SAAB Motorsport

Swedish TimeAttack Saab 9-3 ss Extreme by “Wigge Racing”

Saab 9-3 extreme Wigge team

Time Attack “gatherings” are special car events. This form of competition originated in Japan, where events were organized for various engine optimization (tuning) companies to converge a couple of times a year and compete for the best lap time; which laid the foundation for what would become a real motorsport.

Mainly, The Time Attack series takes place on an amateur level, so there are no special rules for participation in the race, and the vehicles are divided into several classes according to specifications (type of tires, engine and level of conversion…).

Saab 9-3 Daniel Wigge Wigren
“Old” Saab 9-3 – Daniel Wigge Wigren

In essence, drivers and vehicles do not race among themselves, except in classes, but each driver “chases” the best time in the race track. Practically, each of the drivers fights with himself, in order to achieve the best and fastest lap.

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Saab 9-3 Monster with aerodynamic accessories that ensure that the car "does not fly" on the track
Saab 9-3 Monster with aerodynamic accessories that ensure that the car “does not fly” on the track

The form of competition is simple, Time Attack is a so-called “qualifying race” where the fastest lap in each heat / final wins. You do not compete against others on the track, but in fact ruthlessly against the clock. Fastest time on the attempts you get wins! The Time Attack Track day offers 5-6 qualitative heats in 15 minutes, which gives a perfect turning space between the heats

In particular, we were interested in a racing series of this kind in Sweden – timeattacknu.se because it is often competed by drivers who drive heavily modified SAAB cars. One of such interesting competitors is Daniel “Wigge” Wigren from Norrköping with the Wigrens Saab family, which started as a lightly styled Saab car that boiled the brakes on its first Time Attack 2014.

After the initial failure, the Wigge Racing team would not be discouraged, but they continued to improve their extreme Saab 9-3 Sportsedan – a car that in 2019, with the help of sponsors. In the fall of 2019, they dismantled the Saab car “into molecules”, made a plan within the team, started working with their sponsors and partners, to come up with something called the Saab 9-3 SS Monster these days!

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This year’s first Timeattacknu.se event was held without their presence, but the team hopes that for the second event, which will take place in late June and early July, the monstrous Saab will be fully prepared.

Drastic aerodynamic changes are currently underway on the Saab body, which you can see in the photos, and these changes make the car look extremely aggressive and it is assumed that it will be able to develop high speeds. Of course, the biggest changes were made to the engine, but the team did not publish details, but the photos show that the engine has been severely modified.

Saab 9-3 Monster - High speeds require a special protective cage and special adaptations inside the cabin
Saab 9-3 Monster – High speeds require a special protective cage and special adaptations inside the cabin

So we are approaching the first test on the track and with a little luck, the team will premiere with King of Mantorp (R2 Mantorp Park: 30 juni – 2 juli)!

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Specially redesigned and improved engine, with all the necessary reinforcements and additional coolers
Specially redesigned and improved engine, with all the necessary reinforcements and additional coolers
Goran Aničić
the authorGoran Aničić
For over 15 years, Goran Aničić has been passionately focused on Saab automobiles and everything related to them. His initial encounter with Saab cars took place back in 2003 when the first Saab 9-3 and sedan version were introduced. At that moment, he was captivated by the car's Scandinavian design logic and top-notch engineering, and everything that followed stemmed from that first encounter. Later on, through his work at the editorial team of the Serbian automotive magazines "Autostart" and later "AutoBild," he had the opportunity to engage more closely with Saab vehicles. In 2008, he tested the latest Saab cars of that time, such as the Saab 9-3 TTiD Aero and Saab 9-3 Turbo X. In 2010, as the sole blogger from the region, he participated in the Saab 9-5ng presentation in Trollhättan, Sweden. Alongside journalists from around the world, he got a firsthand experience of the pinnacle of technological offerings from Saab at that time. Currently, Goran owns two Saabs: a 2008 Saab 9-3 Vector Sportcombi with a manual transmission, and a Saab 9-3 Aero Griffin Sport Sedan from the last generation, which rolled off the production line in Trollhättan in December 2011.

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