The Volvo 66 sprang directly from the DAF 66, which was originally styled by Giovanni Michelotti. The compact car was introduced in August 1975, almost exactly a year after Volvo bought DAF, and before production of the Volvo 300 Series began.The Volvo 66 was known for its continuously variable transmission, the Variomatic. The Volvo version of the car was slightly restyled and given larger bumpers compared with those of the original DAF model.