Details of Cars

Volvo 66: the DAF-based small Volvo with Variomatic

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1979 Volvo 66
1979 Volvo 66. Photo by Dennis Elzinga, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Volvo 66 was introduced in August 1975, almost exactly a year after Volvo bought DAF, and before the 300 Series arrived. It was a restyled DAF 66 with the continuously variable Variomatic transmission, sold as a two-door saloon and a three-door estate.

Volvo 66 at a glance

Volvo 66 key facts
Production 1975–1980
Based on DAF 66, styled by Giovanni Michelotti
Bodies two-door saloon and three-door estate
Transmission Variomatic continuously variable transmission
Engines 1,108 cc B110, 47 PS; 1,289 cc B130, 57 PS
Built about 106,000
UK sales no more than 14,000
Main market continental Europe
Successor Volvo 340

History of the Volvo 66

The Volvo 66 came about because Volvo bought into DAF in the early 1970s and needed a small car while its own 300 Series was still being developed. The donor car, the DAF 66, had been styled by Giovanni Michelotti. Volvo restyled it lightly, added larger bumpers and Volvo-style head restraints similar to those of the 240.

1978 Volvo 66 DL
1978 Volvo 66 DL. Photo by Dennis Elzinga, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

What Volvo changed

Most of the differences from the DAF were safety-related. The Volvo had different seats with head restraints, a safety steering wheel, steel side-impact bars in the doors and a de-clutching servo that let the driver change gear with the choke engaged, something the older DAFs could not do because the raised idle speed engaged the centrifugal clutch. The Variomatic also gained a park position that locked the driveline. From 1977 the estate got a wiper on the boot lid.

The 66 was available with two Renault-derived engines: the 1,108 cc B110 with 47 PS and the 1,289 cc B130 with 57 PS. The two-door coupé body offered on the DAF 66 was dropped.

Volvo built roughly 106,000 saloons and estates and no more than 14,000 were sold in Britain. Most went to continental Europe; in Sweden the car was never accepted by traditional Volvo buyers, who were used to larger, rear-wheel-drive cars. The 300 Series replaced it from 1976 onwards.

Design and features

  • Variomatic: DAF’s belt-driven CVT, with a park position added by Volvo.
  • Volvo safety kit: head restraints, a safety steering wheel and side-impact bars in the doors.
  • Two body styles: two-door saloon and three-door estate, the estate with a boot-lid wiper from 1977.
  • Small engines: Renault-based 1.1 and 1.3-litre fours.
  • Dutch build: made at Born alongside the DAF it was derived from.

Volvo 66 versions

  • 66 DL: the better-equipped trim.
  • 66 GL: the top trim level.
  • 66L: the base version sold in some markets.
  • Estate: three-door wagon, popular in the Netherlands.

The 66 was replaced by the Volvo 300 Series, which used the same Dutch factory and a developed version of its transmission ideas. More cars are in the Volvo collection.

Sources

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