Very interesting to see the Classic Car Weekly is waking up to the c900 turbo. Values are on the rise for the really good cars. The problem now as they all get older, is finding a good one. Thanks to Classic Car Weekly issue for bringing this to the attention of readers and therefore potential new Saab owners.
Nice feature in recent british Classic Car Weekly magazine on the much loved Saab 900. It features in their ‘living with Classics’ section, living thoughts and tips for usable upgrades. Here’s what they say about our favorite car.
In a 15-years lifespan more than 80,000 Saab 900 MkI were sold in UK (!), easily making it Saab’s most popular model at the point of its demise in 1993. Despite the 900 being in production for so long, it was only ever available with a 1985cc petrol engine.
From the outset this was offered in carburetted (100bhp), injected (110bhp) and turbocharged injected (145bhp). From 1984 turbocharged models were offered with a 16-valve unit – by 1989 all 900s were powered by 16-valve four-cylinder engines.
Of the regular 900 models the turbocahrged 16-valve cars were the most powerful, with 175bhp, but from 1990 a Carlsson edition was offered with a very healthy 185bhp on tap – enough to take it all the way to 131mph (210km/h) having cracked the 0-60mph (0-100km/h) spint in 7.9 seconds along the way.
While boosting power isn’t difficult, if you’re starting with one of the hotter editions it needn’t be your first port to call. Sharpening the handling is more worthwhile.
There’s little point tuning a lukewarm engine; you’re much better off either fitting a more powerful unit or starting with a base model…- the editors of the magazine conclude.
