgent.

This time, he knew exactly what he wanted. “After having lots of 700 and 900 models, I was itching for a 200 estate – specifically a ‘Torslanda’ special edition. Despite its renowned poverty-spec features here in the UK, I loved them and wanted one.”

The right car appeared in a rather unconventional way. It wasn’t advertised publicly. Somebody knew somebody who had a white 1992 Volvo 240 Torslanda sitting unused and was thinking about selling it. A few photographs were exchanged via Facebook Messenger, a price of £3,500 was mentioned, and Ash was hooked.

In fact, he had pretty much bought the car in his head before ever seeing it.

Together with Jim, he set off on the three-to-four-hour drive to collect it. The insurance was already arranged. Ash was excited. The deal, as far as he was concerned, was done. Then he saw the car.

“Long story short, it wasn’t in good condition at all. I’d seen much better cars for considerably less money.”

Ash nevertheless stuck to his word. He had agreed to buy it and didn’t want to mess the seller around. The Torslanda was his and almost immediately, it gave him an idea of what lay ahead.

“As I left the premises, the exhaust fell off,” Ash recalls. It was tied back into place and Ash continued home behind Jim’s Volvo 850. During the journey he discovered that the stereo didn’t work. Neither did the heater. Nor, somewhat more importantly, the speedometer.

It was not exactly the triumphant first drive he had imagined. But Ash didn’t let that get him down.

Meet Toro

It was April 2024 when Ash’s restoration journey properly began. And the white Torslanda soon had a name: “Toro”. The inspiration came partly from “My Neighbor Totoro” – Ash is a Studio Ghibli fan – but there was another meaning behind it.

“‘Toro’ means ‘bull’ in Spanish,” explains Ash. “I had high hopes of making her feel more like a bull – symbolising strength.”

There was certainly plenty of work ahead. Body repairs came first, along with the search for better interior plastics and all the little bits and pieces that had suffered over more than three decades. The Scorpius wheels – the only luxury extra that the Torslanda special edition came with as standard – were refurbished and fitted with fresh tyres.

Ash quickly discovered something else he liked about the 240: its straightforward engineering. He could work on it himself.

The to-do list just kept getting longer. So did the bills. Ash prefers not to dwell on the latter. “Let’s just say she’s priceless,” says Ash. “I’ve most definitely had my fun, enjoyment and happiness returned to me.”

From project to NEC show car

Only a few months after buying Toro, something happened Ash certainly hadn’t expected when he drove home with the exhaust tied back on.

Kevin Price from the Volvo Enthusiasts Club 1989 invited him to display the car on the club stand at the NEC Classic Motor Show in November 2024 – as part of a group of white classic Volvos, led by one of the original P1800s from ‘The Saint’.

“I was absolutely shocked by the amount of love from the visitors and the club. They looked after me with plenty of cups of tea and coffee, sandwiches and cake. Boy, do Volvo clubs know how to look after you!”

A Torslanda with a Twist

Initially, the aim had been to put the car back together properly. By late 2025, however, Ash began developing another idea.

He didn’t want to build a heavily modified 240, nor did he want to turn Toro into something it had never been. Instead, he imagined a Torslanda assembled with details and accessories borrowed from different chapters of the 200 Series story.

He called the idea “Torslanda with a Twist.”

“I was picturing lots of unusual and rare accessories from earlier 200 Series cars on a late model,” he says. “In a country that still had plenty of white Torslandas kicking about, I wanted to be different, to stand out, tell a story and learn a lot along the way.”

That philosophy now defines the car.

Toro sits 40 millimetres lower, with an adjustable Panhard rod, polyurethane bushes and 20 mm rear spacers. The original 14-inch Scorpius wheels have given way to refurbished 15-inch GLT Virgo alloys with new Hankook all-season tyres.

At the front, Ash mixed generations. Early one-piece 200 Series headlight surrounds made it possible to install a new 242 GT-style egg-crate grille imported from California without leaving unwanted gaps. A modified lower chin spoiler gives the front a more planted appearance without requiring the car to sit any lower.

Underneath, a custom stainless-steel exhaust with a sports catalytic converter replaced the system that had made such an unceremonious exit on Ash’s very first drive.

The engine bay received smaller touches: a reusable Pipercross air filter, 10 mm performance HT leads and a rocker cover painted metallic red. The colour wasn’t chosen at random – the Torslanda badge already contained red, so Ash simply carried the theme further.

None of these changes radically transforms the car. Together, however, they give Toro an identity of her own.

Older can be better

The interior followed the same philosophy.

Toro originally came with the plain, dark blue ‘salt and pepper’ upholstery, typical of the early nineties, by then worn and not particularly comfortable.

Then Ash heard about a 1983 Volvo 240 DL that had unfortunately been written off. Its remarkably well-preserved classic blue herringbone interior was being sold.

The newer interior came out. The older one went in. It looked almost new. And completely transformed the inside into a cosy 1980s living room.

The door cards were changed at the same time, complete with new vapour barriers. New speakers were installed, and matching blue side pockets were found to complete the look.

The stereo proved rather more troublesome. Ash tried to live with the original Volvo units. Then he tried aftermarket head units. Nothing really worked for him. In the end, some Christmas money from his dad provided the answer: a Pioneer SXT-C10PS system, matching Pioneer speakers and an under-seat subwoofer.

“This changed the driving experience massively. It’s one of those upgrades I wish I’d done sooner – and I was pretty chuffed I’d done it by myself.”

Moving the stereo lower in the centre console also created space for something far more appropriate to Ash’s vision: additional gauges. Parts from Brick Parts went in, along with a collection of unusual coloured switches. The idea wasn’t simply to modernise the car. It was to play with the enormous parts catalogue and history of the 200 Series itself.

A 240 that tells its own story

Ash isn’t trying to recreate a factory-perfect 1992 Torslanda, and he isn’t chasing modification for modification’s sake either. Instead, the car has gradually become a collection of ideas from across the Volvo 200 Series – early and late parts, factory-inspired details, period accessories and a few modern upgrades where they make the car better to use.

There is still plenty left to do. More welding is on the list. A full repaint remains a dream for another day. And then there is that particularly dangerous thought familiar to many Volvo owners: a turbo engine build.

Ash isn’t ruling anything out.

“We can all carry on dreaming about turbo engine rebuilds and full paint jobs. If it wasn’t for dreams, we wouldn’t have anything to work towards and look forward to. Never say never.”

Considering where the story began – with a supposedly tidy Torslanda, a broken heater, a dead speedometer and an exhaust falling onto the road within minutes of collecting it – Toro has already come a long way. Ash finally got the Torslanda he had wanted for years. It just turned out that the Torslanda he really wanted was one he had to build himself.

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What Makes a Torslanda?

The Volvo 240 Tørslanda, with the linguistically incorrect ‘ø’ in its name, was a special edition offered in the UK towards the end of the 240’s long production run. Introduced in 1992 and sold into 1993, it was available as an estate and named after Torslanda, the Gothenburg district where Volvo’s main car factory – and the 240 itself – was built.

Rather than adding luxury, the Torslanda edition kept things deliberately simple. UK cars featured the 2.0-litre B200F engine, manual windows and mirrors, cloth upholstery, heated front seats and power steering. 14-inch Scorpius alloy wheels provided one of the few visual upgrades.

Its most distinctive feature was the exterior treatment: black trim and characteristic full-length side stripes running along the lower body, complemented by Torslanda badging. Especially on cars finished in white, red or silver, the contrasting graphics made this otherwise basic 240 instantly recognisable.

The Torslanda represents an interesting final chapter of the Volvo 240 story: simple, practical and unmistakably 240 – with just enough visual character to make it special.