I don’t know why anyone would do it, but do it they have. This…errrr….unique and yet somehow intriguing vehicle is actually for sale and it looks like it’s going very cheap at just a few thousand crowns. Yes, this urban visual assault vehicle can be yours!
The car is for sale at Swedish selling site, Blocket.se and there’s more details there if you’re a Swede-reader.
And in case you think this just sits in someone’s shed and doesn’t get out and about…..
Just drive it carefully because I’m not sure you’d want to be in this one in a crash, ok?
Thanks to Andy, the resident TS vocalist, I came across this very even-handed review of Saab 9000 Turbo from 1991. It was done by MotorWeek, a program produced by Maryland Public Television here in the US. For those of you not from the States, Maryland is a relatively small but densely populated state just north of the capitol, Washington, D.C. Additionally, here in the US, generally only one station on television in any given area is “public”, that is, government-supported and commercial-free.
I’ve always loved MotorWeek for their reviews of vehicles. They are long on objectivity and content, but short on glitz and entertainment values. Since public television is commercial-free, their reviews tend to be a little longer and more detailed than their counterparts on commercial television. On the other hand, I’ve not been such a fan of the Goss’ Garage (sic) package. I feel that it’s much too general and much too simplified for most true auto enthusiasts (case in point: one segment spent about five minutes talking about why oil changes needed to be done on a regular basis).
This review of the 1991 9000 is no disappointment. It shows off the 9000 in a good light, and lays the critisicm where it needs to be laid. Easy enough, if you can get past the acid-washed jeans and high-top sneakers. Noice!
What caught my attention here was a comment from John Davis comparing Saab to other European brands towards the close of the video:
“Saab takes a more evolutionary path. One that favors refining what works rather than chasing the latest marketing gimmick. This has allowed Saab products like the 9000 Turbo to consistently offer value, performance and an exhilerating driving experience you can’t get anywhere else.”
That’s about as succinct as it gets, folks. Well said, Mr. Davis, well said.
Is there a kernel of truth in that quote for Saab to build on for future marketing campaigns? I think that there certainly is. Portray Saab as a refinement of what works. Turbocharging is a prime example, as is front-wheel drive and XWD. Saab: Simply refined or Born from Jets and refined by drivers. Brighter minds than mine can bring that message out in better ways, but I really think that general train of thought has legs.
One of the great revelations of this week’s meeting with Steve Shannon and Jan-Willem Vester was their commitment to “strengthen” the Saab marketing message. According to Mr. Shannon, the upcoming marketing campaign will still play on the Saab aircraft heritage, but will be focused on Saab’s history with turbocharging. They are also planning to include messages that will, in their opinions, attract the smarter, younger auto enthusiast.
My speculation is that Saab will feature the turbocharger as both “green” and “go”. Performance that makes sense. It is already happening with the BioPower everywhere and the turbo diesel in Europe. The remainder of the message isn’t so clear, but I believe that you’ve already seen the first wave of appeals to the urban sophisticates with Anthony Lo so prominently displayed during the last year or so. Again, it’s my guess, but artful design and European heritage will play a large part.
To get us talking about that turbocharging history, Saab USA provided these cars for us to flog on Tuesday:
I drove them all but the 9000. Given more time, I would have driven it, too. Pictures below!
Eat your heart out, Swade. I must say that I learned a valuable lesson with the 99: power steering is a good thing, a very good thing.
Check out the period-correct plates! For those of you outside the US or too young to remember (ahem), 1976 was the year of our country’s bicentennial so the nationalistic red, white and blue motif was ubiquitous. Michigan was obviously no exception. (It even has the 1978 registration sticker!!)
As I looked at these shots in my inbox earlier this week I pondered whether or not there’s a more neglected Saab model than the 1st generation Saab 9000. It really only has the Carlsson model to hang its hat on. I’d venture a guess that even the Saab 90 crosses the average Saabists minds, purely out of curiosity, more often than the 1st generation of Saab’s ‘large’ car.
The obvious question is why? When the first 9000s came out they extremely well appointed. There was basically only one model with a turbo here in Australia and the 9000 Turbo has all the bells and whistles you could ask for. It looked great for the time and still cuts a fine figure today when its dressed properly.
It had the venerable Saab hatch and could carry an elephant. It had the Saab turbo that could almost literally fly and it had enough creature comforts to make it a mobile Swedish gentleman’s club.
This one’s not quite like that. It’s been transformed from gentleman’s club to something more akin to “nightclub” but it’s still got that 1gen 9000 look and I, for one, was very pleased to see it.
I don’t have the original email with me at the moment, but I’m pretty sure the photos were taken somewhere around Jönköping, which is around 120km southeast of Trollhattan.
I really have to get myself a big property with a properly sized shed so that I can start a right proper collection of Saabs. This model 9000 is particularly important to me personally as it’s the first type of Saab I ever rode in and drove myself. It was an apparition, an eye opener and the beginning of everything I know and love about Saabs today.
Kaylan advises me it’s all running OK again. She had in on the dyno again recently and recorded another 470+ run, but they were having trouble keeping it in place. The expected output will be around 500hp once they get it all sorted.
Here’s some pics that came in a few days ago. Click to enlarge.
Yes, it’s only got 2 doors. Yes, that’s a real Saab engine in there and yes, those are the new Incas on each corner. A most unique Saab that you can see more of here.
And if you’re wondering if a girl can handle all that power (you sexist person, you), then wonder no more. Kaylan – licenced drag racer!!
From Flickr, I found this rather amusing and perhaps all-too-realistic rendition of the famous Saab Moose Test.
It appears that this is a Saab 9000 that actually experienced a crash with a moose and it was subsequently adorned with a faux dead moose for the exhibit. At least, for the sake of the nasal passages of the viewers, I hope that moose is fake!
I was saving this little piece of Saab trivia for a rainy day, but since the V-8 is a hot topic right now, why not?
As I mentioned previously, I’m not sure that Saab should spend time developing a V-8 power plant option, but it wouldn’t be the first time that it came to light.
In 1989, the engineers at Valmet, a long-time Saab manufacturing partner in Uusikaupunki (Nystad), Finland, took it as a personal challenge to develop and fit a V-8 engine into the Saab 9000. Their counterparts at Saab in Trollhattan said that it couldn’t be done. Of course, resourceful folks that they are, they succeeded in their mission to prove the Saab engineers wrong. As we all know, GM bought a controlling stake in Saab the very next year and thus negated any need for a Saab-developed V-8.
This Saab V-8 was, as it appears, two B202 16-valve engines combined to create a right-angle V-8 engine which the good folks in Uusikaupunki managed to fit into a 1989 9000 and drive around terrorizing the local law enforcement community.
The Saab engineers in Sweden had said that making a V8 fit the engine bay of the 9000 was impossible. The people at Uusikaupunki didn’t buy it and in 1988 produced a prototype of a V8 engine by combining two 4 cylinder Saab engines. The 4 litre Valmet TF (Twin Four) V8 engine put out almost 300 horsepower and it was mounted sideways under the bonnet of a Saab 9000. No body modification was necessary, the engine fit right in.
The engineers at the factory said that the V8 9000 was “a hoot to drive”. This is evidently backed up by the several speeding tickets that were gathered during the road tests.
Great stuff.
No matter what side of this debate that you are on, would you ever want to stifle creativity like this? I hope not! These “tangents” create new ideas and new technologies. Not all of them are useful, I’ll grant you, but without the failures you cannot have the successes.
