I got a bunch of messages from people last week, letting me know that my old 1985 Saab 900 16V Turbo had come on the market again.
Was I tempted? Well, it’d be nice but I have zero space and zero funds at the moment. And a few projects on the horizon. If it was Bill and my old white 99Turbo, then maybe (hint, hint 😉 ). But otherwise, no.
This was the car I bought to replace my Viggen back in 2007. It’s believed to be one of the press cars that Saab bought in to Australia to publicise the new 16V engine. The cars were meant to be returned to Sweden once their press duties were over but…… well…… let’s just say that inventory control in the mid-80’s wasn’t quite what it is today.
I sold the car after 18 months or so to a guy from Saudi Arabia who was studying at the University of Tasmania. Ahmed proceeded to blow the engine but had it replaced and then wound the boost back. It’s been going steadily ever since and friends of mine who live near the university have reported seeing it on the odd occasion. I saw it on the road, myself, a few months ago. It was looking good and still sounded amazing thanks to its 3-inch exhaust 🙂
I got a message from Ahmed a few months ago and he indicated he might be selling it soon. My guess is he’s finished his degree and heading back to Saudi with his wife and kid(s).
The new owner – a guy named Lee – also got to know the car around the University. I got an email from him a couple of days ago. He’s been seeing the car around the uni for the last 5 years or so and always admired it. He had a chance to purchase it earlier this year and passed it up. When it came on to the market again last week, he swooped. He got a good price, too.
There’s work to be done. It seems Ahmed’s kids might have made hard work of the interior. Lee’s looking for a replacement. Given its age there’ll be some mechanical bits to sort out, too.
But it’s an original flat-nose 16V Turbo 900 with body kit and they’re few and far between nowadays.
Lee’s got himself a cracker of a classic Saab. I’m rapt for him, and pleased he’s been in touch. It’s nice to know that your previous cars fall into good hands and there’s even a chance we’ll catch up and go for a run.
That’ll be fun.
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The seller even used a few of my old photos to advertise the car. Nice to re-live some memories.
Could this be the northernmost Saab ….. (cue Clarkson voice) ….. in the world?
Arjan Bronkhorst is a professional photographer – and a Saab fan – so when he spotted an early model Saab 900 abandoned in Spitsbergen he just had to get a shot of it.
If you’re like me, you might be asking “Where the heck is Spitsbergen?” Well, if you thought Sweden was pretty far north, think again…..
Forgive me, but I’m doing my work from Wikipedia here. Spitsbergen is part of Norway and lies at 78° north. The Saab might be abandoned by virtue of the fact the place (apparently) has no roads, with snowmobiles, boats and aircraft being used to ferry people around. The island is around 39,000 sq km and is home to a few small permanent communities and a population of polar bears and reindeer.
78° north. That’s why I’m wondering if this could be the northernmost Saab in existence. I guess there could be another Saab further north on the island itself, or something in northern Greenland.
For mine, though, that’s the most extreme Saab graveyard I’ve heard about. My thanks to Arjan for capturing the serenity in pixels and allowing me to share it on site.
It’s been another big week or so in the immediate life and times of Saab Automobile. We’re relieved to be in calmer waters now, but we know that there’s a lot of work to be done and we have plans in place to do it.
You can read some initial information about Project Cheetah in English here, or in Swedish here. I’ll see if there’s some more information about this process that I can bring forward in the near future.
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If you’re still catching up on what’s happened with Saab this week, the best summary news article is at Bloomberg (as usual).
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And on the same theme, here’s some video of Victor Muller from yesterday, reacting to the reorganisation decision. Video picked up by Saabworld.
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Your must-read for this week is the Saab 900 Enduro website.
If you’re not familiar with it, the Saab 900 Enduro is a rather bonkers edition of the 900 that was commissioned by Saab Australia back when the 900 first came out. There were only 12 of them ever made and it’s thought that only half of those still exist.
I’m hoping to do a video with at least one – and maybe more – of the existing Enduros, some time in the near future. Contact was made earlier this year and we’re just waiting on some further restoration to one of the cars.
Should be fun.
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Those of you who are interested in scale model Saabs really, and I mean really, have to add Griffin Models to your bookmark list.
The site’s not complete, but when you visit, you can see some of the stuff they’ll be selling, as well as reading about how they’re making them. Hand made from scratch.
Great stuff.
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I have a couple of other links to send on, but they’re so big that they really deserve posts of their own.
I’ve known Markus L in an email sense for a few years now. He’s one of the regulars from my SU days.
I’ve seen some of his cars in photos from time to time, but there are usually long intervals in between viewings. When you meet a lot of people and see a lot of cars (in a virtual sense) it’s easy to forget just who’s got what.
I got these photos from Markus in my inbox today. I was quite familiar with his fully Hirsched Turbo X and the black 900, but not so familiar with the Viggen. All I could say was “Wow!”
Look at them. They’re in absolutely mint condition and all three of them are notable classics in the Saab family tree.
When I wrote back to Markus, I told him of my profound jealousy – that if I could have any collection of Saabs I liked, there’s a good chance it would be exactly what he’s got in that photo, with the likely addition of a Saab Sonett III.
He wrote back…… and promised to send me pictures of his Sonett! There’s a 99Turbo in the collection, too, but that’s not ready for photos yet as it’s still undergoing a restoration.
My final reply included an enquiry as to whether or not his father would be interested in adopting a 41-year-old man as an additional son. I’m not sure how well that will be received.
Click to enlarge, and if you’re like me, dream on……
You’ve all most likely seen this image before. It’s one of the better known images of the Saab 900 Turbo.
The photo was taken for Saab’s 50th Anniversary marketing campaign, back in 1997. A calendar was made featuring this image and a number of others like it. Remember the Saab 99 EMS in motion, or the Saab 92? All of those shots were taken around the same time and all were used in the calendar.
Today I had the pleasure of meeting Nicklas A at the Saab Museum here in Trollhattan. Whilst the majority of vehicles used in the calendar were owned by Saab itself, Nicklas has the rare privilege of being one of the few private owners whose vehicle was used in the photoshoot – his 1980 Saab 900 Turbo in black. The same car as in the image, above.
The car was purchased new by Nicklas’ father back in February 1980, from a dealer in Gothenburg. Nicklas was just five years old at the time and his kindergarten teachers were worried that he was telling lies at school when he told the other kids his Dad was buying a Saab Turbo (this was quite a boast for a 5yo in 1980 as the Saab was the hottest car in Sweden (and elsewhere)). Dad picked him up from school in the new car the day it was delivered and Nicklas’ integrity was restored 🙂
Mr A kept the car for 10 years and returned to his dealer in 1990 to trade it in on a Saab 9000. The trade-in figure offered to him was too low for his liking, and with a teenage Nicklas now only a few years away from getting his license, the car was stored until Nicklas took possession in 1993.
Nicklas used the car as his daily driver for the next four years and it was during this time that Saab came calling. Back in 1990, Nicklas’ father had bought his Saab 9000 from ANA, the big Saab dealership near Trollhattan. The salesman he dealt with back in 1990, a true Saabnut named Claes Robertsson, remembered the black 900 (from 16 years earlier!) when he heard that Saab were looking for a suitable car for the photoshoot. Claes put the company and the customer in contact, and before you can say “Spirit of Saab” there was a man with a camera knocking on Nicklas’ door. The photographer took the car and gave Nicklas a Saab 9000 Aero to play with for the day (which must have been a massive treat when it was brand new!). The result of that exchange is the calendar shot, above.
In 1997, Nicklas moved into central Gothenburg. The car was beginning to age and parking it securely was a more difficult proposition in the city. A decision was taken to move it to a friend’s property in southern Sweden, where it could be stored and eventually, renovated.
That renovation didn’t start for some time, though. Life moved on. Nicklas met a girl, got steady employment, had some kids, did the “growing up” thing that many of us do. Around 2007, though, he got the 900 itch once again and the restoration of the car began in earnest.
There was a little bit of rust to repair before the body was repainted. There was a fair bit of dedication involved in this, too. This early 900 hood, for example, features twin vents (most 900 owners would be used to seeing vents on one side only). The condition of the hood should have seen it condemned to the scrapheap but it was restored in order to preserve the ‘two-vent’ originality of the car.
The job was finally finished in 2010 and Nicklas has been enjoying his weekend warrior ever since. The turbo was replaced a few years ago, but everything else is original and aside from routine maintenance, nothing more substantial than a head gasket has needed to be done over the years.
I had the distinct pleasure of driving the car back to the Saab Museum after we’d taken it out for a few photos. This early 900 Turbo is very much like a Saab 99 Turbo. The engine is the same, but it’s mated to a 5-speed gearbox instead of the 99’s 4-speed. The interior of the car is the same as in the 99 Turbo except, of course, for the 900 dashboard. Seats, door trim, gearshift, steering wheel – all from the 99T. The bonus with the 900 is the addition of power steering, which makes it much more pleasurable to drive at slower speeds than the 99.
And driving it really was a blast. The car was rock solid. We had it idling or moving slowly for some time during the photo shoot, in 28-degree weather, and the temperature gauge didn’t move (a phenomenon uncommon to 99T owners like myself). The car is a credit to Nicklas and his father for the way it’s been preserved.
As I tend to do whenever I see a highly desireable car, I enquired as to whether Nicklas was open to receiving offers for it. He graciously declined, but offered to place me third-in-line after his two sons in his will. I won’t hold my breath 🙂 . It seems this 900 Turbo that was purchased brand new by his dad is destined to pass on to the third generation in the family, along with the calendar that made it famous.
I’ll have to take some personal consolation from the fact that I have his contact details for the 75th anniversary calendar in 2022.
Click any of the photos in this story to enlarge.
Notes for the gallery –
(1) the drivers seat has a different pattern, but was chosen this way deliberately by Nicklas’ father (anyone who’s owned a 99T with the ‘lederhosen’ seats will understand why) and the seats have been like this since new.
(2) The rear seat loudspeakers are original equipment. Very 1980.
