Volvo 363 CS - the “Swedish suitcase” widely known in narrow circles

There is very little information about the Volvo model under the symbol 363 CS. And there is a whole layer of people who are interested, perhaps an army. Volvolubs. Or what to call those to whom you give either a Swedish car or nothing. “Practical” is the best description for owners of examples of the Scandinavian automobile industry.


These people know: buy a Volvo and don’t worry about the safety of passengers and your wallet: there will be no repairs at all, or very rarely. What the descendants of the Vikings are famous for is their conscientiousness. They made a thing, which means it lasts forever. Calm, balanced, calculating. But even they, with their icy character, once decided to create a “hot hatch”. No, not their topic...

Prerequisites for the birth of a model

In the 70s of the last century, a fashion arose to please the poor user of turning family runabouts into something like sports cars. Production cars were equipped with more powerful engines, sports suspensions, and some aerodynamic body kit.


The modernized cars were called “hot hatchbacks.” However, this is an unofficial term. The Swedes also gave chase, but in a sluggish Scandinavian manner. The Volvo 340 was chosen as a prototype.

Source code

This is a model from the successful “three hundredth” series, released from 1975 to 1991. As always, the Swedes thought through every detail in the design. But special attention was paid to the strength of the body and the deformation zones were strengthened. It is not for nothing that the Americans, when developing a method for car safety in 1978, took the Scandinavian product as a standard.

Dimensions of the rear-wheel drive three-door Volvo 340:

✅ Length - 4300 mm
✅ Width - 1660 mm
✅ Height - 1392 mm
✅ Center distance – 2400 mm
✅ Clearance - 141 mm
✅ Weight - 1092 kg

The manual 5-speed gearbox manufactured by Renault was located unusually - on the De Dion rear tubular axle in the same unit with the gearbox. The gearbox was connected to the engine by a cardan shaft enclosed in a “torque tube.”


The result, of course, was a long transmission tunnel. But the weight distribution was almost ideal, especially since the fuel tank was placed in front of the rear axle. This arrangement ensured stable handling and stability on the road.

The gasoline 4-cylinder in-line engine was characterized by the following indicators:

✅ Volume - 1397 cm³
✅ Power - 64 liters. With. at 5,5 thousand rpm
✅ Torque – 103 N*m at 2,5 thousand rpm

The performance data was good for its time: maximum speed - 145 km/h, acceleration dynamics - 16,5 seconds to the first hundred. Average fuel consumption was 8 l/100 km.


The front suspension of the Volvo 340 used MacPherson struts, and the rear suspension used longitudinal springs. The brakes are disc at the front and hydraulic drum at the rear.

The car, designed by the Dutch stylist John de Vries, was called the “Swedish suitcase”. Sometimes the offensive “brick” sound was heard. Well, well, envy...

Hot hatch 363 CS

So, taking the 340th model as a basis, the Swedes decided to create a GT class - a high-speed car for highways. They installed a 2,7 liter engine with V6 architecture. The power unit was combined with a 5-speed manual transmission from Alfa Romeo.


The transmission was positioned as in the original. The body was painted gray, orange and black stripes were applied and... That's it. We've stalled. We calculated the costs of modernization, possible profits and risks. We saw that speed is not a Scandinavian thing.

The only working copy produced (according to unofficial information, three models) can be found in the photo on the Internet. The car, however, is exhibited at public European events. But there is little chance of seeing the “suitcase” under the symbol 363 CS in person. Although, who knows what a true volvolube is capable of...