A little hometown love for the Turbo-X

Posted on 03. Jun, 2008 by Carl in 2000-2009, 9-3 SS, United States

Growing up around the Seacoast area, Saabs never seemed to get the respect and admiration from the press that one would see as befitting of such a magnificent marque. I would be so excited to see some press about a new Saab in the newspaper, only to be disappointed by buzzwords like “quirky” or “torque steer”. Over time, I became jaded and just stopped reading the automotive section all together.

So the other morning, Ryan was by my place for a quick visit and saw the Portsmouth Herald on my kitchen table. Well sure enough, there was the picture you see above with a great article by Gerry Miles, a local correspondent for Seacoast Media Group. Gerry, a Saab enthusiast in his own right, had this to say in a quick email to Saab History about his own Saab history:

“…I’ve owned 2 Saabs, a 900S 4-door and 900S hatchback. I miss them both, notchy gearbox and all. The 900s Hatch lost its drivers window during a winter storm on a trip to LL Bean and the passengers in the back got buffeted with brisk air. We borrowed some cardboard in Maine and blocked the driver’s window. The local dealership laughed like hell when I told him how I went to put the window down at the York Toll’s and the window stuck and then twisted on an angle and sank slowly before I could grab it. I appreciated the heated seat like heck then!”

And now, without further ado, here is Gerry’s take on the tantalizing Turbo-X:

Turbo X goes back in time to Saab’s future: “Black is back”

ANDOVER, Mass. – In a nod to the past with a keen eye on the present, Saab Cars USA showed off its latest, and greatest, way to fight the snow since they standardized heated front seats here last week with a national press introduction.

Cross Wheel Drive, or XWD for acronym aficionados, is the best adaptation of front and all-wheel-drive in a tidy package produced for the limited edition retro version of the old Saab s now found in the a retro version of the classic black 1985 Saab 900 SPG. Saab, which made its international intro of the vehicle last fall at the New England International Auto Show in Boston , returned to the northeast because 40 percent of its stateside sales are derived from the six-state region and the firm was headquartered in Orange , Conn. , for 37 years.

Saab historical fans may know, or know of former CEO Ralph Millet displaying the first Saab at the New York Auto Show where the car was meant only to generate interest as a static display. It drew so much interest than when a man pressed him on the price, he hesitated, walked away for a bit, came back with a price and thus the first Saab was sold in the USA .

Imagine a new 9-3, swathed in deep rich black paint and matching black interior – like the black 99 and 900 Turbos – and you’ll find the retro turbo boost gauge on the right side of the instrument panel, in its white/yellow/red curved stripe, all the better to show how much of the 295 foot-pounds of torque at 2,150 rpm are churning through the turbo-powered four-cylinder mill to generate a peak of 280 horsepower from the 2.8-liter V-6 engine.

Sitting behind the wheel of the fastest Saab ever produced – yes, it’s quicker than the torque-steer ridden Viggen that wore out tires and nerves wrestling the steering wheel – zooming up to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds, it’s every bit a Saab, swift and sedate.

Driving up to the test site from Boston , we zipped through Storrow Drive , up the Big Dig ramps and onto 93 North where the expansion joints every 25 yards or so gave the suspension a real world test that even a marketing guru had not experienced but likened to the cement roads of Detroit . It was there that we surmised the Turbo X, which crossed the suspension joints but didn’t jar our fillings loose, had passed its first real world suspension test.

At the test site, we discovered just how good the car was – especially for its given mission – staying planted in slippery conditions.

With sand spread on a parking lot, I first pushed the automatic Turbo X through a slalom and then hammered the apex of a corner, trying to push the rear end out of control. No dice.

Just when the sand flew and the back end started to feel a tad light and slide, with my foot still on the gas, the X corrected and moved out towards the next set of cones.

The magic comes from a proprietary fourth generation Haldex unit that mates to either the auto or 6-speed manual transmission. What happens next is an alphabet soup of techno wizardry but it works all the time and at high speeds in dry-land zipping through cones or repeated passes through the sand in the apex of the sweeper.

First, consider that XWD can send up to 100 percent of the power to either the front or rear wheels if needed. Under normal conditions, expect no more than 10 percent to be sent to the rear wheels. Then, consider that the cross-over features allows up to 40 percent of the torque to switch to the rear wheel with the most grip.

“If you had two front wheels on ice, say, and one in wet snow and one wheel on gravel or something with better grip than the other three,” described Saab engineer Tommy Sundin, “this XWD would get you out. It’s as simple as that.”

What sounds simple is really a neat interaction of new systems. Chiefly there’s a version of electronic limited slip differential called eLSD. It also works in dry or wet weather to help cross deeper than expected puddles or with cornering aggressively.

How it works

When you select a gear, the PTU (Power Take-off Unit), which transmits power through the prop shaft to the rear axle and the RDM (Rear Drive Module, which includes a TTD (Torque Transfer Device) and the eLSD (electronic limited slip differential).

At the gear selection, the systems synergize whereas previous systems needed to detect any wheel slippage before engaging the backside. This also means one will no longer find the snowflake symbol atop the auto gear shift. Pressing this button on past models in winter started the vehicle in third gear to prevent wheel slip at takeoff.
Underway, the TTD , RDM and eLSD “talk” back and forth – literally – depending upon traction or lack thereof for sure-footed driving.

Torque between the axles is handled by the TTD, depending upon “slip.” The RDM and eLSD perform similar functions by laterally and in concert with the ABS/ESP programs that monitor yaw ratio, steering angle, speed and other factors.

Retro-fit

Sundin explained that getting the systems to fit underneath, without becoming bulky was a trick that was mastered. Just six tiny brackets were needed to hang the Haldex. The gas tank was modified, but is still a one-piece unit with a sending unit to keep pressure taut and steady.

The rear suspension got reworked and has a self-leveling feature Sundin said was necessary, as is a big anti-roll bar.

Why they did it

Saab, according to marketing guru Roger McCormack, is hoping to become more of a premium niche player and a graphic showed that it’s all new money for parent firm General Motors. Saab released a starting price last fall of $ 42,510; the SportCombi wagon is priced at $43,310 according to trollhattensaab.net.

The move to all-wheel-drive, along with most of the premium import segment, was a natural, especially after the failed experiment with the 9-2X Saab-aru variant from Subaru.

Of the 2,000 Turbo X’s produced, a limited number that may well establish it as a “Classic Cult Car” too, but 600 are to be sold stateside and it’s estimated that half of that allotment is already sold.
As the only premium European brand in the GM family, XWD gives Saab another quiver in its all-weather versatility perception and reality. XWD will migrate to the 9.3 2.0t and the 9.3 Aero this fall and the rest of the Swedish portfolio, including the 9.4 that was shown off in Detroit this winter.

Exclusivity

The Saab Turbo X will be limited to 2,000 production units worldwide. Known market allocations are as follows:
US – 600 units
UK – 500 units
SWEDEN – 175 units
CANADA – 125
SWITZERLAND – 120
GERMANY – 90
AUSTRALIA – 30
FRANCE – 50

Model: 9-3 Turbo X
Body style / driveline:
Sport Sedan : 4-door, 5-passenger, all-wheel drive;
SportCombi: 5-door, 5-passenger, all-wheel drive
EPA vehicle class: premium compact sport sedan and sport wagon
Engine:
Type: 2.8L V-6-cylinder high-output turbo
Displacement: 170 cu. in.
Horsepower: 280 @ 5500 rpm
Acceleration 0-60: 5.4 seconds
Chassis/Suspension
Front: MacPherson struts, gas shock absorbers, anti-roll bar, hydroformed sub-frame
Rear: independent, 4-link (including toe-link), coil springs, self-leveling shock absorbers, anti-roll bar, sub-frame, Re-Axs rear-wheel steering system
Steering type: power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes
Type: 4-wheel disc, hydraulic, dual-circuit with electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), mechanical brake assist (MBA), vacuum booster, anti-lock braking system (ABS), traction control system (TCS) and electronic stability program (ESP), ventilated front discs and rear discs
Rotor diameter x thickness
front: 13.6 x 1.18 in.
rear: 11.5 x 0.8 in.
Wheels and Tires
Wheel size and type (in): 18 x 7.5-inch alloy
Tires: P235/45 R18

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