Volvos were always the enemy of street machiners back in the day. Driven by snooty, north-shore types, the sight of a Volvo moving in traffic was something to fear. After all, they were built like tanks and often driven by less than attentive pilots.

That was until we discovered what an awesome base for a sleeper they made! All kinds of donks have been swapped into these Swedish snoozers over the years, here are just a few of our faves:

King of the Swedes

Mikael Borggren’s 1987 240 wagon is the baddest Volvo street car on the planet. How bad? Try 6-second passes on radials, in the heat of drag and drive competition. And it is one of a tiny club to run six-second averages at these events. It has three Drag Week campaigns and two Sick Weeks to its credit.

Blown & beige

Michael Wray’s 240 is one of those cars that is just so perfect, we wouldn’t change a thing. LSA-blown L98, Tremec TR6060 and 8.8in diff comprise the driveline and the whole package has been engineered just so.

Fast family fun

Peter Gatward’s beige, maths teacher-spec Volvo 240 wagon has it all. Sleeper looks, left-field engine choice (the mighty 1UZ-FE V8) and a turbo sneakily postioned in the rear.

Down, Rover!

Under the hood of Adrian Jarnjevic’s 264 Volvo is a 4.6-litre Range Rover V8 with twin turbos and EFI. An unorthodox choice of powerplant perhaps, but it was devestatingly effective, with nine-second timeslips to its credit.

The Carnage Trolvo

How could we go past the Trolvo! Bought as an unfinished project, the Carnage 240 Volvo ended its days with a fearsome 1.5JZ under the bonnet and a PB of 9.5-seconds! The car was brutally fast, but without proper safety gear, its time was up. The go-fast bits have been sold off or squirrelled away for future projects. The shell if still up for grabs if you’re keen!