Photo Credit: Saab Automobile

The Saab 9000, that I have mentioned earlier in a campaign to introduce an original film that depicts the Saab 9000 introduction, pre-development and other such areas is one of the most versatile models Saab has
ever rolled out of the factory.

I am providing the last press release by Saab Automobile of final 9000, which was a 9000 CSE in silver, # 503,087.

Saab Automobile AB
Trollhättan, 6 May 1998 98/16

The end of an era: Last Saab 9000 rolls out

The very last Saab 9000 rolled out of the Trollhättan plant on Wednesday 6 May 1998. A total of 503 087 Saab 9000s have been built since the beginning of production in 1984. This milestone car is a silver Saab 9000 CSE with a 2.3-litre turbo engine. The car is equipped with launch aluminium wheels, colour-coded spoilers and skirts, wood and leather trimmed steering wheel, and exclusive, two- colour leather upholstery with the classic Saab aircraft symbol embossed in the backrests. This commemorative car will now be on show at the Saab Car Museum in Trollhättan.

Lively performance and high occupant safety
The Saab 9000 has gained acclaim for its lively performance, excellent handling, and high standard of safety in a crash. Due to its very generous interior and ample luggage carrying capacity, the Saab 9000 has long been the only imported car to be classified as a ‘Large Car’ by the American authorities. The seats are very comfortable, and there is a distinct cockpit feel about the driver’s environment – the part of the dashboard facing the driver is slightly curved, with the instruments and controls arranged logically in groups according to their functions. The classic design has remained largely unchanged during the lifespan of the car, and has also served as a school of thought for other car makers.The interior styling of the Saab 9000 merited the 1986 ‘Excellent Swedish Design’ prize.

During the first year, the Saab 9000 was available with only one engine – a 2.0-litre turbo developing 175 bhp. The combination of good handling and powerful turbo engine made the Saab 9000 widely appreciated right from the beginning as an enjoyable car to drive. ”The new Saab 9000 will be the luxurious family car with a sports car temperamental wrote the Swedish motoringjournal ‘Motor’ after the first road test.

The ‘Long Run‘ endurance test on the Saab 9000 at the Alabama International Speedway in Talladega, Alabama, U.S.A. in October 1986 played a major role in strengthening the sporty image of the car. Over a period of 20 days, Saab staged an incredible record run with three standard production Saab 9000 Turbo cars. This resulted in 21 new international records and two world records – the foremost of which was a distance of 100 000 km at an average speed of 213.299 km.

The Saab 9000 is still one of the world’s foremost cars in terms of trustworthiness. In three successive biannual reports between 1989 and 1994, the folksy insurance company declared the Saab 9000 to be Sweden’s safest car. The results of the Folksam survey were confirmed by studies undertaken by the American Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Even though cars of more recent design have been launched on the market, the Saab 9000 still does very well in safety appraisals. In the latest IIHS report dated September 1997, for example, the Saab 9000 was awarded top mirks for the lowest level of ‘Driver death rates’ in the ‘Midsize Luxury Car’ category.

Innovations
Many of the principal sob innovations in recent year were introduced on the Saab 9000. In the Saab Direct Ignition (DI) system launched in 1988, a separate ignition coil that generates a spark firing voltage of 40 000 volt is fitted to each individual spark plug. Three years later, in 1991, Saab was the world’s just car manufacturer to introduce a Freon-gee air conditioning system.
In 1992, Saab unveiled the Saab Trionic engine management system developed in-house at Saab. The system can perform two million calculations per second and controls the ignition, fuel injection and turbocharger boost pressure, at the same time analysing the combustion in each cylinder after every ignition stroke.

Swedish car with Italian lineage
The work of developing the Saab 9000 began in earnest in 1979, when Saab concluded a cooperation agreement with Fiat and Lancia forgoing development of a new, large car.
However, the cooperation was abandoned in 1981, largely because of Saab’s focus on the American market, from which Fiat and Lancia had decided to withdraw. Since the new Saab car was to be designed to withstand the tough American crash tests, while Fiat and Lancia would be designed to conform only to the much less stringent European demands, Saab chose to ‘go it alone’ in the anal development of the Saab 9000. The end product was thus totally different from its original Lancia Thema and Fiat Croma sisters, in spite of a certain amount of similarity among the components used.

The original five-door version of the Saab 9000, later designated the Saab 9000 CC, was launched on 24 May 1984, and 216 385 cars of the model were produced up to 1993.
The Sedan version of the Saab 9000 CD was unveiled in Nice in 1988. Up to the end of 1997, 112 177 cars were produced. A thoroughly redesigned Saab 9000 CS was launched in 1991. When the last CS variant rolls oft-the production line in Trollh|ttan, 174 525 cars of this variant will have been produced.