Until recently, I had never spotted one of the elusive "Polar" Volvos. However, while I was in Italy, it seemed like every Volvo I saw was a Polar version car!

The Polars to which I am referring are the 1992 240s and 740s. It's my understanding that the 240 came in Polar trim, whatever that was, only in 1992, and so I would assume the same is true for the 740. It seems that the 900s were released as Polars sometime around 1998, but I didn't see any of these cars.

So, I was in several different Italian cities about two weeks ago, and during my time in Florence especially I noticed these cars. Literally less than three hours after getting into the city, the two Volvos that I had seen up close were Polar versions, a white 240 and a white 740 (both wagons). The next day I saw yet another 240 or 740 (can't remember which; only vaguely remember it) that was also a Polar.

Considering that I was also recently in Gothenburg (Göteborg; a story for another day) and saw zero Polar Volvos there, I was wondering if this trim level was something that was only or at least primarily sold in Italy alone. I get the feeling that Italy might be some sort of a special market--I seem to recall coming across some engine designations/types that were used only in Italy, as in more horsepower or fewer emission restrictions or something.

Does anyone know what the deal is with the Polar trim? Is it Italian-only, or did other countries get them?

Also, info about a Polar Volvo would be useful--what makes them special? I could discern no special features of these cars, other than that perhaps they were white in color. The 240 I saw didn't even have alloy wheels, just the regular ones with plastic covers.
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'89 244 GL -- 115,XXX miles (see profile for info on car)