A Volvo S90 3.0 sedan, as seen in central Beijing in the winter of 2016. The big Volvo was in reasonable shape. It was dark blue, a classy color for any Volvo, with slightly tinted windows and the original alloy wheels.
The ‘first-generation Volvo S90 sedan is a surprisingly rare car, as it was only manufactured from 1996 until 1998, and only for some markets. The S90 sedan was basically a renamed Volvo 960. Production of the 960 started in 1990, and it received a facelift in 1994. in 1996, Volvo decided to rename to 960 to S90 (for the sedan) and V90 (for the wagon). But only in selected markets, and only for 3 years, because in 1998 production of the 960/S90 ended. The S90/V90 name only returned in 2016 when Volvo launched the new ‘second’ generation under Geely ownership.
The big Volvo seemed at home in the icy cold Beijing winter. It stood in front of a restaurant not far from the eastern section of the 3rd Ring Road. By that time, this area was underdeveloped. Today all of it is gone, replaced by modern apartment buildings and malls.
The interior was pretty much the same shape as the exterior. Not too bad, and not too good. The leather looked fine for its years, and the wood looked good. The radio cassette CD player was original.
The Volvo S90 was available with various petrol and diesel engines. The S90 3.0 had a 24V 3.0-liter six-in-line under the hood. The output was 180 hp and 267 Nm. The gearbox was a four-speed automatic. The Volvo S90 was a rear-wheel drive car.
The Volvo S90 was not officially sold in China by Volvo. Instead, Volvo had made a deal with the British trade and real estate conglomerate Swire Group (Taigu, 太古). They were the official importer of Volvo in mainland China from 1993 until 2001. Most of the Swire-imported cars had a cool Taigu badge on the back, but this S90 3.0 doesn’t have one.
In any way, it is a rare car. In the late 1990s sales of luxury vehicles were very limited in China. Nobody ever expected that the country would become the largest market for luxury vehicles in the world just two decades later.
A typical Volvo design: square, big windows, a large trunk, and extra large bumpers.
This one had the optional sunroof! Let’s hope this great Volvo is still alive in China. Sadly, many cars of this period are long gone, thanks to ever-stricter emissions regulations. Some are sold to outer provinces, most are simply scrapped, and a tiny few may end up in a private collection or a museum.