The first sportier Volvo 240 was the 242 GT produced in 1978 to 1980.
The exterior was modified to be made unqiue from the usual 242. The usual chrome of the 74-77 style sedan was painted black. The so-called "commando bumpers" were black (the early bumpers of the 240s were called this because of its impressive ram-rod capability), the rearview mirrors were also painted black, all of the chrome around the windows were black and the border around the tail light lenses were also painted black. All of the GTs retained the old style dual 180mm or 7" round headlights of the '77 and older 240s (some european-spec GTs had headlight wipers). The hood and trunk both had raised center panel, differing from the usual flat hood and trunk. The most unusual exterior modification from the stock 240 was the vinyl stripes that highlighted the curves of the GT. They were black and orange. The sides had a thick black stripe with a thin orange stripe beneath. The front spolier, hood and trunk all had thin orange and black stripes highlighting the
edges of their curves. One of the most idenifying aspects of the GT would be the grille. The grille had dual rectangular Bosch foglamps. The usual 240 before '78 did not have air dams (or front spoilers). The '78 and the '79 both had a dam that wrapped around the lower edge of the bumper with 2 usual rectangular holes. The '80 had a dam that twisted in the frontal direction with 3 auxiliary vent holes in the middle of the usual 2. The true break from the norm in terms of hardware, not trim packaging was the alloy wheels. The '78 and '79 had 185/70R14 chrome 14" alloy wheels. The '80 GT had the 195/65R15 "Virgo" 15" alloy wheels, the same found on the later 240 Turbo models. The '78 rear end was the same as the '74-78 style, however this changed in '79-80 to the '79-'84 style. The '78 had red parking reflectors on its rear quarter, and had a decal on the front fenders in front of the door (242GT 2.1). Both were shaved in 1979.
The interior package of the GT was unusual and very popular. The entire interior was black. The comfortable front and back seat covers were dark blue cloth with a orange stripe down the middle. The back and door panels were black with an orange stripe running parallel of the top. The dashboard had a red plastic trim stripe across the middle. The Steering wheel was a smaller and sportier 14" compared to the "whale boat" size of 15 or 16". It had a different horn pad with cool stiching and a orange centerpiece with GT embossed with black. The shifter boot was wrapped with black leather cover. The optional tachometer was standard. Most GTs had sunroofs. The GT came with a spare wheel, and a kit with a compressor in the trunk.
The 2-door 242 GT had two engines B21E and B21F of B21 family and the B23E (stock engines). The B21F was the only engine of the GT imported into the US. The B21F was a 2.1 liter 4 cylinder, normally aspirated, overhead cam, rear wheel drive engine, producing about 110 hp. The B21E is a similar engine, however it produces 123 hp and the B23E was a 140 hp, 2.3 liter version. Both the B21E and the B23E engine was not imported into the US because of exhaust limitations. The GT's acceleration of 0-60 mph is 9.8 seconds, the rear differential ratio is 4.1:1, the drivetrain is the strong M46 4 speed with overdrive manual transmission (3,71; 2,16; 1,37; 1; OD: 0,798; R: 3,68). The rear brakes were left stock, the front brakes are the better and more effective ventilated brakes, which was not standard for another half decade. The suspension set apart the GT from the ordinary models. It had 30% stiffer front springs. The '78 had 21mm front and 21mm rear anti-sway bars, up from the usual 19mm front and sometimes none rear anti-sway bars. The '79 had 23mm front and 21mm rear bars. The '80 had standard bars. Unusually, all GT models had gas-pressurized shocks (DeCarbon) similar to the later Turbo. The 1979 year of the GT has what is considered the best handling package off all 240 and previous models, with the '78 running in second.
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