Mixing two cars into one is a difficult procedure that rarely pays off but in this case, the result is striking at the very least.
The car you see in the photos resides in Finland and started life as a BMW E36 M3. Somewhere along the line, its owner decided to get rid of the BMW bodywork and instead dress the whole car as if it was a modern Volvo 162, a brave move to say the least.
However, the end result isn’t the abomination we would expect as the finished (?) car looks amazingly clean, portraying a sky-high level of workmanship that definitely wins our admiration.
With that said, some of the proportions of the car do betray that this “Volvo” hides something not Swedish under its curvy bodywork, especially from the rear three quarters.
This build was discovered initially on Retro Rides, with the relevant post dating back in 2015. The original source of the build resides in the Volvo Racing Club Finland forum from the same year.
Open the door and the illusion is gone, as the interior was left in pretty much standard E36 M3 guise, complete with leather bucket seats, door cards and dashboard. The only difference is the Volvo badging on the three-spoke steering. Even the door sills still proudly wear their M3 badges.
The whole process of converting the E36 M3 into this modernized Volvo 162 has been documented with a huge image gallery here, here and here, revealing the huge amount of work put into the body (along with the required skills).
So, what’s the verdict? Do you like this BMW M3 dressed as a classic Volvo 162?
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