Swede Isak Eriksson is known to us for several Saab improvement projects, the first is his upgrade project of custom ”Hirsch” grille for Saab 9-5NG, and the second is multimedia related – Custom made iPad Mini as stereo-navigation in Saab 9-5 NG.
He has now sold that car and bought a new Saab, a very uniqe Saab actually and his absolute dream car. That is why he sent us an interesting Saab story about his dream car, and we bring that story in the original to you.
Saab 9-3 Aero V6 XWD – An unbelievable (Saab) story
Written By: Isak Eriksson
After i had sold my Saab NG 9-5 Aero Hirsch due to the need of two cars my search for my new summer/project car began, and i known exactly(!) what i wanted.
There was only one problem – my dream car was, officially, never built.
So what was it so special that i wanted? Well – here it goes, from the beginning…
Ever since i saw the press photos for the Saab 9-3 Aero Carlsson 2010 i was blown away, it was the most beautiful Saab ever made with the perfect drivetrain!
The exterior – Artic White with TX-package is an absolut perfect match in my taste. Not to mention the drivetrain – 2,8T V6 & XWD with eLSD together with an auto gearbox, such a beast!
Well the problem was that the 9-3 Aero Carlsson was an special edition car made exclusive for the UK market and only 96 cars was ever produced.
As i live in Sweden, sure i had the alternative to import a car but that was never an option since the UK cars are RHD and in sweden we drive LHD cars.
(Sure it should work but i don’t fancy driving on the ’’wrong’’ side, or rebuild it to LHD)
So, on to the problem… In 2010 Saab introduced Artic White as an body colour-option on 9-3 SS and 9-3 SC
(Was offered on CV from 2008) but the B284 (V6 motor) was only offered until 2009 for the 9-3 – a combination of color and drivetrain that wasn’t able to combine.
Now i had a serious problem, the car that i so badly wanted wasn’t even built?!
Some people would probably let the dream go by now and go for an other car, like a Turbo X or something familiar.
But not me – i was so determined about my dream car and i seriously didn’t want anything else.
After some serious deep researching and some BIG help from a friend (You know who you are) we find out that Saab did actually, unofficial, build an extreme small number of 2010 cars with B284, to be more precise – nine SportSedans was built and two of them were painted in Artic White!
So now i hade a glimt of hope…
One out of these two cars i did know existed since earlier and i have tried to buy the car but the owner was in no way in the market of selling the car.
Sad news for me – now there was only one(!) 9-3 in Artic White with B284 left in the whole country (Probably the world, except UK ofc).
Since i hade the VIN-number for that only car i was able to read out the build-sheets and the full option list for it.
Not only was this car extremely rare as it was, it was also extremely well equipped.
Actually the only option from factory the car missed was navigation, other than that it had every single option available to it!
If i was exited to even have found the car exist, guess my adrenaline rush now…
Now to the most crucial point of it all – was the owner open to sell it?
Only one way to find out so i called up the owner. Funny enough the owner was just in the market for a new car due to a new job that acquired a diesel car- this was almost to good to be true, what were the odds?!
Said and done, a couple weeks later i was on my way to pick up the car. And what a car it was – it really was love on first sight.
Since the the previous owner had used it as a ”daily driver” it was in need for some work (”refinement” is probably a more fair expression) to get it exactly like i wanted it.
Don’t get me wrong here, the car was in really good condition for its age and milage (105k miles) but it was missing some key ”styling-parts” that i fancy to give it that little extra.
Here’s a list what I’m done to it so far – to mention a few:
- TX-package w. complete lower grille (all parts repainted)
- TX front lip
- ALU85 aka ’’Carlsson’’ wheels
- Bilstein B6 shocks w. lowering springs in front and ’’custom’’ rear setup due to the XWD
- Griffin grille
- Griffin bootlid (Painted to match the TX package)
- Hirsch rear spoiler
- Hirsch diffusor
- 23mm rear spacers & painted brake calipers all around
Well the rest is history and here i am 1 year later with my dream car parked in my garage, just the way i want it.
