Here’s all the recent news from Saab’s official tuning house in Switzerland.

——

Power Upgrade for 2.0T with XWD

The long awaited Saab 9-3 2.0T XWD has arrived and it is a great car to drive. Independent of weather conditions it provides enough grip to feel secure at all times.

The Hirsch Performance software upgrade adds an additional fun factor to the car’s overall driving experience, and makes it a true driver’s car.

The following figures are for Manual 6 speed (with 6sp Auto in parenthesis)

Top speed - 245 km/h (240 km/h)
0-100 km/h – 7.3 s (7.5 s)
60-100 km/h (4th gear) – 6.4 s (n/a)
80-120 km/h (5th gear) – 7.8 s (n/a)
Fuel consumption combined – 8.2 l/100km (9.6 l/100km)
CO2 combined – 195 g/km (227 g/km)

The new performance upgrade for the Saab 9-3 2.0T XWD delivers 240 hp/350 Nm and will become generally available at the following times:

Week 49 for all TÜV markets (DE, GB, BE, NL, AT, IRL …)
Week 51 for other EU markets (SE, NO, DK, FIN…)
Week 52 for Switzerland

——

New: Stainless steel dual sports exhaust system for the Saab 9-3 V6 XWD

The best sounding Saab ever. For those who enjoyed the sound of the Turbo X, here is more of the same! Despite the distinctively sporty sound, the Hirsch Performance sports exhaust for the V6 XWD has been finely tuned to avoid the typical booming at motorway speeds that can be an annoying companion for many sports exhausts. This exhaust system was developed for the recently launched Saab 9-3 Performance by Hirsch special edition vehicle.

The sound could be described, but should be experienced.

As an option, the exhaust system is also available as a set together with the new Hirsch Performance rear diffusor.

——

Carbon leather interior trim kit

There was one piece left to complete the Hirsch Performance interior design, and here it is: the new carbon-leather interior trim kit. It includes the center console trim, glove box trim (SS/SC/CV) and the door trim (SS/SC – front- and rear door).

A perfect match to the already available carbon leather instrument panel and the leather door handles.

——

Brushed aluminum door sill trim

Now there is a Hirsch Performance door sill trim that adds a special touch to the car’s interior, and perfectly matches the Hirsch Performance aluminum pedals. The door sill trim fits all Saab 9-3 from MY03-.

——

Saab 9-3 Leather Seat frame covers

The all new seat frame covers in black premium leather are elegant and easy to install. They feature visible stitching and smooth, natural grain leather. The perfect add-on for any Saab with the premium leather option.

The covers are available for Saab 9-3 MY03- LHD with electric seats and memory function.

One set consists of driver and passanger front seat frame covers.

——

Software performance upgrades for used cars

Starting December 1, 2008, a 30% discount is offered on all Hirsch Performance software performance upgrades for vehicles from MY05 and older. This special offer gives owners of used Saabs a chance to enjoy the Hirsch Performance driving experience at a very attractive price.

The offer is valid for software upgrades for the Saab 9-3 and Saab 9-5 from MY05 and older.

——

Phase-out of the classic Hirsch Performance wheel

After more then 10 years of representing the Hirsch Performance brand all over the world, the last set of the classic 18×8″ six spoke wheel has left the Hirsch Performance warehouse.

Still in the line-up are all the new Hirsch Performance wheel designs, available in both 18″ and 19″. These designs have been specially designed to match the design of the current Saab 9-3 and 9-5.

——

Ed note: It’s certainly sad to see the end of the line for the classic Hirsch six spoke. Farewell old friend. I wish I’d had a chance to use your services, but then I’m a dumbass who crashed his Viggen!!

–

It’s probably for these reasons that we don’t see a lot of highly modified European cars here in Australia. Like most places, the cars that get modified the most are the local cars. in Australia, that means pretty much anything that’s Australian or Asian. Modified Falcons and Commodores are only now being outnumbered by the Fast and the Furious crowd in what could probably be regarded quite rightly as an automotive generational change.

When I went to Sweden last year with my high regard for European cars in mind, I was quite surprised to see vehicles like these on show……

….but then I shouldn’t have been surprised, really, should I?

Just like the kids back home with their hot Hondas and freaky Falcons, these guys were locals modifying their local cars.

Not content with his discovery of the Saab 9000 Camovertible the other day, SaabRobz has been out there surfing the web looking for other very modified Saabs.

Here’s a few of the cars he found:

A chopped, re-snouted and vee-sixed Saab 95 wagon:

A mildly worked Saab 99T enjoying some attention from the ladies:

And a not-so-mildly worked Saab 99 with a 16 valve turbo slotted in there somewhere…

Here’s a very poor image of a modified Saab 96

But there’s a whole heap of better images of modified 96s here

….including another pic of this:

Not only is this a 99T (one of my favourite Saabs ever) it’s also a convertible. And it’s………very purple.

A rather amazing 95 ute that I’d like to see more of.

And of course, the ‘Saab Sonett V’ supposedly designed as a special by Sergio Coggiola and previously featured here.

——

Somehow it all feels a little disrespectful and a little wonderful all at the same time. All of these people did things to Saabs that I’d never considering doing, but I’m glad they did it.

–

Saab
SAAB- Born From Jets
Saab Photography
Classic Saab
The ultimate SAAB 99 / 90
The “Classic” SAAB 900
Saab 900 Cars (1985-1993)
Saab 9000
Saab 9-3
Saab 9-2X
Saab 9-5
Saab Convertible
Saab BioPower
Saabs Together
Modified Saabs

Car META Directory

GM Europe: Driving Conversations Photo of the Day
European Convertibles and Targas
European Wagons
Swedish Cars
Cars From Uusikaupunki Car Factory
Mavic
European Estate and Combi Cars
Cars cars cars

Drivers of these vehicles, including best-sellers like Saab’s BioPower range, enjoy a bunch of benefits that others don’t. They are exempt from Stockholm’s congestion charge, get free parking in various places, enjoy lower annual vehicle taxes and because there’s only 15% gasoline in the fuel they also see more stable fuel prices.

Up until now, the primary way to get a “Green” vehicle was to buy one new from the manufacturer. Whilst many companies have offered E85 conversions so that people could enjoy the lower fuel price, the converted car wasn’t registered as “Green” and didn’t get the other benefits.

That situation is about to change for some people.

Swedish tuning company, BSR, has just had their E85 tuning kit for the Saab 9-5 approved by the Swedish government. Owners of Saab 9-5 models from 2002 onwards can now purchase the BSR E85C tune and have their car officially re-registered as “Green” and get all the aforementioned goodies on top of the increased performance the tune will deliver.

The certification is the end result of 12 years of work on BSR’s part. Their first ethanol conversion was back in 1996 and they’ve been working on the methodology ever since. It’s only been very recently that the ability to have it government certified has become available. BSR submitted their software to the testing regimen and passed all controlled tests. The E85C tune is available for both 2.0T and 2.3T engines in various forms of the Saab 9-5 range from 2002 to 2007. Check the BSR link, above, for details as to whether your Saab 9-5 is covered.

BSR are now working on certified E85 tuning kits for other makes and I’m sure the Saab 9-3 will be high on their list of prioirities.

–

Congratulations to BSR and all the Swedes who look to benefit from this. I wonder if the cars that are retro-converted to E85 could be added to Saab’s BioPower sales?

–

I still wonder about the durability of parts like fuel lines, tanks and valve seats in cars that are converted. Saab BioPower cars have these changes to suit the nature of E85. I still haven’t been able to get a definitive answer on this.

–

The offer consists of a $70 discount on the purchase of one of State of Nine’s exclusive mesh grilles for these Saab models.

The mesh grilles offered by State of Nine have been designed exclusively for them and are manufactured in Europe according to SoN’s specifications. They’re designed not only to enhance the looks of your Saab 9-3 or 9-5, but also to use your Saab’s existing airflow guides to direct cooling air where it’s needed.

The grilles are made from chrome plated stainless steel to match the existing chrome plating on your Saab, thereby providing that additional touch of class to what is already an outstanding vehicle. The finish won’t fade, corrode or crack; in fact, State of Nine are so happy with this product that they offer a lifetime replacement warranty.

The Saab 9-5 mesh grill from State of Nine:

The Saab 9-3 mesh grille from State of Nine:

The 9-3 mesh grille can be fitted to any of the Sport Sedan, SportCombi or Convertible models, and all of State of Nine’s mesh grilles come with easy-to-follow fitting instructions included. These products are eligible for free delivery within the continental US and can be dispatched via Fedex ground the day after ordering.

——

EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR TS READERS

If you’re thinking one of these might look alright on your Saab 9-3 or 9-5 (and why wouldn’t you?) then State of Nine are offering you an exclusive opportunity to purchase one of these mesh grilles at a discounted price.

These mesh grilles normally retail for $495.

By entering the code TROLLGRILLE in the “promotions code” field during checkout, you’ll get the special TS discount price of $425, saving you $70.

I’d like to thank State of Nine for extending this exclusive offer to TS readers. If you’re looking for a way to enhance your car’s presentation, here’s a great opportunity.

Click here for the State of Nine page for the Saab 9-3 (2003-2007) mesh grille

Click here for the State of Nine page for the Saab 9-5 (2002-2005) mesh grille

–

If you haven’t come across Rayzer before, here’s the description:

The Rayzer lighting system is intended to provide the same sort of function as the driving lights mounted on the bumpers of rally cars, etc. Modern car design doesn’t always make the fitment of those lights practical or visually appealing today, hence the development of the Rayzer system (by former race driver, Lars Svelander).

Instead of being outside the car where they’re difficult to mount, prone to dirt, stonechips and theft, the Rayzer lights are flush-mounted inside the car against the windscreen, fitting in just behind your rear view mirror. The high-mounted position allows for very effective illumination of the road and shoulder ahead.

The dual lamps are HID Xenons and they are wirelessly connected to your vehicle’s high-beam switch. When they sense oncoming traffic, they switch off automatically.

Click here to shoot through to Youtube and see a video of them in action.

The lamps were around US$1200 when I first covered them here at TS. They’re now retailing for US$1,050.

Rayzer have an introductory special for the US market until the end of October, where you can get the Rayzer lamps for US$945. Check them out at Rayzer’s funky new US website.

–

I made my bracket out of aluminium (aloooooooominum for you non-Queen’s English types), using a sheet of flat aluminium for the base and a piece of right-angle bolted onto it to hold the extinguisher bracket.

The base sheet was 3mm thick and 40mm wide. I cut it to 450mm to fit in front of the Alfa’s seats. The outer holes are for the seat bolts, cut at 30mm inside of each edge. The inner holes are where the right angle was attached.

This is the right angle piece with the extinguisher bracket attached. It was important to fit the unit keeping in mind the fill length of the extinguisher once it’s fitted. This means the bracket itself will be off center, but once the extinguisher is fitted, it’ll be nicely placed.

The bolts are 6mm and I used nylon locking nuts to ensure a snug fit that won’t move or squeak.

I had to bore out the holes on the outside as I didn’t have a metal drill bit wide enough. They were 8mm but I bored them out to around 10mm so the seat bolts would fit through adequately.

The installation took a little longer than expected as the seat posts didn’t line up with their holes straight away. I attached the rear posts first in the hope that they’d line up the front ones, but still had trouble. Loosening up the rear ones again meant that I could manipulate the front ones a bit more and eventually I got them in there. The hardest part in the end was the constant re-fitting of the hex key I had to use to tighten them again. I hate hex keys.

The final result is reasonably neat, though it’d probably look better in black. I might remove it and paint it eventually. The mount is very secure and the extinguisher is easily accessible from either seat, without taking up any legroom.

The downside is that being mounted to the seat posts, it limits the forward travel of the seat. This is only an issue if I’m carrying someone in the back, which rarely happens in this car.

Soon, I’ll make up a shroud to cover the extinguisher so that it’s not so visible. Right now it stands out a fair bit and would be a pretty tempting practical joke for some young idiots out for a laugh.

All in all, I’m pretty happy with it. I’m not sure how applicable this design would be to any Saab, especially the newer ones with their electric seats, etc. But for what it’s worth, this one’s a simple design that works pretty well.

-

There’s a guy in Japan who’s built – and is selling – an in-car dock for the Mac Mini. He started life as a programmer and whilt he always loved Macs, ended up in the evil, smelly and leprous world of Windows (I just love to get Eggs fired up!). I guess it’s where the work was.

When the Mac Mini came out in 2005, he figured it was small enough to try fitting into his car. The end result is a Mac Mini docking system that works in conjunction with a touchscreen control system. You can use the Mini as a music store, GPS system, you can even set it up with voice commands and get all ‘Knight Rider’ with it.

The reason Gripen sent the link to me was the following photo from the company website:

It’s a Saab 9-3 convertible with the Mac Mini dock installed. I’m not so sure about that huge screen, but I guess once you’re in your driving position and you’re used to it, you could get by.

I guess the whole point of this is it’s a Mac-nut doing something kinda extreme with their Mac and then offering it to similar like-minded Mac-nuts. All you Windows types will probably scratch your head and just say “whatever”.

The congruence between Saab and Mac has been noted on these pages before, however, and I know there’d be more than just a few people who’d love to see some Mac-style electronics in their Saabs. Me included.

This isn’t quite the way I’d like to go to get it, though. And at just over US$1,000 for the dock and the touochscreen (it’s BYO Mac), it certainly ain’t cheap.

If you’re hungry for some Mac-love in your Saab – here’s where you get it: Mac Mini dock

-

Previous posts on these badges are here, here, here and I really recommend you look here.

Back in August, I stopped for a night in Sydney, on my way to Canada, and caught up with some of the Saab guys up there. My mate Hawkeye has a set of Ivan’s Griffin badges on his 2008 BioPower 9-3 and they looked absolutly awesome. (And Ferd, please tell me why I was so stupid as to not get photos!)

In addition to the standard badges that Ivan makes (see the links, above), you can also request totally customised badges for your car. They come in a matt silver finish with a self adhesive backing and going by Hawkeye’s griffin badges, they’re absolutely superb.

Ivan’s just sent me some photos of some new Saab badges that people have requested for their cars. These were all custom orders.

This one appears on a Saab 9-5 in Hungary:

And in the interior……this one could also look good on the exterior, on the front quarter:

And finally, this was a request from a 9-5 owner in Finland. Typeset is the same as the pre-existing Aero badge:

——

If you’re interested in organising some custom badging, Ivan can whip up a design for a small fee, or you can purchase one of his stock designs for around 5 or 6 Euro each (depending on size).

Contact Ivan at saabdesignshop@gmail.com

-

UPDATE: I should have looked this up earlier. The Talladega model enhancements were as follows:

“Talladega 900SE Turbo” models feature 185-horsepower 2.0-litre Turbo engine; black, silver metallic or cayenne red metallic exterior; 7-spoke light alloy 16″ wheels; leather seats and accessories; colour-matched front spoiler, exterior mirrors and turbo rear spoiler (not available on convertible); “Talladega” exterior identification graphics; bumpers with colour-matched top surface; blacked-out bumper trim strips; and black plush floor mats (four)

——

Last weekend, in Washington, I met a guy named Jeremy who bought a Saab 900 SE Talladega just like that one, and subjected it to one of the most tasteful makeovers I’ve ever seen on a Saab. In fact, my 17 year old stepson, who’s been immersed in the Fast-and-the-Furious-style Japanese automotive culture (as many teenagers are) is now interested in Saabs again thanks to this car.

Here’s a front and rear view of Jeremy’s Tally:

As you can see, this looks quite a bit different to the original Saab 900 shown above. The list of modifications is extensive, as follows:

- Viggen front and rear bumpers,
- 9-3 SE side skirts,
- 9-3 smoked fender blinkers,
- e-Code headlights and corner lights,
- Viggen spoiler,
- Saab UK top spoiler,
- 9-3 grille with a stainless steel mesh insert,
- 17″ dual three-spoke wheels,
- a Remus-made Viggen Sport Exhaust muffler.

Jeremy writes as follows:

The bumpers came from an east coast Saab dealer on eBay that’s now out of business, the skirts were from my local Saab dealer, Carter Saab; and the top spoiler, wheels, and muffler came from Turner’s Hill Garage, a Saab dealer in England. Their online store doesn’t seem to be around anymore. Everything was painted by a local body shop with BASF Glasurit paint, which I think came out very nicely.

The grille was courtesy of my insurance company after the car was backed into by a pickup truck while parked two days after I bought it. I added the mesh myself, using a piece from eBay. The Viggen front bumper was also paid for by an insurance company a couple of years ago after a Ford Explorer tore off the original bumper, also while my car was parked. The front edge of his rear bumper snagged the back edge of my front bumper while he was pulling out. I also had to put a Fuba Betaflex-D amplified antenna on the roof since the original antenna hole is covered up by the spoiler. It has a shorter 6″ VW mast on it.

Interior mods are as follows:

- carbon fiber dashboard,
- carbon fiber door pulls,
- gearshift knob (official Saab accesories);
- Saab’s accessory armrest,
- Saab door-mounted cupholders,
- a Blaupunkt Bahamas MP46 radio
- all new Boston Acoustics speakers,
- a 10″ subwoofer
- outboard amplifiers for the rear speakers and sub.

Mounted on the center console is a Dension IceLink iPod cradle on Saab’s 9-3 small cell phone mount.

Here’s a few of the interior carbon fiber bits. Australians who have seen a Viggen will be familiar with the carbon fiber dashboard, which was standard kit on the Aussie Vig:

Performance mods are as follows:

- Viggen Sport Exhaust,
- a 3″ stainless steel Taliaferro downpipe,
- Viggen intercooler,
- a Forge bypass valve,
- custom 3″ air intake (3″ plastic pipe fitted into the stock airbox with a K&N air filter),
- SAS rear swaybar,
- 17″ wheels with 215/45R17 front and 225/45R17 rear Pirelli P-Zero Nero M+S tires,
- Abbott springs,
- a TD04 turbocharger.

Jeremy also replaced the original cable-operated clutch with a hydraulic mechanism and a Viggen clutch and pressure plate.

In terms of what he’d like to do in the future, Jeremy has the following plans:

There are only a few things I’d like to add in the future. First is a stage 4 ECU. I haven’t decided which company to go with, though. If I can ever find a good deal on them, I’d also like to install Viggen side skirts, and last, I need to hook up the headlight levelers on the headlights and get a new pair of middle mudflaps. I threw the originals away, but decided I’d like them back for that quirky Saab look. This weekend or next the red LEDs in the radio will get replaced with green ones to match the rest of the dashboard. There’s always something to do with that car!

——

I really, really like the look Jeremy’s created with this car. If the next generation Saab 9-5 follows the Aero-X in having a wraparound rear light assembly, then this car is quite possibly going to look more contemporary that any Saab 9-3, thanks to its 9-3 Aero/Viggen body effects and that beautiful red decor panel that stretches between the tail lamps.

Jeremy’s done a really good job of capturing the all the best parts of the 900/9-3 model range and combining them into one car.

Kudos to him, and thanks also for being willing to share the details of the vehicle here with the rest of us!

-