I’ve been writing for CC for nigh on five years now and authored over 350 posts. I realize that’s peanuts compared to many distinguished CContributors (not to mention our dear Editor, whose copious output remains a daily source of amazement and joy), but still I thought I had bagged and tagged nearly all of the major Asian and European makers by now. Nearly is the operative word: I had not yet caught a Saab. For shame!
Trouble is, catching one of these sweet Swedes is easier Saab than done. There aren’t too many around in my current neck of the woods, but when there’s a will, there’s a classic 900 sitting patiently in a decently-lit car park. Sure, I would have preferred an early model 99 (I saw one in motion once last year, but failed to document it) or something from the two-stroke era (one can dream), but at least this 900 is not the sad Scandinavian Opel substitutes that Saabs later became.
However, the challenge of finding a subject to post having been overcome, the next hurdle now becomes: what in Thor’s name can one write on the 900 Turbo that hasn’t been written already on CC? There are few European cars that have been featured more times than this one. Just look at the “related posts” section at the bottom of this article: the 900 Turbo has had its day, as well as its morning, its evening and its night on CC.
So what can be said about this Saab that has not yet been written on these very pages before? Most of the 900s seen on CC so far have been three-door liftbacks, but the one I found is the slightly less common four-door saloon. Those came a bit later in the model’s life: the 900 was launched in 1978 as a 3- and 5-door hatchback, but the notchback only made it to dealerships in 1981, right when the pendulum of automotive fashion was moving from hatches back to the old three-box paradigm.
What a strange design it is, though. It’s so familiar, yet when you look at it now, it’s marvelously complex and quintessentially “Saab.” It’s like a reluctant notchback, with that droopy rear end and that curiously arced rear window. This car went completely against the ‘80s styling trends that prevailed when it was born and that should have dictated a far more rectilinear, bulky and raised rump.
Instead, we have a pouty butt that looks reminiscent of the Renault 12 or the Isuzu Florian. I guess Saab never fully updated the 99 (launched back in 1967, though the 4-door only appeared in 1971), but just facelifted it here and there over many years and added 801 to the numeral for good measure. This scheme was attempted by many other carmakers, but only the wizards of Trollhättan could keep a ‘60s design looking reasonably fresh for this long.
Our feature car has Saab’s own 2-litre 16-valve DOHC 4-cyl., which should be churning out something like 173hp by that stage of its long production life. It’s mated to a 5-speed manual, naturally, sending all that cavalry to the front wheels.
Saab is perhaps the only carmaker that only produced FWD designs in its first 50 years – until the GM badge-engineering machine made a few SUVs wear a Saab emblem, just prior to the marque’s demise. I’d rather not think about that – what a waste…
As per many exotic saloons of a certain age, this Saab is LHD. Most Alfas, BMWs and Jags of the ‘90s I’ve encountered in Japan were also like this – yes, even the RHD-from-birth British cars. This tradition is starting to change a bit: I surveyed a Benz dealership recently, and most cars on the lot were right-hookers. But the fancier and sportier ones still favour wrong-hand drive.
And a Saab 900 Turbo is a fancy car by default. Few Saabs made it to Japan, compared to Volvos. That’s likely due to the importer, a department store chain called Seibu, which imported various marques including Citroëns, Fiats, Saabs and Ferraris from the ‘60s until the mid-‘90s. The importer’s logo is usually on the rear window – sure enough, this Saab has one right under its third brake light.
Many car marques distributed by Seibu were eventually poached by Yanase – including all GM brands, such as Saab – who also successfully imported boatloads of Volvos, BMWs and, to this day, Mercedes. But even then Saab never really took off, so sightings here are very rare, even with the newer GM-designed stuff.
Rare though it may be in Japan, the Saab 900 sure has had more than its fair share of attention on CC, so I hope you’ll forgive my piling on yet another article on this sweet Scandinavian sled. The more the merrier, right? At least, this’ll be the first of 2021 – a decade after Saab’s passing.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1990 Saab 900 Turbo SPG – The Sun Sets On Saab’s Independence, by Eric703
Curbside Classic: 1993 Saab 900 Turbo – Not Lagging In Appeal, by PN
Gas Station Classic: 1986 Saab 900 Turbo – Sixteen Candles, by Jim Klein
COAL: 1993 SAAB 900- The Most(ly) Intelligent Cars Ever Built, by Justaddoil
COAL: 1988 Saab 900 – A Bit Slow, But Is An 18 Year-Old Going To Complain About Getting A Brand New Car?, by Matt Spencer
COAL: 1983 Saab 900 – My Saab Story, by Jerseyfred
COAL: 1993 Saab 900 S – Saab Story #1, by Saabaru
Junkyard Classic: 1990 Saab 900 Turbo SPG – Darth Vader’s Ride?, by Jim Klein
CC Capsule: 1991 Saab 900 – The Quintessential Saab, by Brendan Saur
CC Capsule: 1992 Saab 900 Turbo Convertible – The Ultimate Yuppiemobile’s Day at the Fair, by Jim Grey
CC Saab Day Capsule: 1992 Saab 900S – Among The Last “Real” Saabs, by Jim Grey
CC Saab Day Capsule: 1988 Saab 900 Saloon – The Perfect Used Car For The Thrifty Saaboholic You Know, by Nigel R. Tate
CC For Sale: 1983 Saab 900 – A Genuine Eugene-mobile, by PN
Vintage Review: SAAB 900 Turbo, by Yohai71
Vintage Review: SAAB 900 Turbo Sedan, Volvo GLT Turbo, by Yohai71
Neighborhood Driveway Outake: Saab 900 Turbo Convertible and Unibog XS, by PN
CC Outtake: The Vanishing Saab 900; Or Is It The Shrinking Saab 900?, by PN
Cohort Outtake: Saab 900s – Kissing Cousins?, by Perry Shoar
I have always wanted one of these, and if I didn’t already have a CC, I’d be looking for one. I think a convertible version would be just the ticket.
I did own a ’99 9-3 turbo for a couple of years, and it was a really fun car to drive. At the time, though, I didn’t know much about wrenching, and it was just too expensive to upkeep.
I had a ’93 9000 as well, and that was a dog of car. It was not a turbo and was the slowest vehicle I had ever driven (until I got the Westy in my avatar). But it was a cool ride, and I still miss it.
I’d say the sedan was a lot less common rather than slightly less. Certainly it seemed that way in the US at least, where the 4-door sedan ended up being the oddest duck of the lineup once introduced. As good as the standard hatchback is, I’ve always wondered if there had been a 900 wagon (beyond the coachbuilt one-offs), would it have been the most common variant instead. The Cabriolet was popular too (at least in CA), but I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a two-door sedan in the metal, it wasn’t sold over here.
In any case, that one is in very good condition, as seem to be most of what runs around Tokyo, bar the unusual dirt and dust. And as cold as the gray exterior is, the butterscotch leather inside warms that up tremendously (and somehow complements it to very good effect) as compared to the charcoal option.
Are you referring to all 900s or just the 900 Turbo? Because yes, the 900 Turbo in the four door sedan was rare. But plain 900 sedans no so much so. In fact one of the last ones that’s in my neighborhood is a 900 sedan.
I guess more the turbo now that you mention it. The sedans were sort of invisible (to me at least). There are still a few 3-doors knocking around near me here.
I’d still suppose that the 3door outsold the 4 door by at least 3:1 but haven’t attempted to look anything up.
The two door 900 sedan was available in the U.S., briefly. Supposedly only 600ish were sold. My 6th grade teacher got one and I was SO baffled how she managed to find the one SAAB without a hatchback. Further, SAABs always had cool wheels but hers had the steel style with dog bowl caps. I think it was the cheapest SAAB you could get.
The sedan is such a letdown design-wise. I love love love the three-door, but this one leaves me cold. And I’m not even a hatchback guy.
“only the wizards of Trollhättan could keep a ‘60s design looking reasonably fresh for this long.”
Drive an hour south of Trollhättan, and meet the folks who designed the ’67 Volvo 144 which stayed reasonably fresh as the 240 until 1993. Maybe there’s something in the Swedish water, or maybe both companies realized they weren’t profitable enough to do frequent redesigns.
Did you know there was a kind of longer wheelbased version, in saloon format, called the CD. I have never seen one, just the ads.
There is a shortlst of cars that always make me stop and look unless I am late for the train. They any Citroen CX, Jaguar XJ, the Mercedes W-123 series, Citroen XM, the Ford Fusion (Euro version) and this, the Saab 900. It is endlessly fascinating, inside and out.
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Just need to find a Valmet LWB version (if there’s not one here already).
Couldn’t find a picture so here’s the 100,000th in police spec
Back in 1987 I was a student on a summer program in jyvaskyla, Finland.
We ( an Irish guy-me, a Swiss, an Australian and an Englishman) rented a 5 door turbo and drove to Nordkapp and back (over 2500km) over a weekend, driving continuously in 2 hour stints.
It was one of the great experiences of my life.
I would take a 1986, with the upright headlights, over this. They just look better.
the autistic side of me appreciates that these were available in 2,3,4 and 5 doors
Well, honda as far as I know has been fwd only for its entire history. Yes, they offer awd vehicles, but those start as fwd with awd hardware.
I don’t understand why anyone would choose the notchback over the hatchback. The hatchback wasn’t obviously a hatchback but had a sedan profile and much more utility.
I had a saab convertible once that I was flipping and it was unbelievably expensive to repair. Unlike most convertibles which have a switch, motor, and a couple of latches, this had a lot of micro switches which all had to be perfectly synced to make the top go up and down. It had a lot of expensive finicky problems.
Saab didn’t seem to have much of a brand identity. Mercedes is luxury and engineering, audi and bmw make sporty premium vehicles for professionals, lexus is reliable, volvos were safe and durable. Saab was quirky, but quirky plus expensive to maintain doesn’t really sell in volume.
Honda isn’t all FWD. Check out the S2000 and decades before that the S600/800. Acura NSX is a Honda NSX everywhere but here.
There is also the current Honda S660 kei roadster and the older Beat – both are mid-engine / RWD.
What a great find and I hope it stays on the road for years to come.
Saab completely lost me when they discontinued the 5 door hatchback in the US market after only a two-year run. Along with it went the huge rear luggage capacity, the all-the-way-to-the-bumper liftgate opening, the split/fold rear seat, the rear window wiper, and the interesting 6 window side profile. They didn’t return to that body style until 1986 with the 9000, but that was well out of my price range.