Steve Shannon, the current president of Saab Automobile, speaks on the GM Fastlane Blogs about the upcoming Boston Auto Show, the 1985 Saab SPG that will be present along with the much anticipated Saab Turbo-X in his home town.

Steve Shannon was also recently in attendance at the 8th annual Swedish Car Days in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Preview: Turbo X Enthusiasm

11.12.2007

By Steve Shannon
Saab Automobile USA General Manager

I want to infect you with the same enthusiasm I’m feeling for the upcoming Boston Auto Show, which opens to the press just after Thanksgiving on Nov. 27.

You see, at the Boston show the ultra-hot Saab Turbo X will make its North American debut. Bringing the ultimate expression of Saab performance to U.S. soil is pretty cool in itself.

But now, imagine if you will, adding a recently acquired classic 1985 Saab 900 Turbo SPG, to the debut. Now that’s REALLY exciting. I don’t think I’m alone in my excitement. I fondly recall my younger days on the East Coast and seeing the first of the Black Turbos zipping along Wall Street, Madison Avenue and even on some university campuses. Saab really rocked in the mid-80s, beating sales records month after month, reaching an all-time high in 1986. Saab had cult car status. I can’t wait to see it again.

So, maybe it’s a little bit of “back to the future” (maybe black to the future would be more appropriate) that’s put a little extra spring in my step. Maybe it’s the fact that the limited edition Saab Turbo X is a superb modern-day interpretation of a classic. Maybe it’s visiting my old stomping grounds again. Maybe it’s just that Saab is a great place to be right now. Maybe it’s all of the above.

Should the “blog lords” allow, I’ll be back with more on the Turbo X and the Boston Auto Show later this month. Right now, I just wanted to share a little bit of my anticipation with you.

Photo Credit: Saab Automobile

The Saab Experimental Vehicle (EV-1) was introduced at the International motorshow in Frankfurt, Germany between September 12th through the 22nd of 1985. It was at this event where Saab introduced the first experimental vehicle or concept car in Europe that was based off of the Saab 900 Turbo 16.

This vehicle was designed by Björn Envall at the Saab Design Center. The sheet metal and painting was done by Mellberg Custom in Nyköping, Sweden, the same town where Saab maintains a rather large parts & accessories facility.

The purpose of this vehicle was for Saab to test materials, components and technology in the real world. Unlike many concept vehicles, this vehicle was built similiar to a production vehicle in that it was extremely capable as a daily-driver vehicle in even the most extreme conditions.

The design is of the EV-1 is quite progressive with cutting-edge technology deployed throughout. One of the most significant integration of environmentally sensitive technologies in the EV-1 was the roof being built almost entirely of solar cells that produce electric power for the fans that provide ventilation in the car when located in close proximity to direct and indirect sunlight.

The front and rear parts of the EV-1 are built out of a lightweight aramid fibre reinforced plastic which can absorb impact and resume their original shape. The interior of the vehicle consists of lightweight seats that are electrically controlled, very progressive for the time.

The engine is a standard, 16-valve Turbo engine that has been tuned to provide 285 horsepower.

The chassis and suspension include standard components that were adopted from a standard Saab 900 Turbo model and tweaked and modified slightly.

Here are some more of the original photos from the press release:

Photo Credits: Saab Automobile