(first posted 2/3/2015) This is nothing less than the quintessential Saab of the classic era; a car profoundly compelling to classic Saabistas, being in their eyes the last true genuine Saab. And in turbo version, the one to really pine for, then and now. I know I’ve shot a few along the way, including this veteran just a few days ago. It may have had some turbo lag, but it can wait no longer.
It’s hard to overstate what a significant car the Saab 99 Turbo was when it arrived rather unexpectedly in 1978. Just when the US industry was declining into the deepest years of the malaise era, along comes Saab with a very fresh breeze in the market: the first turbocharged car in the mass-market sedan/coupe segment since the brief and unsuccessful 1962-1963 Oldsmobile Jetfire and the Corvair Spyder/Corsa. The 1976 Porsche 911-based Turbo led the way in defying the near-universal decline in performance, but that was a very expensive machine. And just two years later, Saab bestows a turbo upon the masses. What a boon.
The 99 Turbo was (rightfully) acclaimed widely and loudly by the buff books, and it led the way in a wide-spread turbo resurgence. Ford was just one year behind with their turbo 2.3 four, but that was a dud, with a carburetor and other shortcomings. Volvo soon joined in, and soon others. The great eighties Turbo Boom was building boost, and the Saab set it off.
Finding a 99 Turbo would be a huge coup; it was only made for one year, as the substantially improved 900 appeared in 1979 to supplant and soon replace the 99. The early versions of the 99 and 900 Turbo made 135 hp, a laughable number now even for a normally-aspirated 2.0 liter four. But this was at a time when four cylinder engines struggled to break the century mark, and the turbo’s extra horsepower and its substantially fattened torque curve was a delicious treat at the time.
This Saab press photo shows the unusual configuration of these engines, with the clutch at the front, then a chain drive to the transmission and final drive, which sat below the engine. Starting in 1982, Saab pioneered electronic boost control/engine management with its APC system, which reduced concerns of detonation and allowed any grade of gas to be used without harm.
This is a last year 1993 model, with the 16 Valve engine. Horsepower was now a lofty 160. Given that these cars were quite light (∼2750 lbs. listed), performance was brisk for the times. One source shows a 0-60 time of 7.5 seconds. I’m inclined to believe it. And the SPG version upped that to 165-175 hp.
The seats are Swedish-comfortable, and the dash is classic Saab, or I should say that the 900 started the classic Saab dash look. The stick shift has been described in a variety of terms, the full spectrum from crisp and accurate to vague and rubbery. It got the job done, either way. Handling is crisp, which was no joke for a turbocharged car of this era. Making a substantial amount of power go through the front wheels back then was still more black magic than science, and Saab had been invoking the right deities. Not that one didn’t know it was FWD; it pretty much always let one know that. But it wasn’t objectionable, and the fun factor easily offset the momentary lapses of everything pulling in unison.
Speaking of lapses, turbo lag was of course part of the smorgasbord, but this was still the early days. The switch to a smaller Mitsubishi turbo to replace the Garrett starting in 1990 helped close the gap between desire and fulfillment.
The sun was shining on Saab lovers during the 900’s long ride, from 1979 through 1993. It was shining a bit too much so for my camera, spoiling the shot of the 900’s classic long nose.
No worries on that account; I’ve got several more in the files. The 900/Turbo is very much a classic Eugene-mobile, given the personality profile of both the car and the town: out of the mainstream, fun-loving, eccentric, leading-edge, rugged (mostly), and…well, just right. Their numbers are dwindling, and it’s going to be a sad day when the last of them leaves the streets. We’d have to do a eulogy just for them alone, but I’m not exactly holding my breath.
Related reading:
I remember seeing my first Saab 99/900 when I was a boy in the 1970s. At the time, I thought it was the ugliest looking car ever. It looked fine from the front of the car, but from the side and the rear of the car, I thought it was butt ugly. It wasn’t until years later, when the 9000 debuted, that I thought the 900 was attractive. Today, I find both attractive.
A car that, at least toward the end of the run, wore its quirkiness on its sleeve like a badge of honor. I wasn’t a big fan of them when new, being a kid who didn’t really “get” them, but as time has gone on I’ve gathered respect for these cars as the last “pure” Saabs.
Did they make a turbo convertible? That might be the one to have if so, and if the body flex wasn’t outrageously bad.
Here’s a turbo convertible:
Autotrader Here
It’s a 90-93, based upon the airbag.
These were fantastic cars — I had a 1988 900 Turbo SPG, and I still long for it in many ways. Besides being a terrific driving and handling car, it was functionally useful in a way that few cars have ever been.
Despite its rather compact size, the 900 could carry 4 adults comfortably. But the real boon was the hatchback: unlike most hatchbacks of its era, the 900 could be used almost as a pickup truck. The hatch had no lift-over (it opened right down to the bumper), and once the rear seat was folded down, the cargo area was completely flat. I once moved a small sofa in mine, and occasionally would sleep back there on long trips.
However, my ’88 model had poor build quality and reliability, and the cost of ownership is what ultimately made me sell it. I’ve been told that some of the late-1980s models were like that, and that both newer and older models were much better. I hope that’s so, because these are really great cars.
This particular car appears to be a 1990 or later model, due to the airbag and the headlight-wipers (or, wiper… the one on the driver’s side appears to be missing), making it one of the last genuine Saabs.
Nice. I’ve got a 900 convertible photographed in my archive awaiting the words to come for me to write it up. Bet it’s a turbo. (I’m at work; the photo is on my computer at home, so can’t check.)
This is a 1990+ 900 Turbo since it has a steering wheel with an airbag which I do not find as aesthetically pleasing. These are lovely cars and my family was mainly a Saab family until 20 or so years ago and have owned about 6 900s. I found that learning stick in a tired 900 Turbo was much more difficult than learning in mid-90s Legacies.
Wow, I never realized how much overhang these had until looking at the side view pictures.
If I did it correctly, the OHR is close to the Lincoln Mark VI at 46.7 %
Back in the days when I did a 42 mile daily commute, quite a few mornings I drove into Orlando along with an older gent ( at the time as I am NOW an older gent myself ) driving one of these. At first I thought it was a butt ugly car but after a few months, the styling grew on me and I actually starting liking it.
The 99 looks more balanced, but with the 900, those overhangs make them all the better to crash with!
I’ve always loved these cars. When I was young, my neighbors owned an early model, with sealed beam headlights. By about 2000 it was a rust bucket, but there was always something cool about it. I love the pre-GM Saabs, and have always dreamed of owning one, particularly a 900 Turbo convertible.
The files are right; we’ve not done a full 99/900 CC. I wanted to do one but could only find convertibles or really rotten hathbacks to capture, so I kept putting it off, but needless to say, this is overdue.
Based on my experience with these cars, the shifter is a bit heavy and notchy, but far from inaccurate, with a positive and direct feel. No, it’s the transmission itself which accounts for rotten shift quality during rapid shifting. Very easy to beat the synchros. That’s less of an issue if you have a turbo, but if you have an n/a model as I once did, you’re screwed because the ratios are just as long as in the boosted version, or feel pretty damn close, so you need to bang it into second to pass slower traffic regularly. This causes you to miss out on gaps in the lanes around you. On the flip side, high speed cruising is a cinch, even without the turbo and with terrible aerodynamics. The sealing off of wind noise was quite effective in the 88 sixteen valve sedan I enjoyed owning for a year.
I truly feel like these cars are much like front-drive w123s. Hopefully I can snag pics of a nice sedan for the site.
I’ve driven a few 900s and felt that they shifted better than any other FWD car on the planet… BUT, none of them were really hustled through the gears, so that makes sense. Like somebody else here mentioned, I remember it being pretty common to find them for sale with missing reverse or a set of forward gears (don’t remember which).
I found the 4 door 99 and 900 better looking than the 2 door.
I learned how to drive in a 1979 non-turbo 900 hatchback, which my mom and stepfather chose partly because he could carry a cello in the back. The Saab was a revelation compared to the malaise-era domestics that I failed to learn how to drive in driver’s ed classes. The 900 felt light, agile, poised, spacious, and incredibly comfortable over long distances. We were the only people I knew with heated seats in a car. Our Saab didn’t age well–by the time my mom basically gave it away in the early 1990s, the headliner was attached with straight pins, you could remove the key from the ignition while driving, the tape deck was jammed, etc. I’d pay dearly to have something comparable today but with modern amenities, power, etc. I’d even be happy with the old-fashioned shift linkage.
I’m sure this car had more than 16 HP! LOL
Well, this one does a look a bit tired 🙂 Fixed now.
The Saab 900 Turbo/SPG/Aero (1st generation, or classic). One of my all time favorite cars. Ever. Any chance this was for sale? You know I am looking for a weird and unique first car. *hint* *hint*
My dad had a standard 900 sedan in beige through my first 5 years of life and lost every gear but 3rd and reverse, that car consequently sort of became the defining bad bland car for me, so unfortunately it took me a looong time to warm up to the Turbo.
I still think the 900’s styling is god awful, the 99 was a nice looking car, and look at those quintessential late 70s wheels on the Turbo! The 900 has that third world “just put a fresh 80s face on 1960s body” look to it.
haters gonna hate
A’yuh.
Did I just make the Saab cult hit list? 😛
FWIW, I don’t hate it, the 900 just has a lot of “inner beauty”
Okay, somebody tell me the second picture wasn’t taken on purpose with a license plate that almost spells “EXTINCT.”
The Saab 900 was a great car in it’s time–sadly, it’s time passed and Saab did not/could not keep up.
First, the bad…an affluent kid in my college dorm had an 83 Turbo. His tranny went at 25k miles. It’s life probably was not helped by the ‘axle tramp’ visible when junior would launch his nice toy hard–but, a secretary had a 5 yr old 85 900 Turbo that also needed a manual trans.
I never drove a 900 or 99. I leased a 9-3–good car, but it felt…rubbery. The shifter, steering…great, silky smooth clutch though.
That said, as Paul noted, in the late 70s thru early 80s, if you wanted a relatively efficient car, with room for 4, that was relatively quick, the Saab was in there! ‘Relatively’ is the key word here.
FWD allowed efficient use a space. As the price of fuel dropped, and the horsepower race heated up, FWD became a liability.
Which is too bad.
Also, interestingly, according to Car & Driver, a 76 Saab 99 EMS (their “GT”), was about as quick as a 99 EMS Turbo. Only 4 speeds, but a viable competitor to the BMW 2002 and 320i.
The other viable competitor, in my mind, for a lot less money, was an Opel Manta or 1900. Which goes to show what a great (secret!) value Opel used to be!
I had a 77 EMS along with a 70 BMW 2002. Both great and fun but different cars. Living in NH the Saab had the advantage in snow (obviously), but what was fun was driving in 8 to 10 inches of dry unplowed snow. It was like a locomotive on tracks. These cars have very smooth under carriages. The engine area is almost entirely enclosed with a small opening to drain the oil. Hit a bank of snow at speed, you just slide over and continue on your merry way.
I had a friend in high school who got a 900 turbo hand me down from his father, who was a pilot (younger readers may not be aware that being a pilot used to be a seriously high paying gig, unlike now). It was different than just about anything else on the road at the time, positively alien to my GM B/C body upbringing. Comfy seats as I recall, and pretty quick by 1980’s standards.
We called it a “SNAAB” to tease him.
Paul,
I just ran a Carfax on this Saab using the plate number – it is a 1993, the last year of the classic 900’s long run.
Perhaps you might wish to add the year to the caption of the article.
Thanks; done!
“…the first turbocharged car in the mass-market sedan/coupe segment since the brief and unsuccessful 1962-1963 Oldsmobile Jetfire and the Corvair Spyder/Corsa.”
Along with the 1978 Buick Regal and LeSabre, which I would contend were much more “mass-market” than Saab was.
If the count of SAABs in my neck o’ the woods is anything to go by, the marque was truly mass-market, at least in the GM years.
My dilemma with the 900 (and with classic Saabs in general) is that I find its iconoclastic approach admirable, but not necessarily desirable. I suppose that is the eternal downfall of individualism: People may be impressed by your unusual recipes, but a lot of those people will just end up having a hamburger.
Someone I knew when these were new used to deride these as finicky machines that served the same function as a Civic with twice the issues. Used to call them “Slob Turbos”.
I am not similarly inclined. These and the 9000s were everywhere in my childhood. I remember the wacky ignition placement and smile. A buddy had a 900 for most of college. He claimed it had 98 hp so must have been older.
It’s a variation on my earlier point a few cars back : the 80s was truly misleading to a little kid because you grew up expecting a world in which a quirky 900, lithe XJ6, meticulous 300E, massive Fleetwood Brougham, buzzy Civic, boxy 240D or Century, and sleek Accord would all be offered for sale simultaneously. There was a car out there for just about anyone’s taste in the mid 1980s. Seeing these is another reminder that such a diverse marketplace was fleeting and doesn’t exist now.
Well said, about the diversity of cars in the 80s. I hate to dwell too much in the past, but it really was very different that way. So much more variety and character. I guess that’s why I’m doing this instead of writing about new cars 🙂
We have a different kind of diversity now, where there’s less manufacturers and they all sell a billion different models. Look how many different cars BMW AG sells in the U.S.:
Mini Hatchback/Wagon
Mini Countryman Hatchback/Wagon
2-Series Coupe
3-Series Sedan/Wagon/”GT” Hatchback
4-Series Coupe/Convertible
5-Series Sedan/”GT” Hatchback
6-Series Coupe/Convertible/Fastback Sedan
7-Series Sedan
i3 Hatchback
i8 Coupe
X1 SUV
X3 SUV
X4 SUV
X5 SUV
X6 SUV
Z4 Coupe/Convertible
A lot of those are on shared platforms, but they’re all distinct models. 30 years ago it was:
3-Series Sedan
5-Series Sedan
6-Series Coupe
7-Series Sedan
So I think the variety is still there, although the character is certainly lacking. That’s not a diss to new cars, but they’re not Saabs, Peugeots, Alfas, etc.!
True, up to a point…in fact the huge number of models from the manufacturers is a bit overwhelming.
Back then the diversity was more fundamental, and the choices were more clear-cut. I appreciate new cars and am not living in the past, but things were a bit more distinctly defined in terms of the character of the various companies’ products.
And they’re all pretty much the same four cars when you dwindle them down.
One thing I miss besides the many different bodystyles and totally distinctive styling was the underpinnings. Every current FWD car is designed exactly the same as the next one, as is RWD.schools of thought per manufacturer, whether it be the kinds of springs used, type of suspension, type of frame ect. The styling often even reflected these choices. Now it’s like everyone’s accepted the best way to build RWD is whatever BMW is doing and the best way to build FWD is what Honda is doing, and just copy them. Porsche always gets criticized for sticking with rear engine but that’s why I like them
The past is never past. I can drive an old car forever if I wanted, if I’m making new memories in a old car, a car I keep because I like something about more that isn’t offered now, it’s hardly living in the past, it’s holding onto my convictions rather than giving way to peer pressure telling me what’s contemporary.
Oh yes, I had one of these too. A 99 Turbo, that is, in the same burgundy color. It was pretty rare then, too. Tall, monumental seats like thrones, with no bolstering at all, but their velvety fuzz would hold your backside in place if your wore the appropriate corduroy clothing. To my late adolescent way of thinking, this was my first big and powerful car, but I praised it in more practical terms. On weekends, it was my recreational vehicle, hauling my gal and me all over Colorado with a load of camp gear. Often, the hatchback was our little cabin.
I looked the architecture of the 99. It felt so different from other cars, so roomy around the front seat and dash. Beetle-like in its roundness, but the 99 was stretched fore and aft like some speeding thing. Visibility was supreme, like nothing you can buy today. The A-pillars were short, upright, very narrow and cut to a triangle so as to look even even narrower. The convex windshield laid out a Cinerama screen for the eye. Perfect, as long as you didn’t miss that traffic light hidden up at 12 o’clock!
Acceleration was always a thrill, when it finally came. Pushing the throttle felt like stretching a rubber band attached to a slingshot… and then it let go, and there you went. Once the car taught me to shift down early and often, I didn’t have to wait for engine rom orders to be relayed down from the flying bridge like that.
Oddly, I can’t recall why I sold the car. A faint scent of engine coolant comes to my mind, then fades. Maybe it was because my gal fancied a Datsun 1600 roadster that followed it? But I was back for more years of SAAB turbo ownership ten years later, with the 9000.
BTW, regarding the SAAB 99 Turbo– I just punched in this car’s name into a search and found 15 cars for sale.
I still maintain these were among the only cars truly designed for winter. For example, the way the doors wrap under the car at the bottom, so all the muck stays on the door, and you can step in and out without getting your pants dirty. The big wheels and front wheel drive. The wipers on the headlights. Not even the 9000 was as thoughtfully crafted.
Well, the 9000 was compromised to some extent by being part of the Type Four project. When you’re sharing the basic design with three Italian sedans, a certain amount of Swedish practicality gets lost in translation.
There was a period of time when I tried to get the best price I could and log a batch of miles. My campus location required driving across Houston.
One of these efforts involved a Saab that was originally a turbo but did not have the original turbo engine. I was enthralled as it was rock solid during those heavy rains we sometimes get here and handled great at all times. Then the engine grenaded (head gasket I think) and it was over. Picked up a 626 and it ran perfect until a high school freshman with a shiny new license center punched me. My next car was swedish again (Volvo) and it ran great until I changed the oil and the engine started knocking. I became convinced that I had no business driving swedish cars. I am very aware that the data is anecdotal and some of those old Volvos really appeal to me but think I can resist.
A new y2k saturn S series put all that in the rear view mirror. If they still made them in Tennnessee to the same standards as the S series there would probably still be one in my driveway. As it is the Saturns(Opels) now reside in my memory alongside the volvos and saabs. Given the option I expect to be Nissan or Toyota unless standards change.
I had an 1988 900 turbo then a 1988 900 turbo convertible, I have owned much more powerful, more luxurious and (admittedly) much better built cars but I will never enjoy driving or love another car as much.
I remember how well the 99 was treated by the mags when it appeared but I never had any close encounters with them back then, as there was a long period starting in the early 70s when no SAABs were imported to Israel. When I was living in the UK in the late 80s and the 90s the 99s all but disappeared. The 900s were thought of as worthy cars but woe betide the owner if anything went wrong – parts and service carried extortionate prices, and they were not pleasant cars to work on. Image-wise (image should, in my opinion, be factored in when one thinks about cars) they were a strange creature back then; they hovered the line between respectedom and yuppydom, sort of the thinking yuppy’s car (garden variety yuppies had BMWs and Porsches)?
Never ridden in or driven a 900 but I know my roommate’s 9-3 is well appointed, roomy (can fit a large dog crate in the back!), and can show off a bit of sport if needed and from the looks of it’s elder sibling I’d expect the same albeit perhaps a bit less refined. Saabs are very European looking, narrow wheels, a hatch, and an unusual profile from all angles. Despite being owned by GM in it’s later days you’d never confuse one for a domestic by any length. Sad they don’t make cars like this anymore, great practical daily driver with a little (a lot of) endearing quirkiness.
In the mid-90’s, I had an ’81 900 Turbo sedan. It had been used as a race car, and didn’t last long. For a while after that, I had a ’72 Saab 96, which I loved, but simply couldn’t take proper care of. I sent it to a loving home.
Now 20 years later — February 11 last year, to be exact, my 46th birthday — I happened to poke through Craig’s List and found a silver ’85 900 Turbo 3-door for sale six hours away. A friend drove me down a couple days later, and I brought it home. (I promised my wife it would count as my midlife crisis, and she hasn’t said a negative word about it.)
Apart from the headliner, the usual cracks in the dash, and a single cigarette burn, the interior is pristine, and the exterior has only a few shallow dents where someone pushed the hood closed too forcefully. It even came with the original bottle of touch-up paint and the leather documentation pouch, with the salesman’s card still inside.
It’s in the shop now for inspection and a bit of work — one of the engine mounts is worn out — but with any luck, I’ll die before the car does, many many years from now.
I bought a used 1984 Saab 900S four-door in 1986 after graduating from law school. In the first year of ownership it blew its auto transmission and I had to have a tranny from a wrecked Saab installed. I and later my wife drove it for almost a decade. Looked good in silver with a burgundy velour interior. Very comfortable for four passengers, and the fold-down rear seats made it very handy at hauling stuff. Later on, the main wiring harness managed to short out against a brake line in the engine compartment and brake fluid caught on fire! This happened as I turned right onto my street. I ran to the house and grabbed a box of baking soda to dump on the little fire. I found a mechanic who repaired the burnt part of the harness with electrical tape, which seemed to do the trick! When the transmission went wonky (again) while driving my son to the doctor’s office, I gave up and practically gave the car away. But, in a strange way, I miss the beast.
Bought an ’83 Turbo new. Love/hate relationship. Great winter car as someone said, seating position/seat/windshield etc. Body build solid. Horrible transmissions. When I bought the thing a guy at work told me his SAAB story of a 99 EMS and transmission trouble. I did not beat the car. At around 75k the output shaft bearing housing broke on a hard but not abusive 1-2 shift. It was a casting and should have been a forging. Had the trans rebuilt and it lasted until around 120k, another trans problem i don’t recall. Put another salvage trans in it and it lasted until around 160k and then i moved on. Again, i never beat on it. It was 8 years old, the body was great still. It also went thru heater diverter valves like clockwork, they were expensive and a bitch to put in under the dash (someone mentioned coolant smell in the interior). IMO the drivetrain was not fully developed, I knew someone else with trans problems. Also knew someone with a NA 900 and his wiring harness melted next to the cat converter. Unfortunately for SAAB, Subaru has the same vibe with much better development so I didn’t shed a tear for their demise.
The gearbox is is definitely the Achilles’ heel of the 900. The gearbox was engineered for the much lower output of the 99. They never revised it to handle the power of the turbo 900. My ’93 2.1l N/A has 150k on the original gearbox, knock on wood.
from what I can see, the trans held up well in the NA 900. you are right, same trans in turbo.
Can’t believe there’s never been a 900 CC…
One of my all-time favorites, although that 99 Turbo ranks even higher for me. I still hope to own one someday, and already have a GM900, which is hardly the same thing.
Bought one as my first car last year, over here in the UK.
Transmission is without doubt the worst aspect. Not much cop, and the greatness of the rest of the car shows it up all the more.
BUT/ the rest is pretty sweet so far. Totally reliable. 128k on the clock now. Amazing amounts of space – got a young child and you can just keep lobbing stuff in to the boot in the most incredible way considering the (to me) gorgeous and slim (compared to today’s blobbers) looks.
Lag isn’t too bad (mine’s a ’92) and in fact quite fun. The power delivery has two settings – off boost where you surf along on the torque. This is enough for modern town traffic.
– on boost dobs, most easily used on the motorway (freeway) but if enough room on our twisty roads then there too.
Brakes are OK, nothing more by today’s standards.
Ride is jittery (no doubt my shocks are fairly shot etc) but acceptable, and helped by the wonderful seats.
I love the look of it, love its idiosyncracies (ignition key is by your hip), love the ’60s upright screen and slender pillars yet ’80s bodykit and detailing. The chunk of the door. The fact almost everything still works, quarter of a century on.
If we have another kid we may have to think again, but for now why not have something that puts a smile on your face every time you drive?
One aspect of these that pretty much has gone forever is the distinctive exhaust note, the “Saab throb” obtainable only with real Saab mufflers that haven’t been available for many years. I miss hearing it.
I still so want a 16 valve non-turbo 5 speed 900. Preferably a 91 but would take slightly earlier as beggars can’t be choosers. Of course, I still want a 5 speed 91 Volvo 242. maybe greedy but have this thing for cars that need good owners like a cowboy and his horse.
I loved the 99 and 900 turbos all through the late 70’s and eighties, but I stuck to Honda because I wanted reliability above all else, after bad experiences with GM. It saddens me to remember how Saab ended up – owned by GM, and selling re-badged Subaru’s; not that I don’t like Subaru’s, but they aren’t and weren’t Saabs. To me that was a sign that the automotive world had truly changed, and not altogether for the better.
I wonder how many people had an experience with Saab here in the U.S. that my dad had. If I remember correctly, he bought a lightly-used 80 (not sure if it was a turbo or not) in 81. Over the next couple of years, it proved itself to be wholly unreliable, spending much time in the shop, but more importantly for the ownership experience, my dad had a hard time finding people that were really willing to work on it. This was Dallas in the early 80s, hardly a backwater and probably relatively representative of the serviceability of a Saab in most places outside the Northeast and West Coast.
Eventually, he traded it in on a new Olds 88 in 83, which turned out to be an exceedingly good and reliable car, contrary to GM’s growing reputation by then.