Forget The Hypercars – This £1,500 Swedish Family Hauler Stole the Show At Goodwood

While multi-million-pound hypercars battled for attention at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed, something completely unexpected emerged as the real crowd-pleaser.

Forget the £3.1 million Ferrari F80 or the £2 million McLaren W1 making their debuts. The real head-turner was a rusty old Volvo 745 estate that cost just £1,500 six months ago.

My personal connection to the 745 dates back to the early ’90s, when my grandfather bought one.

I remember it well as being quite possibly the most dull, spacious, practical car I’d ever experienced (from the back seat, of course.) It looked just like how the story with this one began.

However, UK-based drifter Axel Pedro Hildebrand had other ideas in mind for his 745, and it was… a little different from what I remember, yet remains equally perfect for picking up the IKEA haul.

From Family Hauler To Fire-Spitting Beast

Until earlier this year, Axel’s 1986 Volvo 745, the wagon (estate) variant of the 740, had spent nearly 40 years living a similar life to my granddad’s – a practical family wagon powered by Volvo’s reliable 2.3-liter B230 “Redblock” engine. 

After acquiring the rusty shell for around $2,000 USD from the Isle of Wight, Hildebrand embarked on a build that would redefine what’s possible with Swedish engineering.

First off, he had a “simple” solution to dealing with the rust – replace every weighty steel panel with carbon-Kevlar bodywork sourced from Sweden itself. Every outer panel is now removable in seconds for easy repairs following the inevitable drifting accidents that are sure to come his way.

Following the makeover, the only remaining steel on the 745 is the roof, bringing the total weight down to just 2,700 pounds (1,225 kg). Despite the weight savings, there was something that simply had to remain – the original walnut trim, because, well… Volvo.

Complete with dishy, blingy JDM Work VS-KF wheels (following their recent reintroduction to the market), it was now ready to break the internet.

The Carbon Kevlar Exterior Isn’t The Only Surprise

Where once sat one of Sweden’s most reliable four-cylinder engines now lives quite the opposite – a bonkers PPRE-built Mazda 20B triple-rotor Wankel rotary engine.

Fed by a massive Garrett G-Series G45-1500 turbocharger capable of supporting 1,500 horsepower, the current “sensible” tune for testing at Goodwood produces around 800 horsepower. Axel confirmed that the engine is rated for 1,000+, leaving plenty of room for future madness.

The exhaust note is unmistakable – an 8,500-rpm rotary shriek combined with a screaming wastegate poking through the hood.

Forget About Supercars, This Was The Real Star Of The Show

When Hildebrand unleashed his creation onto Goodwood’s famous hillclimb, it became the shock crowd-pleaser of the day, and you could hear it across the entire Goodwood estate (and far beyond.)

Completed just days before the event, the huge Swedish luxobarge bounced off the ridiculously high rotary limiter, shooting flames and blanketing the infamous hill in tire smoke.

The sight of a boxy Volvo wagon struggling to avoid tearing up the grass due to its size was pure entertainment for the crowd. Even Mad Mike Whiddett, the godfather of rotary drifting, stopped by to appreciate the build. High praise indeed, especially since Hildebrand cites him as direct inspiration for the project.

Unique Builds Will Always Stand Out, Even On The Ultimate Stage

In a paddock filled with endless rows of some of the greatest multi-million-dollar automotive creations from across the globe, it’s hard to believe a £1,500 Volvo managed to cause such a stir.

Admittedly, it’s had a few more quid thrown at it since, but still – the gentlemen of Goodwood are notoriously hard to please, so it’s praise indeed!

Hildebrand’s Volvo is proof that with enough vision (and Swedish carbon fiber), even the most mundane family car can become a legend.

While he was busy impressing the masses, there was plenty more going on in the background at Goodwood that once again involved far more money than this “budget” build (in comparison!) as Han’s Fast and Furious RX-7 ultimately sold for a staggering seven-figure price tag.

The 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed will be remembered for many things, but the Volvo wagon terrorizing the hillclimb might just be the most lasting.

With talk of plans for this awesome Volvo to compete at Drift Masters, we have a good feeling that the best of what this beast has to offer is yet to come!