Saab Wheels - part of the Saab mojo
I’ve written a number of times on how the wheels maketh the car. This entry’s been prompted by two things:
1) The perception that Saab have a lost at least part of their mojo in the last few years. This question was asked and answered earlier in the week. I think there’s a general agreement that whilst still nice to look at and fantastic to drive, Saabs have moved a little toward the generic in the styling and character department in the last few years.
2) Car and Driver’s 10 Sexiest Wheels article, which didn’t feature the two-tone Turbo X rims (or any of Saab’s sexy rims) in what I think was a major snub.
How could these not be sexy? Maybe they’re just too masculine?
C&D include some wheels that are nice, but not what I’d call sexy, and a couple that are pretty generic, but they’re placed on nice cars. The black wheels of the Lotus Exige S and the Porsche RS3 don’t do anything for me at all. Neither do the star-spokes on the Lamborghini. On the other hand, the Golf GTI wheels, along with the Alfa 8c wheels, are outstanding. Just MHO there.
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One of the great things about Saabs are the unique and distinctive wheels. Once again, Ill have to reference my primitive Aussie upbringing here.
When I was a kid, the only people who had “mag” wheels were cashed up hoodlums who liked to spend their rent money on tyres after smoking them up at the lights. Aussie cars - and there was no other kind - all had steel rims and hub caps. If you were really fancy, maybe you had full wheel covers. Wowwwwwww.
You can imagine me coming across Saabs then, and not only did you get the turbo rush and the intelligently designed leather interior, but you also got real alloy wheels.
Of course, they were even more than just real.
They were distinct. All the hoons with mags here in Australia had ones called Speedway mags, or Centerlines, or 12-slotters. The 12-slots were only on Fords, but the others could be found on just about anything. Saab wheels suited Saabs alone. They were made for the car and as such, you never (or very rarely) saw them on anything else.
And they were mega-cool. Is there anything in the world cooler than a classic 900 SPG (Aero) from the late 1980’s or early 90’s with super-Aero rims? The quick answer is NO. It’s a classic look that’s still absolutely sensational almost 20 years later.
Those three-slot rims and their derivatives are the classic Saab rim and I’ve not seen another company do a rim that’s similar. What’s more, I don’t think they’d suit any other car. Saab own that design theme and it looks absolutely awesome.
That’s mojo. When something’s great and it’s all yours.
Other personal favourites are the original Inca rims from the Saab 99 Turbo and any minilites on an older Saab, though these obviously aren’t unique to Saab.
If you’re reasonably new to Saab and haven’t checked out some of the older wheels, there’s a great reference site for them here. You’ll get a great retrospective right up to the mid 1990’s.
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The good thing about all this is that Saab still make some pretty darn good wheels. There might be a few other areas where their design has gone a little more mainstream, but their wheels are still pretty distinctive and more often than not, very attractive. The Turbo X rims are a classic case in point, as are the new Incas, the double-Y from the 2002 9-3 Aero or these newer double-blade wheels that we just don’t see enough of.
Apart from the 9-7x in the US, I don’t recall seeing any of Saab’s wheels on other GM brands, which is a good thing. It’s an important point of distinction between model ranges.
It’s stuff like this that’s distinctly Saab. This is what makes up Saab’s mojo. It’s a combination of engineering, design and philosophy that was always unique to the little Swede.
Wheels are a part of it, and I hope to get to other parts of it soon.
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Swade,
The Saturn LS had the same 5 spoke wheels seen on late 90’s-early 00’s 9-3s & 9-5s. My jaw dropped the first time I saw them. Here’s a pic: http://images.webmakerx.net/Photo/2003/Saturn/LS/1G8JU54F13Y551753_2.jpg
I agree 100% wheels make a car. I passed on a ‘08 9-3 XWD Aero becuase the US spec wheels make the car look so pedestrian (that and the wheel gap - the Turbo X is a bit lower, so hopfully the ‘09 Aeros will be too). I figured without the eLSD I’d do just as well in the New England snow with a ’sexier’ looking FWD Aero (just my spin so I can justify a new eLSD equipped car in a few years ;).
I think part of the problem is that Saab has one of the best wheel selections of any manufacturer, but all of the cool ones are utterly underused, especially in the US.
Car and Driver at least MENTIONED Saab in their Article, which speaks volumes about how the writers think of Saab and their reputation for making some of the coolest and weirdest wheels on the market. The problem is that in the US, all that we see of Saab’s wheel mojo are the love-em-or-hate-em Turbo X wheels. I love them, but to non Saab-people they’re polarizing to say the least.
It’s just frustrating to me to see the excellent selection of wheels that Saab has, only to see the totally boring selection that they offer to US buyers. Cool wheels only help a brand if you can actually buy them, and it’s almost as if GM went out of their way to pick the most boring ones in Saab’s stable for the US market.
So instead of the great wheels like the 17″ 15 spoke, 3-spoke double evo, 5-spoke double bridge, 5-spoke twin and 18″ 10-spoke, 5-spoke split, 5-spoke claws, 5-spoke stars, V-spokes or Incas, if you want to buy a 9-3 Aero in the US you had better like the relatively boring 17″ anniversary rims. If you want the fuel-sipping 2.0T it’s even worse, as you can only get it with boring 16″s, which is just typical GM “if you’d like nicer wheels then we’d be more than happy to sell you them along with the more expensive trim level” thinking.
Wheels can make or break a car and you’re seriously hurting that car’s sales prospects when you only offer it with one set of boring-looking rims. BMW can afford to have a lackluster wheel selection because they come with a BMW attached to them, Saab needs to break out the “wow!” wheels in full force to attract much needed attention to the brand.
Those C&D choices are abysmal. How can they rate that awful looking S5 wheel over most of what Saab has released. The only rim in that whole list I rate is that Alfa Romeo one as it looks less “American Bling” than all the others.
I agree with Zippy, the only wheel on that list that could be called sexy is the Alfa 8C’s… No black wheels are ever sexy since they make the car looks wheel-less….
How about the 900-SE Coupe circa 1996 with the Viking Shield wheel…..that wheel SCREAMED Saab Swedish heritage!!
I’m also surprised that the Volvo Pegasus rims from the R’s didn’t make the cut. Those were some of the most distinctive wheels of the 00’s and came on one of the coolest cars of the 00’s. They’re so understated, yet so aggressive looking.
Just for the record, I am the current owner of the red SPG in the picture above, with the Super Aero rims. It is Taylor Welden’s old car, which was sold and parted out by the buyer (after he blew the motor). I bought the shell for $400, and hauled it back to Minnesota last summer. I’ve been working on it since.
Here is how the car currently looks:
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd119/saab99turbo/Resurrection%20SPG/red-bumper-strips-2.jpg
I drove the car to the Carlisle Saab event in the middle of May, and the car received third place in the SPG division.
I have a whole bunch of pictures from the rehabiliation project in this album at Photobucket, including some from the trip back.
http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd119/saab99turbo/Resurrection%20SPG/
Of the ten listed, I liked the two Audi offerings. The A5 could be described as a living sculpture. It looks like it is either growing or moving. I like that.
The R8 looks fairly nice, but would look better in a solid five spoke pattern. IMHO, most solid five spoke alloys look good.
The Alfa rims bring back memories of the Porsche rotary telephone dial rims. But in this case, the rims are too big for the car.
My vote goes to Greg Abbott for those SPG rims. Those are awesome!
The alfa wheels were the only nice ones on that list! Yeah, the Turbo X wheels should have been on there….
In protest, I’m changing my Gravatar!
Said and Done!
That’s ridiculous that the VW GTi rims made #10. The Lambo’s rims look like old-school Works rims. The Corvette ZR-1 rims are pretty much BBS wheels and, imo, are to common to be on that list.
The only rims that I feel should remain are the Alfa Romeo’s 8C, the Infiniti G37s, the Audi A5’s, and the Ferrari 430 Scuderia.
For the record I dont think the turbo x wheels should be on the list either… Not sure there are any Saab wheels that should make the “sexy” list, beautiful or scandinavian or unique…those lists should have saab wheels for sure… but sexy? I’m not so sure….
It’s a silly list. They seem to include only OEM wheels — but many of the OEM wheels they include are copies of the best after-market wheels. The Corvette wheels they include, for example, are hopelessly an after-market design.
I’m not sure any Saab wheels ought to be on the list, either, but IMHO there are some Porsche wheels left out that should be there.
I agree the Turbo-X wheels are amazing. You really have to see them in person - the pic above is the best I’ve seen to get a sense for these wheels. One thing I’ve noticed is that they look even better with brake dust on them.
Do you have that pic in high-res? That would make a great desktop!
That’s amazing, Greg. I think that’s the second or third time I’ve published an image here without knowing it was your car. I think I’ve done it with the 99T and the Viking wheels on your 9-5 in previous instances. Or maybe it was just the 99? Anyway, it’s a small Saab world.
Best 3-spoke wheels:
Pretty much anything by Saab. For example, there’s a decent 9-5 in my building with the ‘Thor Hammers’ that look great.
Best 4-spoke wheels:
This is a very rare type because its can look monotonous. Other than Saab the only other maker I’m aware of is Saturn (which looked incredibly boring). The Inca’s found on Saab 99’s are the exception that proves the rule. Al Incredibly intricate design that doesn’t look overdone our busy.
5 spoke:
- The classic Ferrari Pentagrams are iconic and I’m shocked they didn’t make the list
- Porsche has had many great designs, including the Fuchs, Mille Miglias, Carerras, and ‘teledials’.
6-spoke and up:
From a physics perspective, once you get beyond 5 spokes you’re just adding unnecessary mass. The only exception I’d make is the flat-faced Porsche 928 wheels and the Honda Factory Performance wheels. Everything else is bling for more show than go.
Greg,
Its fantastic that you have rescued Taylors car, it truly was a halo car for us C900 owners/tuners to look up to.
The person that bought it and parted it needs to be hung out to dry IMHO, it WAS and WILL be a awesome car again.
All the best
a.
When I’m driving my Turbo X, the number one people comment about is the wheels. They’re usually loved, sometimes hated, but never go unnoticed.
PS… ditto with the 17″ DoubleSpokes on my 9-5 Aero.
The only wheel at that Car & Driver article that did anything for me was of the 2008 Audi R8. Although I’m not a great fan of the Turbo X wheel, I DO give Sabb great kudos for a unique & innovative design.
Most those 10 Best Wheels looked like “also rans” - nothing new & interesting like Saab’s wheels & associated history.
My favorite current Saab wheel that I’m lusting for is the 18″ V-spoke, which doesn’t seem to be available in the US market.
This is where I finally found it: http://www.saab.com.au/main/AU/en/model/93_S/10/T/2/accessories_result.shtml
I wish one of Saab’s cool rims made it onto my 03 linear. I just got the 16″ 10 spoke, which sucked any sporty appearance the car has right up.
I bought ASA AR9 for it and now it looks so awesome