The Volvo 780 grand touring coupe was introduced at the International Auto Show in Geneva, Switzerland in 1985. The Volvo 780 marked the return of a two-door 2+2 seater coupe to the Volvo line-up. The Volvo 780 was introduced to the US market in 1987. Volvo's official production total for the 780 is 8,518 cars built between 1986 and 1991 and 5,695 were imported to the U.S.
The design of the Volvo 780 was different from the other models with a sleek, low profile, inheriting some of the styling of the other 700 series cars, and did not have the severe angles and sharp corners. Volvo 780 had a hood, trunk, and roof lines that were slightly lower than the standard 700 series profile, and the C-pillar was wider and had a more gradual slope down to the trunk. Volvo 780 had improved headroom and the window frames had black matte trim, and were accented with chrome. Chrome also highlighted the door handles, bumpers, and side mouldings.