Features Archives - Page 24 of 25

Back in time – Bob Sinclair and the launch of the 20th Anniversary Saab 9-3 Convertible

A few weeks ago, I published a story about the birth of the Saab Convertible. The man at the center of that story was Bob Sinclair, the former chief of Saab Automobile in the United States.

A friend in the US has since sent through some pictures of a launch event that was held when Saab released the 20th Anniversary Edition of the Saab Convertible in April, 2006. The launch started at El Encanto Hotel in Santa Barbara, moving into a drive prior to lunch at the Latetia winery, following some of the scenery used for the movie Sideways (which featured a Saab 900 Convertible).

Bob Sinclair was invited along to share his Convertible story at the event.

Dick Lague from Ignition3 – a Saab owner living in Malibu, California – was present at the event and took these photos, which make for a wonderful compliment to Bob’s Convertible story from a few days ago.

Dick’s also emailed me his recollections from the event and for Saab historians, it makes for some great reading. I’ve added his notes after the photos.

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Bob speaking to the press corps gathered for the event in ……. you can see the first Saab convertible prototype (in white) built by the American Sunroof Company on the screen. This is the car now housed at the Saab Museum in Trollhattan, Sweden.

This red Saab 900 Convertible was on show at the launch. It was one of the first Saab convertibles to come off the production line as a 1986 model.

A group of five Saab convertibles ready for their test drive….

“Uncle Bob” with one of the later iterations of Saab’s iconic convertible.

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Recollections from the launch of the 20th Anniversary Saab 9-3 Convertible

by Dick Lague.

I remember how excited Bob Sinclair was about being invited to be part of the Saab convertible 20th anniversary edition introduction in Santa Barbara. We spoke on the phone sometime in March 2006 and told me of how pleased he was to be able to reflect on 20 years of production of “his baby” – the Saab Convertible.

The succession of Saab USA presidents after Bob retired did not seem to understand or appreciate Bob’s contribution to Saab, but this took an about face when Jay Spenchian took the position. It was Jay who thought that Bob could make this 20th Anniversary Convertible introduction in early April 2006, a very special event.

Continue reading Back in time – Bob Sinclair and the launch of the 20th Anniversary Saab 9-3 Convertible

PhoeniX in New York

I’ve been waiting to show you these photos for a while now.

What would you do if you saw something like this in a streetscape late at night?

You’d photograph it, of course. And that’s exactly what plenty of people did late one cold spring night in New York City. Me included.

Back in April when the New York Auto Show was on, Saab’s latest design concept, PhoeniX, was taken out at night for a photo shoot for Top Gear magazine. The car was unloaded at the meatpacking district around 10pm and so began an all-night photoshoot that didn’t actually finish until around 1pm the next day at Chelsea Piers.

The latest edition of Top Gear magazine, featuring the photos from that night, is now available at reputable magazine stands everywhere. That’s good news for you and I, because it means I can finally share these images, which I took during the first few hours of the shoot. For those who’d like to know, the car was parked just down the street from the Standard Hotel.

Click to enlarge and enjoy.

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Saab Convertible Concept by Leif Mellberg

Earlier, we looked at the Saab Convertible Concept built by the American Sunroof Company – the concept that was chosen to form the basis for the production Saab Convertible.

Today, in our continuing celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Saab Convertible, we’re going to take a closer look at the car that didn’t get selected – the convertible concept built by Leif Mellberg, a coachbuilder from Nyköping.

The ASC convertible was built using a 2-door Saab 900 coupe as a basis. The Mellberg Convertible – whether by request from Saab or by choice is unknown to me – was based on a 3-door Combi Coupe.

That’s the Mellberg convertible on the right, with the ASC concept on the left.

And the Mellberg concept from the rear 3/4 view…..

A side profile. Have you noticed anything funny about the Mellberg concept yet? (hint: go back and take a look at photo #1, and then at this one again)

Continue reading Saab Convertible Concept by Leif Mellberg

Saab Convertible Concept by ASC

As part of the 25th Anniversary of the Saab Convertible, we’re covering the development of one of Saab’s most iconic models. If you missed Bob Sinclair’s story on the birth of the Saab Convertible, then make sure you hit that link and check it out.

As mentioned in that story, there were two convertible concepts produced for evaluation by Saab. One of those was made by the American Sunroof Company in Michigan, USA. If you notice a similarity between this car and the original Saab 900 Convertible from the mid-1980’s, that’s because this is the concept that was chosen for serial production starting as a 1986 model.

The Saab Convertible made it’s world debut at the 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show. This is that car. It now lives in the Saab Museum in Trollhattan, Sweden.

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This is a studio image of the original convertible concept. it’s better than any image I could have got at the Museum yesterday.

I won’t go into too much detail on this car as it’s one that Saab fans would be quite familiar with from the production model, but there are a few differences. Let’s dive in an take a closer look…….

The interior is the familiar ‘Oxblood’ interior that was well known in the mid-1980s, this time with a black dashboard…

The rear seats and an overview of the convertible top cover…..

A close-up of the cover, which is trimmed in oxblood leather….

Moving to the other side, with a portion of the top cover removed, we can see the convertible mechanism in place. The top isn’t operated regularly now and would require some service before being operated again.

Rear seat passengers got a window switch of their own on the convertible concept….

The center console got window and roof switches….

The interior was trimmed in original Bridge of Weir leather from Scotland….

And for the real convertible boffins, a look at the roof connecting points of the concept convertible.

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As mentioned in the original convertible story, the concept built by ASC was a ‘production’ concept, not a car merely for show. Their brief was take a 2-door Saab 900 and figure out how to make a convertible that could be mass-produced. Their concept is therefore very similar to the final vehicle that was released for sale in 1986.

The other concept car was made by a Swedish coachbuilder named Leif Mellberg. This is the car that not so many people have seen before and we’ll take a much closer look at that car very soon.

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Celebrating the Saab Convertible – Part 1

Saab are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the iconic Saab Convertible this year. And to help spread the love, we’re asking YOU to share your Saab convertible pictures and stories.

Our first entry in this series comes from Eelko B, in Holland, who has a stunning 1993 Saab 9-3 Convertible Turbo S which, as you’ll see below, is a true 4-seasons 4-seater.

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I bought the Saab almost 2 years ago now, in exchange for my 1993 900 TSR. I am the third owner. The man I bought it from had bought it from his father.

It is from May 1993 and was originally a light pressure turbo. It was a special in Belgium in the colour Aubergine Mica and had a full wooden interior, including on the center console.

The former owner converted the car into an full pressure turbo with some extra boost and gave it brakes from a Saab 9000. This was all done by the Dutch Saab-guru Peter Haaima. It drives spectacularly smooth with plenty of power. It also has a 3″JT exhaust, which gives the car a beautiful sound.

Why does the Saab Convertible have so much appeal for me?

Firstly, the 900 Classic is an iconic car with a beautiful design and of course it’s Turbo technic. It is remarkably reliable, it is well thought out (key, handbrake, etc) and it is known for its safety features. Add to all this the fact that is a convertible and you have the most sexy, reliable, safe, fast and distinguished car ever!

It is also very practical, since it is a full 4-seater with a huge trunk and its thick, all weather roof, so I drive it the whole year round as my daily drive. Anytime it’s 6 degrees or more (and dry) I put down the roof, turn on the heater and drive like a king!

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If you’d like to share your love for the Saab Convertible, please feel free to contact me and I’ll get in touch shortly.

My thanks to Eelko for kicking this series off in fine style.

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Saab at the 2011 Mille Miglia

Trollhättan, Sweden: The Mille Miglia is one of the highlights of the year for any car enthusiast. Fantastic cars, fantastic scenery and fantastic people. And at Saab Automobile, we live cars, so naturally we again competed in this year’s event after the 2010 edition saw Saab Automobile CEO and Chairman Victor Muller and former Saab Automobile CEO Jan Åke Jonsson taking the wheel of two Saab 93s.

For the 2011 edition, Saab brought three 93s to the Brescia starting line. The #331 car was driven by Mats Fägerhag, Saab Automobile’s Vice President Vehicle Product Development, with Peter Bäckström, Manager of the Saab Car Museum, sitting alongside. The #332 car was driven by Hans Hugenholtz, Chairman of Saab Automobile owner Spyker Cars N.V., and his wife Laurence. A third #333 car was entered and driven by long-time Belgian Saab importer Jacques Beherman, assisted by Umberto Stefani, External Affairs Director for Saab Belgium.

In preparing the Saab 93s for the event, the cars were kept as close as possible to the specification of the cars that competed in the old days. “We restored them to original condition, as near as possible, with the same materials and components that were used at that time,” says Peter Bäckström. “We’ve had to refurbish some of the interior trim and that was an interesting project for our colleagues in the prototype workshop at the factory. They were working with materials and build techniques that are no longer used, but they enjoyed the challenge.”

Click to see a feature on the restoration of the #331 Saab 93.

Keeping the cars in original condition also meant not improving them beyond their original trim. “For instance, with the technical knowledge we have these days, it would be quite easy to get some more power from the two-stroke engines, but that is not what we wanted to do,” says Bäckström. “In standard trim they produced about 33 hp and for competition use this was raised to about 50 hp. And that is what we had on the Mille Miglia.”

Continue reading Saab at the 2011 Mille Miglia

Saab Design chief Jason Castriota named as one of the Top 100 creative people in business

Jason Castriota, Saab’s Executive Director – Design, has been honored by Fast Company Magazine as one of their Top 100 Creative People in Business for 2011.

The Fast Company list of 100 Most Creative People spans entertainment to medicine to technology to social enterprise. People honored in 2010 include artists Lady Gaga and Jay-Z, thinkers such as Chris Andersen from TED Conferences and various executives from Nike, Nokia, Microsoft and Nissan.

Jason Castriota was appointed the head of Saab Design in June 2010. Prior to this appointment he had previously held positions as Design Director at Stile Bertone and Chief Designer, Special Projects at Pininfarina. He began his own US-based design consultancy business prior to taking up the position at Saab Automobile.

Jason Castriota’s first public design statement at Saab was the PhoeniX concept vehicle, which debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2011. He is now leading the design execution for the new Saab 9-3, which is expected for release in the final quarter of 2012.

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Video: 2011 Mille Miglia teaser

We take this opportunity to wish the best to the three Saab entrants in the 2011 Mille Miglia historic rally in Italy:

Mats Fägerhag, Saab Automobile’s Vice President Vehicle Product Development, with Peter Bäckström, Director of the Saab Museum
Hans Hugenholtz, Chairman of Saab Automobile owner Spyker Cars N.V., and his wife Laurence.
Jacques Beherman, importer of Saab cars into Belgium, and Umberto Stefani, head of Saab in Belgium.

Here’s a little teaser as to what they’ll be up to starting very, very soon…..

Restoration of a Saab 93A Mille Miglia racer

There will be three Saab 93A’s running in this year’s Mille Miglia. One of the cars has been restored in Belgium and will be driven by senior staff from Saab’s Belgian importer, Behermans.

The other two belong to Saab. The first one is the yellow car that was driven by Spyker Cars Chairman, Victor Muller, and his son in last year’s Mille Miglia (at left, below).

This article covers the recent restoration of Saab’s second car; a green car acquired by Saab late in 2010, which will be driven in the 2011 Mille Miglia by Saab’s engineering chief, Mats Fagerhag and co-driven by Saab Museum director, Peter Backstrom.

The car is 1956 Saab 93A. It’s only the ‘A’ model that is eligible for Mille Miglia, where regulations dictate that only models that participated in the original Mille Miglia of yesteryear can participate in the historical event today. There was only one Saab that competed in the original Mille Miglia, a Saab 93A driven by Charlie Lohmander and Harald Kronegard. They won their class in the 1957 Mille, which was the last Mille Miglia held before the race was cancelled as a competitive event (today’s Mille Miglia involves friendly competition and is a historic event only).

Buckle up. This is a long one, with 45 photos of the rebuild process.

Continue reading Restoration of a Saab 93A Mille Miglia racer

Saab Convertible – by the numbers

2011 sees the 25th anniversary of the iconic Saab Convertible. Following are some numbers that relate to the Saab Converible and might be of some interest to the many Saab Convertible fans out there.

25 years of Saab Convertible production:

First generation (1986 – 1993) – 48,894 units
Second generation (1994 –2002) – 149,145 units
Third generation (2003 onwards*) – 99,535 units

*until April 2011

The latest Saab 9-3 Convertible is the result of 25 years’ experience in designing and engineering soft-top automobiles. To celebrate the Saab Convertible’s its first quarter century, here are a few fast facts:

3 – most popular colors are: Black, Steel Grey and Silver

6 – swiveling cross-braces are used in the soft-top to ensure it is tightly stretched in the raised position with a minimum of sagging

7 – hydraulic cylinders are used to execute four different movements in the operation of the soft-top.

11 – manual heat settings replace the automatic climate control when the soft-top is down. When it is back up, the climate control function is automatically reinstated, complete with any previously saved settings.

20 seconds – the time required to fully deploy the powered soft-top with the engine is running, making it among the fastest-acting in the premium convertible segment.

21 degrees – the ideal back-rest inclination for rear passenger comfort and this was a requirement for the 9-3 Convertible, despite the packaging constraints of soft-top stowage in the trunk.

26 meters – the total length of the hydraulic hoses used in the roof system

30 km/h – the maximum vehicle speed at which the soft-top can be raised. There’s no need to come to a stop to raise the roof if it starts to rain.

140 bar – is the hydraulic pressure required to operate the soft-top – 56 times greater than normal tire pressure.

181 – the number of moving parts in the soft-top mechanism. The main roof structure, including the front header rail, is made from magnesium to save weight.

366 – the number of Saab 9-3 Convertible Independence Editions being built.

1,500 liters – of water is sprayed over the Convertible’s soft-top in a special chamber to check weatherproofing.

3,500 kilos – or more than twice the weight of the car, is the impressive load that the windshield header rail and its supporting A-pillars can carry. Necessary strength for rollover protection and good torsional rigidity.