Carlos Sanz from Barcelona (Spain) as the international liaison of the Saab Club Spain sent us news about activities of their Saab Club. On this occasion he write after last great events summer – Saab Festival Trollhattan, IntSaab2019- to inform us of the Saab 900 40th anniversary commemorative meeting that they celebrated last February – in the middle of winter – and in which they managed to gather 41 units from the mythical 900 in a small town in rural Spain to enjoy a weekend of camaraderie and fun. And they would like to share it with all Saab Community.
Below you can read how they got together, see photos from the meeting and a Youtube video.
The 40th anniversary of the Saab 900 in Spain
Report by Carlos Sanz (carsanzara@gmail.com)
After a successful Spanish presence in the fabulous Dutch IntSaab2019 and shortly before our National autumn meeting in Soria ( Castilla y León) I’d like to show you how we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Saab 900 in Spain: with a winter meeting in the Ayllón mountain range, based on the cozy village of Riaza (Segovia, Castilla y León) from February 15th to 17th.
Devised by a small group of brave Saab Club Spain members – who ten years ago had already celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the 900 – the program combined conventional tourism, sinous and scenic mountain routes driving (until ride over the snow/ice with which our swedish machines combine so well) and the best gastronomy of the region, so only the fellowship of the members and new saab fans camaraderie was needed to guarantee the success of the meeting. Just one condition: only Saab 900 in the photo J
Thus, on Friday evening the village Riaza experienced a Saab 900 dripped from all corners of the country, whose drivers gathered around a well-stocked table for the welcome dinner and the inaugural speech.
On Saturday morning with a cold but sunny weather we started the route through the Tejera Negra Natural Park – with a short stop at the highest point – ending at Riaza main square, where the long expected group photo was made: 41 spanish Saab 900 of all years and variants to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the model. Satisfied with the succeed we went to a well-known grill to taste Castilla’s specialty:: roast suckling pig and lamb.
After a well-deserved rest, we start the engines again to the the night ascent to the ski resort of La Pinilla, in whose facilities we tasted a light dinner inside the restaurant – sadly, too cold to the balcony.
At the very end, the 900 convoy faced the ascent to Quesera mountain’s port (1700m high), where the bravest ones made the last stretch on the ice – succesfully- to end their journey at the hotel telling the others the adventure (80 km) around the fire in an improvised of Belgian beer tasting while the young people were already enjoying the nightlife of the town.
On Sunday morning and after the farewell to those who should start the return trip as soon as possible because of the big distance to home, some of us went on a last drive excursion to the Hontanares hermitage hill, from where we enjoyed a magnificent view of all región and said goodbye to a hard-to-forget weekend.
I invite you to enjoy the attached photos and also the video, with the aim of make you feel part of the experience that the attendees lived thanks to the tenacity of the organizers.
It isn’t necessary to remember that you are invited to join our spring and autumn anual meetings.
