Volvos are unusual by nature. It’s arguably their greatest trait. And while the modern ones are a little less quirky than the old bricks, that can be addressed. Take this 2018 Volvo V90 in Big Bird Yellow, for example. It was totally overhauled by SARSYS, a company that performs friction testing on airport runways, and it features a slew of specialized equipment like a fifth wheel and tire underneath the trunk.
SARSYS stands for Scandinavian Airport and Road Systems. Previously, Saabs were the outfit’s vehicle of choice, but it later switched to Volvos (RIP Saab). This specific rig is a T5 Inscription model with a 2.0-liter turbo-four making 250 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. And because it’s the fancy trim, it has a panoramic sunroof, adaptive cruise control, and headlight washers. Nice!
As for that extra wheel, it’s a key component in the friction testing setup. It’s pneumatically powered, and there’s an onboard air compressor that enables it to lift and lower. I was totally unfamiliar with this type of tech, but I found a description of how it works on SARSYS’s website:
“The measuring wheel is not attached to the chassis of the host vehicle, but rather it is only connected to the rear axle via a spring. This unique design guarantees that the vertical ground pressure is absolutely constant at 1,400 Newtons, consequently yielding highly reproducible measuring results. The measuring tire has a material, shape, and tread which closely resemble those of a normal aircraft- or car-tire, depending on area of usage. This gives friction readings that closely correlate with true friction values that are received from aircraft or car operations.”
Data is relayed to the secondary screen between the front seats, which also acts as a control center. It’s being sold on Cars & Bids with all of this equipment still intact, and even if you don’t have much use for friction testing equipment, you could surely do something with the Kenwood NX-3000 two-way radio, right?
Maybe the most inconvenient modification, besides the hole in the cargo area, is the rear-seat-mounted water tank. Or if you plan to use this for its intended purpose rather than as a daily driver, perhaps that’s one of the Volvo’s perks. Either way, it supplies water for the sprayer system that’s meant to simulate conditions when a dry surface turns wet. The seller explains in the comments that, when the tank is full, you shouldn’t go over 60 miles per hour. Noted.
SARSYS’s entire fleet of tester vehicles and trailers is painted this signature yellow shade, so you can see them from a mile away. (That’s purely anecdotal, but you get the point.) It’s also the entire reason I clicked on the for-sale ad, and only then did I learn the rest of this information. I imagine it would be a hit at your local Cars and Coffee. Don’t you?
Bidding ends on this car Tuesday, July 14. There have been 25 bids at the time of publishing, and the highest sits at $6,800—pretty cheap for a car with just over 25,000 miles. Then again, it’ll take a special type of person to buy it. You can bet they’re out there, though.
Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@thedrive.com