This Rare Volvo 960 Executive Limousine Gets All the Attention

As I sat at a stop light, a man in a ten-year-old Honda Accord pulled alongside and gave the universal hand-crank signal to roll down my window. “Vol-Vo!” he said, his enthusiasm coming through on the second syllable. “That’s a sweet ride. You should drive for Uber in that thing.”

He wasn’t the first passerby to declare his affinity for this Swedish oddity, and the enthusiasm wasn’t altogether surprising. A 1995 Volvo 960 Executive Limousine is, in fact, a sweet ride. I’d spent the day driving cars from several corners of the collector market—Japanese, British, a German DTM homologation special, and some American muscle—but it was this 1995 Volvo (available on Hagerty Marketplace) that drew the most looks and comments by far. When was the last time you saw a Volvo limo?

Unless you’ve spent time in the U.K. or in Scandinavia, there’s a good chance you said never. Only about 20 of these 960 Executive Limousines made it to the U.S., according to Fredrik Nilsson, marketing director for Nilsson Special Vehicles AB.

Nilsson is the third generation in the family business, which got its start in Sweden in 1945 manufacturing trucks and buses before making the pivot to ambulances, taxis, and livery vehicles in the 1960s. “We had a partnership with Volvo in the ’60s,” he says, mentioning that Bertone also built extended-length Volvos for a time in the ’70s, “but it was from the 1980s that we became the only builders of Volvo’s stretch products.” That relationship continues to this day.

About 1500 960 limos of varying lengths were built from 1993 to 2000, and about 550 of those were long-stretch iterations. That number was further split between six-door and four-door versions, with only around 15 percent being four-door models like you see here. (This excludes the better-known 960 Executive sedan, which is more long four-door than stretch limo. Nilsson Special Vehicles made about 1400 of those till Volvo took them in-house in 1996 and built a few hundred more.)

Nilsson Special Vehicles now purchases vehicles directly from Volvo and then takes the end product to market themselves, but when this 960 was made in the ’90s, Volvo sent cars to Nilsson for modification, received them back in their completed state, and sold them through its existing distribution channels. Whether intended to become limo, ambulance, or hearse, once the cars arrive at Nilsson, they are torn down, split, put on a jig, and have the required lengthening elements added.

Often, stretched vehicles look every bit the aftermarket efforts that they are. Not so here—there’s no part of this 960 that doesn’t feel as if it is OEM Volvo. There’s good reason for that: “In the process of making a new project,” says Nilsson, “we always try to make it look just like Volvo would. Everything down to the stitching for the seats. We have always had a strong collaboration with Volvo—they open up access to their suppliers to ensure the quality of the finished product.” Interior materials like the carpet, along with mechanical necessities like the drive shaft and the extended wiring all come from the companies that supply Volvo itself.

Nilsson shares that most of the six-door 960s were ordered for funeral homes in the U.K., while the four-door versions were typically put into service in Scandinavia, shuttling executives and occasionally serving as taxis. A few even made it to India and Japan. He recalls that the 20 that made it stateside were all one order. He’s aware of a few surviving examples that reside in collections.

Nilsson would likely have enjoyed the attention this 960 garnered on my journey—in his garage resides a 960 stretch used by his father, alongside an extended-wheelbase 760 pickup conversion.

Speaking of pickups, if you’ve spent any time in a full-size, long-bed model, you’ll understand how to attentively position this Volvo on the road. Turns from a stop are where this Volvo’s length is most noticeable: Stick that front end out a touch more than you think necessary, crank the wheel, and feel the car make its slow, lumbering pivot. Rearward visibility is surprisingly good through the mirrors and out the back—provided the privacy panel is down.

Once underway, the 2.9-liter inline-six provides enough power to the rear wheels to keep up with traffic, though an LS swap seems like an attractive option for this car (maybe I’ve spent too much time drooling over Paul Newman’s V-8-powered Volvo wagons when they come to auction). The rest of the experience is characteristic ’90s Volvo: isolated and comfortable, decently weighted steering, and the occasional suspension rattle and interior squeak that you can’t ever seem to eradicate.

For a chauffeur, the latest addition to the gig economy, or just someone who cares about the health of their back, good seats are a must. Volvo’s are among the best—even in old examples with plenty of miles on them—and the command post of this limo is no different. Though the leather up front is not quite as plush as that swathed on the rear seats, any driver of this limo will have no trouble spending long amounts of time at the wheel.

Out back, four can sit in luxury, while six might begin to be a little tight at the hips, at least by American standards. The 960 didn’t pursue opulence—this is a restrained Swedish car, after all—instead, it sought luxury through comfort. The seats are at once soft and supportive, and there’s room for the tallest passengers to stretch their legs. Sunroofs are best left for bachelorette party transportation on the Vegas strip—this limo has plenty of glass on its sides, thank you very much.

This example likely needs some attention—the odometer shows just under 90K miles, though true mileage is unknown. Its switchgear and some mechanical bits show the wear of livery use, though the leather and rear passenger compartment as a whole are remarkably well-preserved.

It will take some work to bring this limo back to its former glory, or to new heights as a custom build. There’s no question, though, that wherever it goes, this staid Volvo limo will be the center of attention.

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