Our second test subject from Converse had a stock Mustang engine and a four-speed automatic it made it to 60 mph in a still-zoomy 7.4 seconds. That's 1 mph faster than the sizzling 850 Turbo wagon we tested last March.
Top speed for the station wagon is 145 mph. In fact, that Volvo got down the quarter-mile in 14.3 second at a trap speed of 100 mph, faster than July's Cobra. It was as quick as the convertible Mustang Cobra we tested last July. It was a special version, with a Powerdyne Automotive Products centrifugal supercharger driven by a shielded, toothed belt.
In fact, one of the two Converse-built Volvo wagons we tested got to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds. The other reason is this: A Volvo wagon weighs only 100 pounds more with an iron-block Mustang V-8, so performance improves. Cops and autograph hounds normally tend not to notice ubiquitous Volvo station wagons. See, one of the advantages of having a V-8-powered Volvo, especially in the Northeast, is that Swedish cars blend into the traffic like Toyotas in Tokyo. The Sportiest, Coolest Volvos of All TimeĬonverse, a soft-spoken 46-year-old Mainer, is more concerned that Indy-car team owner and actor Newman will be angry with him for divulging a secret: Known fast-car lover and salad-dressing-and-salsa salesman Newman tools around his home base in Connecticut in a V-8-powered Volvo 960 wagon built by Converse.
