You Can Buy Paul Newman's Corvette-Powered Volvo Wagon

Photo: RM Sotheby’s

Legendary Hollywood actor Paul Newman was nominated for and won numerous awards over his career, including an Academy Award for Best Actor. Alongside his achievements in film, he had a decorated career in racing. As a driver, he won four SCCA National Championships and finished second at the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans. His racing team Newman/Haas Racing racked up an impressive tally of eight national championships in IndyCar. Now, one of the team’s greatest gifts to Newman is up for auction, a Volvo wagon fitted with an engine and a transmission from a Corvette.

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Photo: RM Sotheby’s

In 2007, Newman/Haas Racing gave the actor a 1998 Volvo V90 fitted with a Chevrolet LS2 V8 engine, the same engine used in the C6 Corvette. The six-liter engine was mated to a GM four-speed automatic transmission. The team jokingly referred to the modified wagon as the Volvette and fixed a V06 badge to the rear. RM Sotheby’s is now auctioning the Volvette as a part of the High Speed: Paul Newman’s Racing Legacy event.

Photo: RM Sotheby’s

Newman had an established passion for modifying Volvo wagons. His first project was a 1988 Volvo 740 fitted with a 3.8-liter turbocharged V6 engine from a Buick Grand National. The second during the 1990s was a Volvo 960 with a supercharged five-liter Ford V8. He even convinced talk show host and fellow IndyCar team owner David Letterman to buy one.

Photo: RM Sotheby’s

The V90 was conceived and built by the team without Newman’s knowledge and presented to him as a surprise. Sadly, Newman didn’t get to spend much time with the Volvo as he was diagnosed with lung cancer and died in 2008.