Photo Credit: Saab Automobile

Saab Automobile is launching a TX edition Saab 9-3 Convertible, inspired by the Saab Turbo-X.

A new look for a Saab icon

Saab is giving customers the chance to drive away in an even more luxurious drop-top as it introduces its popular TX Edition upgrade onto the Convertible range.
Inspired by the Saab Turbo X, the new TX edition vehicles are generously equipped and come complete with a number of premium design features as standard including titanium effect exterior styling, special turbine design alloy wheels and sport leather steering wheel, while under the bonnet the Convertible TX Edition boasts a high performance turbocharged engine.

The launch of the new Convertible TX Edition coincides with Saab’s announcement that all Convertible production will be moved to Trollhatten in 2010, bringing Saab’s iconic vehicle back home to Sweden.

The 9-3 Convertible is featured here in red – what colour do you think best suits Saab’s drop-top?

Linear TX package
° Glacier Silver metallic exterior colour
{5 optional metallic and 2 optional solid colours]
° Front fog lights
V spoke `I7″ alloy wheels {ALU F9]
‘ Carbon fiber effect interior trim
° Sport. leather steering wheel
’ Sport chassis (option)
‘ I4-spoke l6″ [ALU?1. optional}

Vector TX package
° Glacier Silver metallic exterior colour
{5 optional metallic and 2 optional solid colours]
‘ Anthracite grey front bumper insert
° Titanium effect 3··hole grille
° Titanium effect boot lid handle
° Front foglights with Titanium-effect trim
° V-spoke 17″ alloy wheels (ALU F9]
° Carbon fiber effect interior trim
‘ Sport leather steering wheel with extra thick rim
° Black textile floor mam with contrasting grey piping

Aero TX package
° Glacier Silver metallic exterior colour
(5 optional memllic and 2 optional solid colours]
° Anthracite grey front. bumper insert
° Anthracite grey rear bumper insert
incl. visible round end pipes
° Titanium effect 3··hole grille
° Titanium effect boot lid handle
° Front foglights with Titanium-effect trim
° \¤’··spoke I?” alloy wheels (ALU Ii’9]
° 3··spo| inc! tyre pressure monitoring system {optional]
° Carbon fiber effect interior trim
° Sport leather steering wheel with extra thick rim.
' Black textile floor mats with contrasting grey piping
' Black leather sport seats [optional) {Not
convertible]
° Sports chassis {optional)

A Saab enthusiast has recently put together a really well done video showcasing the abilities of the Saab 9-3 Viggen.

This time instead of New Hampshire, this owner shot footage in the beautiful hill country of Vermont.

I wonder if he ever got the chance to experience the Viggen Flight Academy, because he really knows how this car handles!

I just heard from Austin, the person in the film with some background as to why the produced it, etc.

“Thanks for the compliments. The Hotcars.com story is rather long, but basically we were shooting several different videos for the site. In essence, we were trying to create a “show” for the site, but our timing was pretty bad given the economy and the show never took off.

The car was not mine, it belonged to the narrator, Elias. I will probably put you in touch with him, as he is the Saab guy (he almost talked me into a Viggen, but the AWD of the STI was too alluring…). ”

- Austin

Photo Credit: Saab Automobile

The Saab 9-3 convertible was added in 1999 as an addition to the 9-3 model lineup.

This model for Saab came equipped with the following specifications:

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Photo Credit: Saab Automobile

The Saab 9-3 model which began as 1999 model year, was a refresh and continuation of the NG900.

Externally, the 9-3 did not look much different than the NG900, however there were some updates including a grille and brakelight and rear deck. In terms of the inside, the 9-5’s Saab Active Head Restraint system was carried over.

Over 1,100 changes to the vehicle took place such as chassis, and otherwise changing the driving and handling characteristics.

A rare performance model titled the Viggen variant debuted and was an instant success.

The 9-3 ended in 2002, effectively ending becoming the last hatchback model for Saab to produce since the introduction to the Combi Coupe all the way back in 1974.

This model for Saab came equipped with the following specifications:

Exterior: Three door Coupé or Five door hatchback. front and rear spoilers. 1,830kgs

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Photo Credit: Saab History, Swedish Car Day 2001

In 2001, I first found out about this car through a friend who saw the vehicle located in a parking lot, then both of us later saw the first Boston globe writeup on it titled “Chaos Car”.

After reading the piece in the Globe about Rebecca Perlo, of Boston, Massachusetts and her car, I decided that on behalf of my club, the New England Saab Association, to invite her the 2nd annual Swedish Car Day in Brookline, Massachusetts later that same year.

I vividly recall the looks by everyone in attendance that day, as she drove out onto the grass with the rest of us. I was honored that she made an appearance showing her “dare to be different” 2000 Saab 9-3 hatchback with an artistic flare.

Here is the video done on chronicle showcasing this “Chaos car”, as well as an exerpt from the recent coverage yet again, by the Boston Globe titled “Artistic license”.

“Artistic License”

Rebecca Perlo’s toy collection is simply overwhelming: Nemo, Simba, Fantastic Man, and “Evil” Homer Simpson action figures; Barney, Bugs Bunny, and Princess Leia Pez dispensers; Playskool people, Lego people, Rock’Em Sock’Em Robots, and Mr. Potato Head.

Throw in some yo-yos, a miniature slot machine and a rubber ducky or two, and lots of other stuff, and the number of toys in Perlo’s menagerie hits 1,000, maybe even 1,500. Where does she keep them all? Glued to the hood, roof, doors and fenders of her 1999 Saab.

Photo Credit: Saab Automobile USA

In 1950, SAAB launched the first production model designated as the 92, this 92 initially came in any color you wanted as long as it was “watermelon green”.

Fast forward to 2008, Saab continued this idea of a single color in the halo vehicle for cross-wheel drive, the Saab 9-3 Turbo-X which debuted in Boston, Massachusetts stating that it could come in any color you want, as long as it was “Jet Black”.

Today, Saab Automobile USA is apparently continuing this idea for all of their 2009 model year Saab 9-3s, as indicated on their recently updated website, where you can see the 9-3 in all variants continuing this idea that “you can have it in any color you want, as long as it is laser red”.

What confuses me about this is that while speaking with some Saab dealerships recently, they indicated that the 2009 9-3s come in other colors, so my question here is which ones, given that there are no alternate color options shown on the Saab Automobile USA website.

Update: Saab Automobile USA’s website has been updated, but while the visual still shows a red 9-3, the other color options are now written only, and metallic paint is a whopping $550 extra!

Pepper Green Metallic = $550
Snow Silver Metallic = $550
Nocturne Blue Metallic = $550
Black = $0
Titan Gray Metallic = $550
Laser Red = $0
Fusion Blue Metallic = $550
Jet Black Metallic = $550
Polar White = $0
Ice Blue Metallic = $550
Carbon Gray Metallic = $550
Glass Gray Metallic = $550

The Boston Globe has recently done a review on the 2009 Saab 9-3 where one of their editors, Dave Thomas, classifies it as “aging”.

The Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan began in 2003, with a convertible out in 2004. This model effectively has been continued until today, while it had a face lift for the 2008 model year.

I can tell you that a Saab insider told Saab History that the “2008 MY 9-3, was actually what was meant to have been produced in the beginning, but due to cost cuts, it came out 5 years later.”

With reviews like this stating that the 9-3 is aging, where does that put the 9-5 given that it has been out since 1998?

I leave you with an excerpt from this review:

In 2008, Saab restyled its popular entry-level 9-3 sedan, convertible, and wagon (known as the SportCombi in Saab-speak) and gave it all-wheel drive for the first time, but even these rather significant changes don’t cover up the fact that the 2009 9-3 is not only identical to the 2008, it’s basically the same car it was in 2003 – when it was last redesigned.

Source: Boston Globe

Photo Credit: Zach Wallace

A Saab enthusiast has just provided Saab History with a wonderful photo of his Saab 9-3 Viggen to showcase here on Saab History.

I really like this photo for many reasons, especially with how the Viggen has been kept original including those wheels!

If you have a photo that inspires you of your Saab, please submit it to Saab History here for others to view around the world!

Photo Credit: GM Heritage Collection

The Saab USA Heritage Collection has recently acquired a pristine 1999 Saab 9-3 Viggen in Lightening Blue from a private sale in Florida with less than 500 miles on the odometer.

The first showing of this acquisition took place at the recent 2008 Saab Owners Convention in Devens, Massachusetts from August 21st through the 24th, 2008.

It is great to see the Saab USA Heritage Collection growing and growing! If you are interested in checking out the rest of the Saab USA Heritage Collection, please click on this link to scroll through them all!

Photo & Video Credits: Saab Automobile

The Saab 9-3 “Viggen” was derived from the SAAB JA-37 Viggen jet fighter. Viggen means The Thunderbolt in Swedish, derived from the Norse god Thor’s warhammer Mjölner.

As we know, the 1999 Saab 9-3 Viggen began as the Saab 900 Concept Coupe in 1995.

It took a whole four years later for the engineering of that concept coupe to be unveiled to the public at the the New York Auto Show in March of 1999.

Peter Leonard, leader of Saab’s SVO team said that “we wanted to give the 9-3 Viggen a strong individuality, a personality of its own that was evident in everything from the external styling to the instrumentation. In addition, the car had to deliver the comfort and feel of driving a high-performance car. It was a design challenge that we relished.”

The Saab 9-3 Viggens drag co-efficient was 0.31, and the feel both inside and out of an aircraft cockpit was evident.

The first model year MY1999 for the Saab Viggen and its body continued to be manufactured at Saab’s factory in Trollhattan, Sweden, then shipped in a climate controlled, sealed container to Uusikaupunki, Finland for painting and final assembly at the Valmet Automotive plant.

The painting of the first two years of the Saab 9-3 Viggen, were appropriately colored in “lightening blue”, paying homage to the significance of the “thunderbolt” name.

That same year, the Saab Viggen Flight Academy was created in Road Atlanta, near Saab Automobile USA’s former headquarters in Norcross, Georgia.

The Saab 9-3 Viggen Coupe went on sale with only 400 distributed to Saab dealerships in May of 1999.

The next year, Model Year 2000 Saab 9-3 Viggen Convertible and 5-door versions arrived in showrooms during the fall of the same year. Only a limited number of 2,500 Saab 9-3 Viggen models were initially produced annually for a global market.

The Saab 9-3 Viggen model continued until model year 2002, when it ended due to the production of the 9-3 hatchback body style ending.

The Saab 900 Concept Coupe was the prototype for the Saab 9-3 Viggen as we know it back in 1995, a full four years prior to the public seeing it at auto shows and also available in dealerships around the world.

The Viggen has to be without question the best example of a spiritual successor to one of SAAB’s aircraft, the SAAB JA-37 Viggen, given that it was in name and theory 100% “born from jets”.

Here is the original press release in full outlining the specifications beginning with a video:

For Immediate Release Contact: Elke Martin Kevin Smith

1999 SAAB 9-3 VIGGEN — SUMMARY

SAAB LAUNCHES ALL-NEW, LIMITED EDITION 9-3 VIGGEN FOR ENTHUSIASTS WITH A PASSION FOR TURBO POWER

Aircraft-inspired Viggen targets Saab enthusiasts with a strong taste for torque Norcross, GA – Saab made its U.S. debut at the New York Auto Show in the spring of 1956. It was there that Saab exhibited its first high performance sports car—the Sonett Super Sport prototype, a race-bred Saab still revered by Saab enthusiasts today. Since then, Saab has continued to develop limited edition performance legends, cars like the aerodynamic 900 Turbo SPG and 9000 Aero, which combined full-boost turbo engines, sport suspension and modlhcations with an aggressive stance.

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