Volvo 244 GL
Straight lines, a roomy sedan body and carefully developed engineering made this Volvo memorable.
1975 Volvo 244 four-door sedan, orange, at Bradford Classic Car Show 2019 · Tim Green · CC BY 2.0
Research pending
A matching completed auction sale has not been verified for this exact year, body, trim, engine, transmission and market.
Joyride shows this gap instead of substituting an asking price, unsold bid or mismatched special vehicle.
More than a set of wheels.
Volvo introduced the 240 and 260 families in August 1974. The four-door 244 developed the earlier 140 design with a new front end and front suspension. At the press introduction in Borlänge, journalists found a line of orange 244 GLs. The wider 240 family went on to have a long life, but this page focuses on the early European injected four-cylinder car.
Look a little closer.
The orange colour of our example echoes the orange 244 GLs used at Volvo’s original press event.
Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.
A new front end
The 240’s nose drew on Volvo’s VESC experimental safety car. The production design also used MacPherson front struts and rack-and-pinion steering. These changes were part of a broader evolution of the existing family car, rather than a change of shape alone.
Source: Volvo · forty years of the 240, European launch details ↗One family, many engines
Volvo’s archive lists several engines and transmissions used over the 244’s life. Later diesel, six-cylinder and other versions are not the same as this early GL. The specification below deliberately keeps the launch-era injected B21 separate from those later choices.
Source: Volvo · 244 heritage archive ↗Where these facts come from
Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed September 29, 2026.