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The Turbo X is hitting US shores and I’m pleased to tell you that the first landed-in-the-US-and-sold-to-a-US-customer Turbo X that we have photos of is not only sitting in our site sponsor’s yard, it’s been sold already to a regular reader here!!
When Dan from Lehman Saab informed me that his dealership had already received a couple of XWD Aeros, I shot off an email quick-smart to site sponsor, Saab of Hunterdon, to see where their XWDs were at. The good news came in this morning that a Turbo X arrived over the weekend!
The even better news is that I believe this one is the car that’s already sold to a regular reader here going by the name of Beren in comments. He’s been waiting anxiously for this to arrive and I’m reliably told that he was quite excited to get the call about it today
The Turbo X’s are coming, people. It’s very exciting stuff.
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27 responses so far ↓
1 turbin
// May 6, 2008 at 9:15 am
Love those wheels! They just get better and better, true Saab classics but only in the Turbo X colouring.
2 swade
// May 6, 2008 at 9:41 am
Agreed, Turbin. Whilst I initially decried the fact that SaabUSA weren’t going to offer the 19-inch wheels, I now think it’s an OK decision. They look well and truly in proportion at 18-inches and the design is just awesome.
3 detroitsaab93
// May 6, 2008 at 10:51 am
Man, I am jealous, what a beautiful car! Those wheels are awesome!!!
4 2-don
// May 6, 2008 at 11:04 am
I wasn’t sure about those wheels until that shot. They are awesome! Any news on how many Turbo X’s are still available in the states?
5 swade
// May 6, 2008 at 11:12 am
I think there’s still plenty left, 2-don. The sales figures that we were told earlier were dealers snapping them up, not necessarily sales to customers. So I think there’s several hundred left right now, but I’m not sure how long that will last once they start being test driven.
Word is the exhaust note alone could sell this car.
6 Alex
// May 6, 2008 at 11:22 am
Swade you made my day, I can’t wait until the local dealers get them so I can thrash one on some country roads
7 joemama
// May 6, 2008 at 11:30 am
I think Saab USA is going to have to apply the incentives if they want to sell the TurboX. I know you don’t want to see that happen Swade, but with the economy the way it is….it might have to.
8 Alex
// May 6, 2008 at 11:35 am
They should have just slashed the MSRP and made it a ~$38-39k car. For that kind of money it would come in right above a well-spec’d Evo or STI and it would have a much easier time finding buyers.
9 Tudon Martinez
// May 6, 2008 at 11:55 am
Thanks, now if only I could find an extra $40K!
10 Beren Erchamion
// May 6, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Ha – man swade you are fast! I just emailed you about it – should have looked here first
Quite excited is an understatement. I’ll write up a review and send it to you for your site if you like.
11 Kroum
// May 6, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I just hate those orange inserts in the headlamps, it looks so much sleeker without them. Stupid DoT rules.
12 SnoFun
// May 6, 2008 at 1:10 pm
About those tires, Beren. Are they Pirelli P Zero Neros (sure look like it), or Michelin Pilot HX MXM4’s Touring tires as some have been bemoaning ? Personally, I’d prefer a set of Goodyear GS-D3’s, but that’s just me…
Congratulations!
13 saab9x
// May 6, 2008 at 1:23 pm
congrats, beren! the car’s awesome; the wheels, breathtaking.
14 Abs
// May 6, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Just came back from my friendly Saab dealership in Seattle, and was told that Turbo Xs will not be in our neck of the Evergreen woods until July! We definetly get the short end of the straw.
15 MarkoA
// May 6, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I love those wheels and exhaust tips! It would be intresting to see what kind of an effect the wheels make while cruising slowly. Like, how the old school 3-spoke Aeros look cooler than ice
if you like.
16 Gunnar
// May 6, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Swade, this is more proof that you, more than most, are in tune with you readership.
17 JT808
// May 6, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Hey Abs, for my sake I hope you’re wrong about the July delivery to the West Coast. From my experience, delivery is usually a few weeks behind the East Coast. Anyone else on the Left Coast have a confirmed delivery date?
18 Hawkeye
// May 6, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Congratulations Beren!
I really love that orange needle on the turbo gauge. It’s going to look great at night.
I suppose this is one of the little features of the Turbo X that set this car apart.
Enjoy!
19 Edonis
// May 6, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Congratulations on a fabulous car, Beren!
Does anyone know why the speedo is in both mph and kmh? I know this isn’t specific to the 9-3 or Saab for that matter, but I’ve always been curious to why it is this way.
20 Beren Erchamion
// May 6, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Yes they are the Pirelli tires. A decent tire according to tirerack.com, but they wear fast. I’m usually a Michelin guy, but we’ll see how these do especially since I’m in snow country.
I suppose the “double dial” on the speedo is because in North America we cannot make up our minds on how to measure speed.
beren
21 No.9
// May 6, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Beren, Canada, the biggest country in North America (in area of course), has made up its mind about the metric system about 25 years ago. Three nations have not officially adopted the International System of Units as their primary or sole system of measurement: Liberia, Myanmar and the United States. Beats me why the US is holding out on such a logical system. Mr Spock should run for president
You will surely enjoy your new ride! Not sure you want to tear up some remote dirt road with such a dandy car but that is certainly where it would excel. Luckily, you mention living in snow country. But snow is a little while away, thankfully. Don’t know how far North you live, but we actually still have a little snow left on the north side of the house «up» here in Québec.
Enjoy
22 Joe
// May 6, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Hi all. First time post-er. I just recently test drove a 9-3 Aero a few weeks ago here in Springfield NJ. A great ride. I spoke with my salesmen a few days ago and he invited me back to take the Turbo X out for a so-called spin. HA! He mentioned that they should be arriving in a week or so. He said they were getting one auto and one manual. I’ll let you guys know the aftermath when I’m done with it, although it looks as if I will take an Aero home with me later this month, but will still take the “X” out just for kicks. Cheers!
23 Uncomfortably Numb
// May 7, 2008 at 3:05 am
JT,
From my understanding, which has been completely off in the past
, the July delivery has more to do with the actual production of the cars for dealer stock. Supposedly the only X’s hitting dealers now are those which were pre-ordered for customers. From the looks of it those we ordered for stock purposes are just going into production now so given the 8-10 week timeline, late July sounds about right.
24 BaRa
// May 7, 2008 at 3:37 am
I can’t help myself, but I still hate that fake diffusor on the back of the car. Especially since it’s a very obvious plastic material that looks cheap on an otherwise nicely styled shiny black car.
25 No.9
// May 7, 2008 at 4:07 am
Anything fake is just that, in my book.
26 JT808
// May 7, 2008 at 5:19 am
Hey Un. Numb, thanks for the info. I’m glad my dealership was on top of things and got me the 12th spot on the pre-order list. I’ll probably be one of the last to get theirs since I’m on a rock in the middle of the ocean.
Anyone else signed up to go to the Turbo X Academy in June?
27 Beren Erchamion
// May 7, 2008 at 7:05 am
Ah sorry #9 – being a typical American I forget about all countries above and below us on the globe…and probably to the east and west as well. Although I always seem to remember Belgium for the best in beer.