For quite some time, people in the drifting business have figured out that old Volvo wagons can make good drift cars. They’re RWD, cheap (think: initial purchase) and their brick-like looks are guaranteed to turn heads in the sideways arena. Then again, these slabs of Sweden also come with slip angle drawbacks, such as their less-than-negligible weight. And, if you’re going to build one the right way, you can forget about keeping the costs in check. So, why would you add carbon kevlar body panels to a Volvo 745, then? To save money, of course!
Yes, carbon kevlar panels are more expensive than steel or fiberglass, but we’re talking about a more complex equation here. You see, Swedish pro drifter Kevin Brunberg has been throwing his 1980s Volvo 745 sideways for over five years now.
And competing in the Swedish Pro Drift Championship—his best result to date has been 4th position in 2021—has taught the enthusiast a few things. For one, when you get it wrong during a wall ride, which you inevitably will, replacing the damaged back end of the car can take precious hours, which obviously involves hefty bills.
Thus, for the 2023 season, Brunberg has decided to remove the entire rear section, C-pillars included, from his 740 wagon (745 is the official name for this body type) and replace this with a carbon kevlar unit built by fellow pro drifter Jonas Franzen.
Time is money, but weight is also a factor here
Yes, the tailgate still works, and the entire piece weighs just 3.5 kilos, which is at least eight times ligther than the factory steel panels. The carbon kevlar posterior of the Volvo 745 is attached with rivets and lets everybody know it’s there thanks to a clear coat (this was required due to kevlar being sensitive to UV).
As with many other drift builds around the world that use carbon kevlar body parts (like this three-rotor C6 Corvette), the idea is that the former material is the strongest of the two, while the latter adds some elasticity. For one, this means that the body parts can simply bounce and dissipate the energy of light crashes.
The costs for making carbon kevlar body panels can vary wildly based on your methods, production run and other factors. However, I was able to find that a drifter known as Conorsev on YouTube invested between $150 and $200 into making a such a fender for his Honda, so we can use that as a reference.
More severe impacts will require replacing the entire structure, but this can be done in well under an hour—as the driver states on his Instagram (@brunbergdrifting), the time for simply switching out the carbon kevlar piece with a new one can be as short as ten minutes, but there may be other operations to consider, such as handling the windows, which are now made of plastic for further weight savings.
Sure, losing some kilos up front for better weight distribution would’ve also been nice, but the highly modded Volvo has other ways of achieving that. For one, if we look in the trunk area, next to the battery, we’ll find the radiator and the brake fluid tank—the latter seems to be an old piece and seeing this inside the carbon kevlar structure is simply delicious.
At least 800 horsepower for Brunberg’s Volvo 745
For the past three years, Brunberg’s 740 wagon used a Volvo T6 straight-six engine. However, the 2023 season sees the machine sporting a new unit. This is also a T6, but it sports a custom aluminum block built by 021 Motor AB (aka oggeracing). The engine works with a Garrett G40 1150 turbocharger, while the exhaust header design takes things to another level.
Further down the line, we find a 4-inch stainless downpipe and 3.5-inch titanium exhaust pipe, with the majestic workg, welding and all, owed to KZR Fabrication.
The power? His old engine made up to 800 hp and while usability and race reliability may limit the growth, the new hardware should climb even higher. And this is sent to the rear wheels via a Sellhom MPG sequential transmission. Of course, the suspension has been heavily modified for drifting, there’s a wide-angle steering kit, while the machine features a ton of other mods you’d expect to find at this level of competition.
Now, Brunberg plans to test his new setup for the Volvo 745 in late March, and I wish him the best of luck for this year—for one, we should also see his going sideways for Gatebil 2023 over in Norway (this festival season lasts between May 19th and October 1st, but the competition time for the 2023 Scandinavian Drift Series where this machine competes is more generous). Until then, you can check out his now-old shenanigans in the second Instagram clip below.
