Friday 14th January 2011

SOTW: Saab 900 Turbo(s)

Shed spots a pair of laggy Swedish models

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Immaculate on a 'G'...

The first time I experienced scuttle shake properly was, perversely, in a Saab 900. A friend of mine at university had a late turbo 16-valve hatchback version that was so lacking in bracing structure, owing to the cavernous space behind the rear seats, that the CD player skipped if you drove over so much as a discarded cigarette packet.

And yet I always had a soft spot for the car. It was fast, it was unusual and it made a great noise. Admittedly it was not entirely standard - but even without the straight-through exhaust my mate had fitted (to his car, I ought to point out) the old triumph-derived slant-four still made the sort of God-gargling-mouthwash thrum that also makes old Subarus sound so good.

I was smitten. Who cared if it had enough torque steer to switch lanes via the throttle rather than the steering wheel?

By the late eighties, Saab had also managed to get rid of (some) the huge gobs of turbo lag that made the original 99 Turbo such an unpredictable beast.

...or tattier but on an 'L'? Choices, choices...

It might also have been a little down on capacity and cylinders compared with six-pot efforts from the likes of BMW, Mercedes and Audi, but with the aid of that turbo it was far from outgunned. Its 175bhp and, more significantly, 201lb ft of torque gave the 900 enough poke to deal with the 0-60mph sprint in less than eight seconds and to hit a maximum of 130mph.

Provided you could keep the thing in a straight line, the mid-range punch from the turbo meant overtaking was a bit of a doddle too.

Genuinely cheap, clean 900 Turbos are getting rare these days, but Shed has managed to spot two likely-looking candidates in the PH classifieds for below the magic £1k barrier. Both claim to have a full history, and both have plenty of MOT. And the differences? One appears to have been snapped in a scrapyard - and happens to be 200 quid cheaper.

Other than that and a small mileage difference there's not a lot to choose between them. Apart from the fact that the more expensive one looks a little bit more shiny...

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Advert for the 1989 car is reproduced below:

Saab 900 t16v (1989)
150,000 miles £950

...older car looks tidy inside...

1989 Black with grey trim and grey cloth interior in very clean condition.
150000 miles with lots of service paperwork. The car drives very tight due to new bearing , bushes and link arms all round, she is a great driver and i am only selling due to me relocating to a remote location were four wheel drive is more suitable.
MOT till June tax though has just run out.

Advert for the leggier 1993 car is reproduced below:

...but no cabin shot of the younger car

SAAB 900 T16S (1993)
175,000 miles £750

FOR SALE IS MY SAAB 900 T16S. THIS IS THE LAST OF THE RUN OUT EDITIONS 1993 ON A 'L'PLATE IN GOOD CONDITION WITH ALL SERVICE / MOT HISTORY. THE CAR IS MOT TILL SEPT 2011 AND TAXED UNTILL FEB 2011,

[W00DY]

I was going to see the bottom one this weekend but couldn't be arsed with the drive to Scotand. Guy seems nice on the phone though, quite up front and honest. It needs tracking, but he's only done a few miles since the MOT.

ETA: I also emailed the top one's seller. Not immaculate, bit of bonnet rust. It's not an S either which is less desireable and windy windows could make resale tough.

Edited by W00DY on Friday 14th January 10:01

[chunkymonkey71]

Always liked these.

Years ago I looked at a 3 door "jubilee" edition with full leather. Lovely car but had a few wee tatty bits on it so I didnt get it. Ended up buying an Audi 80.

Liked the Audi but kind of wish I'd got the SAAB. (oddly enough, the SAAB was only a 3 door, but still about 7 inches longer than the Audi!)

[youngsod]

Has the G-plate one gone already?

[Faust66]

Remember racing a mate who had one of these in my 2.8 Capri - pretty even in a straight line until we got to the twisty bits and he pulled ahead... we were doing very silly speeds though!

Ah, memories.

Always wanted one though but the FWD/torque steer issues have put me off so far. One day though...

[SVX]

I ran a 'J' plate T16S, absolutely loved it, chopped in for my first Subaru @ 180K miles - would have another in a heart beat. The 'ruby' run out model and the last edition T16S convertible in über-rare metallic aubergine are appreciating assets.

[S1_RS]

I had two 900 turbo's a few years back, absolutely dreadful cars, immensly heavy and felt very agricultural even compared to my Dad's 240 GLT he had at the time.

[y2blade]

oh yes....Great SOTW

I love these

[rob.e]

chunkymonkey71 said:

Always liked these.

Years ago I looked at a 3 door "jubilee" edition with full leather. Lovely car but had a few wee tatty bits on it so I didnt get it. Ended up buying an Audi 80.

Liked the Audi but kind of wish I'd got the SAAB. (oddly enough, the SAAB was only a 3 door, but still about 7 inches longer than the Audi!)

My old man had about seven of these on the trot. In fact he had a new "jubilee" supplied new FOC by Saab UK after he returned his lovely black/black 3 month old turbo under the sale of goods act (it really was a duffer). Shame the jubilee was such a lousy burgundy colour..

[Morningside]

My old boss always had Saab 900 Turbos. I remember that one day he asked me to move it ASAP (Croydon traffic wardens) so out I run and spend 5 minutes trying to find the ignition key hole and then could not get the damn thing started!

In the end I gave up - Great anti-theft secret that one.

[The Donster]

I really wish people would stop referring to massive torquesteer as a problem on these cars. It was never as bad as some have made out.

This was old-school turbocharging at its best. Lag, yes, torquesteer, yes, but very managable - not like some Mk1 Focus RS variants (not all, it has to be said). Utterly brilliant cars to drive and own and a crying shame I still don't have my flat-front T16S.

Edited by The Donster on Friday 14th January 10:28

Edited by The Donster on Friday 14th January 11:50

[Frimley111R]

W00DY said:

.........and windy windows could make resale tough.

Seriously? People buying SAABs of this era aren't put off by wind up windows!

[The Donster]

That G-plate one looks an odd spec, too - Aero side trim, no Aero wheels and windy windows. Hmmm.

Edited by The Donster on Friday 14th January 10:36

[pSyCoSiS]

Great SOTW.

Never owned one, but have always had a softspot for them.

I love the cockpit-style layout of the dashboard.

Very quirky cars - much better than the Saabs of today.

[theturbs]

Both of these are great sheds.

[Boosted LS1]

I've got a Ruby and a 9000 2.3t. The 9000 is the faster car but the ruby is a fantastic car to drive. Stable, precise with lots of feedback. Makes the 9000 feel like a pudding but the 9000 will fly over speed humps whereas the ruby has to slow right down due to it's sport suspension fitted as standard iirc.

[Garett]

I'll be getting rid of my 9000 soon and getting a diesel Volvo , hopefully i can pick one of these up in the future as I've bee well and truly bitten by the Saab bug.
I love the way the look but its an acquired taste for sure. As for turbo lag and torque steer, thats the whole fun of a turbo isn't it?!

[hornetrider]

The Donster said:

That G-plate one looks an odd spec, too - Aero side trim, no Aero wheels and windy windows. Hmmm.

Edited by The Donster on Friday 14th January 10:36

Looks nice though. Lot of car for a grand.

[Steamer]

Ummmm gorgeously ugly

...but then again I quite like Sarah Jessica Parker.

[W00DY]

They sound great too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAhJxal0D8E&t=1...

[900T-R]

S1_RS said:

I had two 900 turbo's a few years back, absolutely dreadful cars, immensly heavy and felt very agricultural even compared to my Dad's 240 GLT he had at the time.

Eh? A full-fat T16S with all the toys comes in at 1,300ish kgs...

And they only feel agricultural as long as you don't drive them fast enough...