Saab 99
Encyclopedia
Development
On April 2, 1965, Gudmund's dayName days in Sweden
This is the old Swedish name day calendar, sanctioned by the Swedish Academy in 1901, with official status until 1972. Some days still refer to traditional or religious feasts rather than personal names. Some of the names below are linked to the original saints or martyrs from which they originate...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, after several years of planning, the Saab board started Project Gudmund. This was a project to develop a new and larger car to take the manufacturer beyond the market for the smaller Saab 96
Saab 96
For the modern car, see Saab 9-6The Saab 96 is an automobile made by Saab. It was introduced in 1960 and was produced until January 1980, a run of 20 years. Like the 93 it replaced, the 96 was a development from the old Saab 92 chassis and, on account of its improvements and modernisation, it...
. This new car became the Saab 99, designed by Sixten Sason
Sixten Sason
Sixten Sason was a Swedish industrial designer.Sason started working for Saab, designing aircraft throughout World War II. Following the war, he was asked to contribute to Project 92, the result of which would be the first Saab automobile, the Saab 92 which began production in 1949...
and unveiled in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
on November 22, 1967.
The first prototypes of the 99 were built by cutting a Saab 96 lengthwise and widening it by 20 centimetres (7.9 in); this created the so called Paddan
Saab Toad
Saab Toad, or Paddan in Swedish, was a development car Saab made in 1966 to test out the new chassis, drive train and engine for the Saab 99.-Background:...
(The toad
Toad
A toad is any of a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura characterized by dry, leathery skin , short legs, and snoat-like parotoid glands...
), which was a disguise for the new project.
After that phase, also as a disguise, the first 99 body shell was badged "daihatsu" as that name could be made up out of letters available for other Saab models.
Valmet Automotive
Valmet Automotive is a Finnish car maker. The majority of company is owned by Metso . Valmet Automotive is a contract manufacturer of specialty automobiles.-Production:...
in Uusikaupunki
Uusikaupunki
Uusikaupunki , is a town and municipality of Finland.It is located in the Finland Proper region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is inland water. The population density is .The municipality is unilingually Finnish...
; five years of this production (from 1979) was alongside the Finnish built version of the Talbot Horizon, which shared a similar high quality velour upholstery to the 99.
Although Saab engineers liked the two stroke engine
Internal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
it was decided that a four stroke engine was necessary and the choice was a 1.75 L (later 1.85 L) engine from Triumph
Triumph Motor Company
The Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company. The Triumph marque is owned currently by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg initiated S. Bettmann & Co and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them with his own...
, the same Triumph Slant-4 engine
Triumph Slant-4 engine
The Triumph Slant-4 is an engine developed by Triumph. According to Triumph historians Graham Robson and Richard Langworth in Triumph Cars, the complete story, the engine was developed in-house by a design team led by Lewis Dawtry and Harry Webster....
used in the Triumph Dolomite
Triumph Dolomite
The Triumph Dolomite was a popular small saloon car produced by the Triumph Motor Company division of the British Leyland Corporation in Canley, Coventry between October 1972 and August 1980.-History:...
, but the Saab version was fitted with a Zenith-Stromberg
Zenith Carburetters
Zenith Carburetters was a British company making carburettors. In 1955 they joined with their major pre-war rival Solex Carburettors and over time the Zenith brand name fell into disuse...
CD carburetor
Carburetor
A carburetor , carburettor, or carburetter is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. It is sometimes shortened to carb in North America and the United Kingdom....
developed specially for Saab. Forty-eight Saab 99s were equipped with a Triumph Stag
Triumph Stag
The Triumph Stag is a British car that was sold between 1970 and 1978 by the Triumph Motor Company, styled by the Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti.-Design and styling:...
V8
Triumph V8
The Triumph V8 is a 3.0 litre V8 developed in house by Triumph for the Triumph Stag. This was basically two Triumph Slant-4 engines 'stuck' together. It consisted of a single overhead cam cast iron block with aluminium heads.-Development:...
, but the idea to use a V8 was later dropped in favour of a turbocharged
Turbocharger
A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...
engine.
A three-door station wagon (estate) version was planned from the start, but never made it into production. In 1971 (with thoughts about a combi coupé
Combi coupé
Combi coupé is a proprietary marketing term used by Swedish manufacturer Saab for marketing their fastback styled hatchback models.The term denotes a car with a mixture of a "combi" and a coupé...
) the work on a station wagon was restarted, this time as a five door.
Description
The first engine used in the original 99 was a four-cylinder in-line engineStraight engine
Usually found in four- and six-cylinder configurations, the straight engine, or inline engine is an internal-combustion engine with all cylinders aligned in one row, with no offset...
that was tilted at 45 degrees, basically half of a V8. The 1709 cc Triumph-sourced engine produced 87 PS at 5500 rpm
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
. The engine was water-cooled, but unlike most cars of the time it had an electric cooling fan. Triumph soon upgraded the engine to 1.85L: the appearance in February 1971 of the 4-door Saab 99 (99CM4 series) coincided with the adoption of the bored out 1854 cc unit. Saab experienced reliability problems with Triumph sourced engines and decided to bring the design home. From September 1972 the 1985 cc Saab B engine
Saab B engine
The Saab B engine is based on the Triumph Slant-4 engine and replaced their aging two-stroke engine. When it was decided to develop a new Saab model in 1964, the Saab 99, the decision was also made to give it a modern four-stroke engine. A contract was signed with Triumph to deliver their soon to...
was used; during the lifetime of the 99 model, several subsequent engine developments took place including the incorporation of fuel injection
Fuel injection
Fuel injection is a system for admitting fuel into an internal combustion engine. It has become the primary fuel delivery system used in automotive petrol engines, having almost completely replaced carburetors in the late 1980s....
for some versions. The engine was fitted 'back to front', with the clutch at the front.
The bonnet
Hood (vehicle)
The hood or bonnet is the hinged cover over the engine of motor vehicles that allows access to the engine compartment for maintenance and repair. In British terminology, hood refers to a fabric cover over the passenger compartment of the car...
(hood
Hood (vehicle)
The hood or bonnet is the hinged cover over the engine of motor vehicles that allows access to the engine compartment for maintenance and repair. In British terminology, hood refers to a fabric cover over the passenger compartment of the car...
) was forward-hinged and the panel extended over the front wheel arches. The windscreen (windshield
Windshield
The windshield or windscreen of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike or tram is the front window. Modern windshields are generally made of laminated safety glass, a type of treated glass, which consists of two curved sheets of glass with a plastic layer laminated between them for safety, and are glued...
) was wrap-around and very deep for the era. The A-pillar had a steep angle, providing excellent driver visibility
Driver visibility
In transport, driver visibility is the maximum distance at which the driver of a vehicle can see and identify prominent objects around the vehicle. Visibility is primarily determined by weather conditions and by a vehicle's design. The parts of a vehicle that influence visibility include the...
. Writing in 1968, the English test-driver Archie Vicar wrote in Mass Motorist magazine: "The little 99 has been given a striking and wholly rational appearance. It gives the flavour of an aeroplane on four wheels."
Due to the American sealed beam
Sealed beam
A sealed beam is a type of lamp that includes a reflector and filament as a single assembly, over which a front cover of clear glass, is permanently attached. Previously, automotive headlamps used a separate small bulb and reflector covered with a ribbed lens to avoid glare from the filament. This...
headlight requirement in place at the time the USA models had a special front fascia with two round headlights instead of the single rectangular unit it had in other markets. The "US front" then became a popular item for car customisers in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Early 99s carried over the freewheel
Freewheel
thumb|Freewheel mechanismIn mechanical or automotive engineering, a freewheel or overrunning clutch is a device in a transmission that disengages the driveshaft from the driven shaft when the driven shaft rotates faster than the driveshaft...
transmission
Transmission (mechanics)
A machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...
from the Saab 96
Saab 96
For the modern car, see Saab 9-6The Saab 96 is an automobile made by Saab. It was introduced in 1960 and was produced until January 1980, a run of 20 years. Like the 93 it replaced, the 96 was a development from the old Saab 92 chassis and, on account of its improvements and modernisation, it...
, but the freewheel was removed with the introduction of the 1.85 L engine, likely on account of the extra power that the apparatus would have to transmit.
The handbrake
HandBrake
HandBrake is a general-purpose, open-source, cross-platform, multithreaded video transcoder software application. HandBrake was originally developed by titer in 2003 as a general-purpose video transcoder to make ripping a film from a DVD to a data storage device easier...
was on the front wheels.
The car was wide and low and the suspension gave it handling that was very good for the time. The Cw value
Drag coefficient
In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment such as air or water. It is used in the drag equation, where a lower drag coefficient indicates the object will have less aerodynamic or...
was 0.37 while other cars of the time had 0.4 to 0.5. The chassis was also designed for secondary safety.
The 99 was Saab's last rally car, first in EMS guise and later as the Turbo version. The Saab 99 turbo was one of the first "family cars" to be fitted with a turbo after the 1962-63 Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...
Turbo Jetfire; other contemporary turbocharged automobiles were very "specialised" vehicles and were difficult to drive. Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics is an American magazine first published January 11, 1902 by H. H. Windsor, and has been owned since 1958 by the Hearst Corporation...
lists the Saab 99 Turbo as number two on their top 10 list of turbocharged cars of all time.
The UK's "Mass Motorist" magazine (1968) summarised their view of the 99 as follows: "That the 99 is comfortable, well-made, satisfying to drive and well-equipped ought to mean that other makers should take heed. The BMW 2002
BMW New Class
The BMW New Class was a line of compact sedans and coupes produced by German automaker BMW starting with the 1962 1500 and continuing through the last 2002s in 1977....
and Alfa Romeo Giulia
Alfa Romeo Giulia
The Alfa Romeo Giulia is an Alfa Romeo automobile. Alfa was one of the first manufacturers to put a powerful engine in a light-weight car for mainstream production. The Giulia weighed about . The car was equipped with a light alloy twin overhead camshaft four-cylinder engine, similar to that of...
are the Saab 99's main rivals. I would contend here that Saab has the advantage of them, and should Saab choose to fit an even more powerful motor, the 99 could be a class leader in a short space of time."
Wheels magazine
Wheels magazine
Wheels is an Australian automotive magazine published monthly by ACP Magazines. The publication is well-renowned by Australian car enthusiasts...
wrote in a July 1978 road test of the 99 Turbo, "Compare the top gear times and you'll see that the Turbo is almost as fast between 60 km/h (37 mph) and 160 km/h (99 mph) in fourth gear as any five-seater in the world". Modern Motor of August 1978 wrote, "It is necessary to drive the car to believe that such a seemingly endless surge of strong acceleration is possible from a 2.0 L engine in a far from lightweight car".
A police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
version of the 99 was also built. The hood/bonnet of the 99 (and also the 900) caused problems for the police livery team. Since it wraps around, covering the wheel arches, the paint had to be extended up onto the hood panel and not restricted to just the fenders as on other cars.
A detail on Saab 99 (sedan model) was that it had a heating duct leading to the rear window. With a lever between the front seats the airflow could be controlled to help defogging the rear window. Another Saab feature that has been used even on later models is that the ignition lock is on the floor. Unlike most cars, where the steering wheel is locked by the ignition key, this car locks the gear stick. It has the side effect that the driver would always have to park the car with reverse gear activated (except for automatic versions). It was supposed to be safer, since the anti-theft lock would not affect safety if forced or at malfunction. However, car thieves discovered that it was very easy to force the lock and for that reason Saab was a very popular brand for car-thieves. The system has been improved on later models (Saab 9-3
Saab 9-3
The first generation 9-3, a substantially improved 'new-generation' Saab 900 was launched in 1998 for the 1999 model year. Saab claimed that 1,100 changes were made, including a revised suspension in an attempt to tighten up the handling characteristics of its predecessor, the Saab 900...
and Saab 9-5
Saab 9-5
The Saab 9-5 is an executive car produced by the Swedish automobile maker Saab. The first generation was introduced in 1997 as the replacement to the Saab 9000 for the 1998 model year. At the time, the car represented a great leap forward for Saab...
), and nowadays an electronic lock is included.
Models
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- EMS—Introduced in 1972, the EMS (Electronic [fuel injection] Manual [transmission] Special) was a sportier model that was originally only available in a two door version; but became available in the 3-door 'wagonback' body from 1974 (1978 in the USA). It had a stiffer suspension and was sold in yellow or a copper colored metallic paintMetallic paintMetallic paint, also called polychromatic or "metal flake" paint, is used on the majority of new automobiles sold. Metallic paint can reveal the contours of bodywork more than non-metallic, or "solid" paint, Close-up, the small metal flakes included in the paint create a sparkling...
in '73, silver metallic or orange in '74, black or silver in '75 and '76, black, silver, or burgundy in '77, and silver or burgundy in '78. The engine had 1985 cc displacement giving 110 PS and a top speed of 170 kilometre per hour . The grille badge differed from the more basic models in '73 and '74 only. Other features through the years - quicker steering, luxury interior, soccerball wheels, carpeted trunk, and front air dam. - SSE—Sold in the US to satisfy demand while the EMS was not yet available there. The SSE had a black or burled walnut vinyl roofVinyl roofVinyl roof refers to a vinyl covering for an automobile's top. This covering was originally designed to give the appearance of a convertible to models with a fixed roof, but eventually it evolved into a styling statement in its own right. Vinyl roofs were most popular in the American market, and...
cover and a BorgWarnerBorgWarnerBorgWarner Inc. is a United States-based worldwide automotive industry components and parts supplier. It is primarily known for its powertrain products, which include manual and automatic transmissions and transmission components, , turbochargers, engine valve timing system...
automatic transmissionAutomatic transmissionAn automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
and 1.85 Triumph engine. - X7—Introduced in 1973. A very basic model only sold in Sweden and Denmark. The car had no self-repairing bumpers and it also had the same seats as the V4 Saabs, only with no heat. A simpler climate control system was also added. The clock, cigarette lighter, glove compartment and the rear window defogger were also dropped.
- L—Luxe. A budget model introduced in 1973 that came with the 1.85 L engine.
- GL—Grand Luxe.
- GLE—Grand Luxe Elegant/Extra, introduced in 1976. The top model, equipped with fuel injection, power steeringPower steeringPower steering helps drivers steer vehicles by augmenting steering effort of the steering wheel.Hydraulic or electric actuators add controlled energy to the steering mechanism, so the driver needs to provide only modest effort regardless of conditions. Power steering helps considerably when a...
and an automatic transmission. - GLs—Grand Luxe Super. It was the same as a GL but with two carburetors instead of one. It had 110 PS compared to the 100 PS in the single-carburetor version.
- Turbo—Introduced in 1978. It was fitted with a turbochargedTurbochargerA turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...
version of the 2-litre engine. The body was originally a 3-door Combi coupéCombi coupéCombi coupé is a proprietary marketing term used by Swedish manufacturer Saab for marketing their fastback styled hatchback models.The term denotes a car with a mixture of a "combi" and a coupé...
version but later the company produced a two-door model, which was a limited homologation exercise, to enable the production of a rally car. It was available in red, silver, gray, and black; the 2-door was available in metallic green. The Turbo S was a special model with factory-mounted water injectionWater injection (engines)In internal combustion engines, water injection, also known as anti-detonant injection, is spraying water into the cylinder or incoming fuel-air mixture to cool the combustion chambers of the engine, allowing for greater compression ratios and largely eliminating the problem of engine knocking...
, giving an extra 15–20 PS. In 1978 there was a very limited edition of a little over 100 five-door 99 Turbos. They were only available in cardinal red metallic. - Finlandia—A limousineLimousineA limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....
version of the Saab 99 GLE combi-coupé with a 25 centimetres (9.8 in) longer wheelbase was introduced in 1977 by ValmetValmet' was a Finnish state-owned conglomerate. Valmet was formed in 1951, when the state of Finland decided to group their various factories working on war reparations to the Soviet Union under one company...
in UusikaupunkiUusikaupunkiUusikaupunki , is a town and municipality of Finland.It is located in the Finland Proper region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is inland water. The population density is .The municipality is unilingually Finnish...
(Nystad), FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and was called the "Finlandia". It was only sold in Finland. The first year had a short extension piece between the front and rear doors. In 1978 the wheelbase was only 20 centimetres (7.9 in) longer than in the standard model and all doors were stretched by 10 centimetres (3.9 in). Two late 99 Finlandias were fitted with a turbocharged engine at the factory. The tradition continued with the Saab 900Saab 900The Saab 900 was a car produced by Saab Automobile from 1978 until 1998 in two generations. The first generation from 1978 to 1993 is known as the "classic"; the generation from 1994 to 1998 is known as the "new generation" ....
Finlandia in 1979. - Petro-Multifuel engine designed to run on either gasoline or kerosene. Produced 1979-1981 in Uusikaupunki and only sold in Finland.
History
The 99 was first shown on November 22, 1967. The first production cars came in autumn 1968.In 1970 the interior was given a facelift and became more luxurious, with a new dashboard
Dashboard
A dashboard is a control panel placed in front of the driver of an automobile, housing instrumentation and controls for operation of the vehicle....
. The exhaust system was now made of aluminum. In March, the 99E Automatic was introduced. It had a 1.75 L engine with electronically controlled fuel injection, giving 95 PS. A four-door version was also introduced.
In 1971 the 99 was given a larger and stronger engine, a 1.85 L engine giving 86 PS on the carbureted model and 95 PS for the fuel injected model. The 1.75 L engine was now only available with a carburetor. Saab also introduced headlight wipers. The dashboard was given a redesign along with new instruments.
In 1972 the 1.75 L engine was no longer available. The power of the engine was increased to 88 PS for carbureted models and 97 PS for fuel injected models. The 2.0 L engine
Saab B engine
The Saab B engine is based on the Triumph Slant-4 engine and replaced their aging two-stroke engine. When it was decided to develop a new Saab model in 1964, the Saab 99, the decision was also made to give it a modern four-stroke engine. A contract was signed with Triumph to deliver their soon to...
became available. The major change this year were new plastic bumpers that could take impacts up to 8 km/h (5 mph) and still retain their shape. The suspension was stiffened and received stronger dampers. An electrically heated driver's seat was also introduced.
In January 1972 the 99 EMS (Electronic-Manual-Special) was introduced. It was a sportier model that was originally only available in a two door version; but became available in the wagonback body beginning in 1974 (Europe). It had stiffer suspension and also silver or copper ('bronze')-colored metallic paint as option. The engine had 1985 cc displacement
Engine displacement
Engine displacement is the volume swept by all the pistons inside the cylinders of an internal combustion engine in a single movement from top dead centre to bottom dead centre . It is commonly specified in cubic centimeters , litres , or cubic inches...
and Bosch
Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...
D-Jetronic electronic fuel injection giving 110 PS and a top speed of 170 kilometre per hour .
In the USA, a special 99 SSE was available to satisfy demand while the EMS was not yet available there. The SSE had a black or burled walnut vinyl roof
Vinyl roof
Vinyl roof refers to a vinyl covering for an automobile's top. This covering was originally designed to give the appearance of a convertible to models with a fixed roof, but eventually it evolved into a styling statement in its own right. Vinyl roofs were most popular in the American market, and...
cover and an automatic transmission
Automatic transmission
An automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
(by Borg-Warner). It also had the 1.85 Triumph engine installed.
In 1973 a low cost model called the 99L was introduced. It was a two door with a 1.85 L engine giving 88 PS. All other models had the 2.0 L engine. The LE model had electronic fuel injection giving 110 PS. The LE model was mainly made for export.
In 1974 the 3-door hatchback
Hatchback
A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...
combi coupé
Combi coupé
Combi coupé is a proprietary marketing term used by Swedish manufacturer Saab for marketing their fastback styled hatchback models.The term denotes a car with a mixture of a "combi" and a coupé...
(marketed as a "Wagon Back" in the USA) was introduced. It was 10 cm (3.9 in) longer than the sedan.
In 1975 the brakes were improved and the hand brake
Hand brake
In cars, the hand brake is a latching brake usually used to keep the car stationary, and in manual transmission vehicles, as an aid to starting the vehicle from stopped when going up an incline - with one foot on the clutch , the other on the accelerator In cars, the hand brake (emergency brake,...
now worked directly on the primary brake pads instead of on separate pads acting as drum brakes inside the brake rotor. The 99 was now available in two versions, one with a carburetor with 100 PS and a fuel injected version using Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system giving 118 PS. In February a model using Zenith-Stromberg 150CDS(E) dual carburetors was introduced. It was only available for the combi coupé.
In 1976 nothing major was changed, but a self adjusting clutch
Clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device which provides for the transmission of power from one component to another...
was introduced. The engines were adapted for tougher emissions requirements and several models with an electrically heated rear window were introduced. A luxurious 4-door sedan model was available, the 99 GLE. it came with power steering, an automatic transmission, a fuel-injected engine, luxurious upholstery on the seats and an armrest in the rear seat.
In 1977, the front lights and the sedan's tail lights were enlarged.
In 1978 a turbocharged
Turbocharger
A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...
version of the car, the 99 Turbo, was introduced. It was only available as a combi coupé until the next year. A turbocharged engine produced 145 PS giving the car top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph). The turbochargers were designed and built by Garrett AiResearch
Garrett AiResearch
Garrett AiResearch was a manufacturer of turboprop engines and turbochargers, and a pioneer in numerous aerospace technologies. It was previously known as Aircraft Tool and Supply Company, Garrett Supply Company, AiResearch Manufacturing Company, or simply AiResearch...
.
In 1979 the 99 Turbo came in a four door version and the Turbo also came in a metallic green two-door coupe.
In 1980 the 99 came in many different models. It was also given the new and safer seats from the Saab 900
Saab 900
The Saab 900 was a car produced by Saab Automobile from 1978 until 1998 in two generations. The first generation from 1978 to 1993 is known as the "classic"; the generation from 1994 to 1998 is known as the "new generation" ....
. Later in the year the transmissions on all models were the same as in the four-speed turbos. This was also the last year for the 99 in the United States.
In 1981 the 99 was available in only two engine options, the 99GL with 100 PS and the 99 GLi with 118 PS, both with a four-speed manual transmission. The GLi was a bit more luxurious and had power side mirrors.
In 1982 came the H engine, built by Scania
Scania AB
Scania Aktiebolag , commonly referred to as Scania AB or just Scania, is a major Swedish automotive industry manufacturer of commercial vehicles - specifically heavy trucks and buses...
at Södertälje
Södertälje
Södertälje is a city and the seat of Södertälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 86,069 inhabitants in 2010.The industrial city, about south of Stockholm, is the home to truck maker Scania AB and a top 10 pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca....
, making it possible for all cars to run on 93 octane
Octane rating
Octane rating or octane number is a standard measure of the anti-knock properties of a motor or aviation fuel. The higher the octane number, the more compression the fuel can withstand before detonating...
gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
. The two and four door 99GLs came with a five-speed manual transmission and low profile tires. All models except the Turbo and EMS came with a single carburetor, manual transmission and the grille
Grille
A grille or grill is an opening of several slits side by side in a wall or metal sheet or other barrier, usually to let air or water enter and/or leave but keep larger objects including people and animals in or out.-Spelling:In the United States, "grille" is used to differentiate the automotive...
from the EMS and the Turbo.
In 1983 a number of smaller technical and cosmetic changes were made.
In 1984 some minor changes were made. 1984 was the final year for the 99. It was replaced by the Saab 90
Saab 90
The Saab 90 is an automobile from Saab made from 1984 to 1987. It was manufactured at a facility in Uusikaupunki, Finland, at that time owned by Saab and Valmet....
and the Saab 900
Saab 900
The Saab 900 was a car produced by Saab Automobile from 1978 until 1998 in two generations. The first generation from 1978 to 1993 is known as the "classic"; the generation from 1994 to 1998 is known as the "new generation" ....
.
A total of 588,643 were made.
External links
- http://www.saab99turbo.com - the Registry for Saab 99 Turbos
- Saab Model 99 Owners forums
- http://www.saab99klubben.com/
- http://www.saab99.net/
- Australian Saab 99 Register
- http://www.saab99.de/
- 1973 Saab 99e
- Photos of the 99 and 90 including sketches and prototypes