Everyone’s Saab Festival is different. Some people go for the cars. Some people go to dream. Some people go for their once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Trollhattan. Some people go just to catch up with their mates.
I last went to the Saab Festival in 2015 and I don’t think I wrote anything here about it. I was winding down from my previous job and about to start a new job at Koenigsegg and I just wanted to be there and enjoy the moment. It was great.
At previous Saab Festivals, I’ve worked feverishly to get all the news and pictures from the event into your news feed as quickly as possible. Those Festivals were exhausting.
This year, it’s a combination. I spent quite a bit of time chatting to old friends and colleagues from Saab. I also spent a lot of time at Saturday’s car show, admiring the cars on display and dreaming of ticking a few cars off my list.
These are those cars. I didn’t photograph everything this year. I mainly spent time around the cars I’d really like to own examples of, one day. Those are the V4’s and the 99’s. You won’t see much else in the gallery below, so if you’re looking for 9-3’s or 900’s, today’s not your lucky day.
The Cars
As mentioned, it’s mostly about V4s and 99s this year. I feel like I’m closer to getting a V4 (in fact, in the month leading up to the Festival, I came very close to buying a Saab 95 that’s been converted into a ute). It’s just a matter of when. It would have to be my 2nd or 3rd car, though, and right now, I only have one car space. All in good time.
Being around the V4’s just makes you feel good. I think it’s a lot to do with colour. The 9-3 area of the exhibition was a monochromatic sea of black/grey/silver. But have a look at the V4/2-stroke area:
Doesn’t that make you smile?
The beauty of these cars is that you can do nearly anything with them. You can paint them whatever colour you like. You can put the craziest stickers or decals on them. Whatever you do, people still love them.
A few notables from the wider display, then…..
This Saab 99 Turbo caught my eye straight away. It’s a 2-door in Marble White, the same colour as my first Saab 99 Turbo from all those years ago. Of course, it also had the green velour interior, too. Delicious!
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This Saab 9-5 SportCombi was interesting. Not only is it one of only a handful of NG 9-5 SportCombis in existence, it also started out life as a sedan!
The info I received is that the owner (who also has a uniquely modified 9-5 sedan badged as 9-5x) did the work himself, using a combination of the original 9-5 sedan trunk lid and the rear door from an Opel Insignia wagon. The workmanship was first class – a very impressive result.
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While the over-all numbers present were very impressive – the Saab Spirit is well and truly alive! – there were not many Sonetts on show this year. I hope that changes in the future.
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This Saab 96 was probably my favourite car from the weekend. The photo isn’t a 100% accurate reproduction of the colour. It was a tiny bit more blue than what you can see here. The whole car was very elegant. I’m not always a fan of modern wheels on old cars but again, these modern wheels are simple enough to enhance the car and improve the stance without screaming “look at me!”
Very nicely done, sir.
Enjoy the full gallery, below. Click to enlarge.
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The Details
This is pretty much what the Saab Festival should be about, right? You get your car out, open it up and invite the world in for a nice cup of tea 🙂
I see images like that and I can’t help but smile. Part of that is the beautiful spirit present and part of it is the old classic V4 and the pictures you can paint with a car of such significant character.
As I wandered around the display on Saturday, I was taken in by the ways people lent their own personal touch to their cars. The stickers on the windows, the decals on the body, the props on the parcel shelf. They all added something human to what is already a very animated, ‘alive’ type of car.
Please feel free to indulge with me as we look over some of the details on show…..
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What was the last thing to go through this fly’s mind before he hit the Sonett badge? 😛
