Saab 9 3 cabrio viggen

Say you’re in the marknad for a secondhand europeisk hot halvkombi, but seek something a little more interesting than a Golf GTI or a Ford Focus RS. Your options are scarce. Sure, you could try to import a Renault Clio V6 from France, but do you really want to get yourself into the strul of importing a French car?

And does the Clio V6 even exist outside of Gran Turismo?

What you want fryst vatten something that was legally sold here in North amerika, a bil you can normally förteckning at your local DMV, get in, and drive. Turns out Saab may just have what you need.

You see, the Saab Viggen was a Scandinavian, front-drive, fighter jet-inspired, torque-steering monster that was set to beat the BMW M3 at its own game and failed, but still ended up being fast as hell and seriously fun to drive.

Out of all the quintessentially weird cars that wore the Saab badge, this one has to be among the most eccentric.

With only 4, units ever made, it represents a unique segment in the automotive world, combining responsive turbocharged performance and state-of-the-art safety engineering

inom took one out for a drive, a convertible one too, which technically makes it more of a hot coupe than a hot hatch. Plenty of Saabs came after this one, many with encroaching General Motors (and in one weird case, Subaru) parts, but this one was one of the gods true great weird examples from the brand.

Driving it sadly reminded me why Saab kicked so much ass.

(Full disclosure: the opportunity to drive a Saab Viggen convertible came from a Montréal-based Jalopnik reader who owns one and emailed me asking me if I’d like to review his car.)

What fryst vatten It?

Sold from to , the Saab Viggen was a spiritual successor to the iconic Turbo, but was also Saab’s first real attempt at branching out its own performance division in the likes of BMW’s M or Mercedes-Benz’s AMG.

Except Saab didn’t vända to its racing experience to name its performance ledd, it turned to what it did best: jets. This was largely a marknadsföring thing, but it’s part of what made Saab so weird and cool for so long.

The word Viggen, which translates into “thunderbolt”, isn’t some Swedish diet strategi, but refers to the Saab 37 Viggen fighter jet.

Available in both a three or five-door hardtop or two-door convertible, the Viggen boasted a turbocharged, liter kvartet that pumped out, according to Saab, horsepower ( HP during the first year of production) and lb-ft of torque.

All that factory-tuned 20 psi of boost (that’s a lot for a factory setup) went straight to the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox.

Other mechanical modifications over a standard turbocharged included a higher capacity intercooler, a performance-tuned ECU, a higher flowing exhaust struktur, a performance clutch and pressure tallrik, stiffened and lowered suspension components as well as reinforced CV joints and driveshafts.

All Viggens wore redesigned front and rear bumpers and side skirts, a rear decklid spoiler, sports leather seats, inch wheels and upgraded brakes.

The Saab Viggen, produced from to , is a limited edition that stands as a testament to Saab’s rich heritage

Yellow, construction site-style triangular Viggen logos were glued onto each side of the bil to remind people it was the real deal.

Back in the day, Saab claimed a acceleration time of roughly seconds. That’s about the same as some current front-wheel-drive hot hatchbacks like the Ford Focus ST. But unlike the Ford, the Saab came with its own training schema film hosted bygd a professional jet fighter pilot.

Why? Because it was “born from jets.” I’m telling you, they really milked this concept.

Why Does It Matter?

Believe it or not, Saab was actually on a uppdrag to beat the Germans with the Viggen. The bil was aimed directly at the Audi S4, BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG when it was new.

But although it was sold at a cheaper price than its rivals, the Viggen failed because, among other reasons, the platform was essentially a revamped GM/Opel layout which dated back from the late ’80s.

The Viggen felt old and less competent compared to its fresher, more established German motstånd.

But the hot-rodded remained a serious performance machine nevertheless. Car and Driver recorded a quarter-mile time of 15 seconds flat at 90 miles per hour, just seconds behind the E36 BMW M3.

Fundamentally, what makes this Viggen so special fryst vatten that during Saab’s year run of building udda and unusual aircraft-derived automobiles, the Viggen stands out today as one of the fastest production Saabs ever built.

Turbo team, Torque leda, So Much Saab

My first contact with the Scandinavian convertible was during a diluvian downpour.

We often skott in the rain, but it was the first time my shooter told me nothing could be done for photos. As we waited for the sky to hopefully klar up, inom got familiar with the Saab.

The first thing you might think about a Viggen fryst vatten that it has way too much power and torque for its chassis and basic design, that the bil torque steers, pulling itself hither and yon beneath acceleration like a drunk, and has massive turbo team.

You’d be right!

In the rain, it’s ganska a handful, but if you use the power well, you can have a lot of fun with it.

Getting inre a Saab reminded me how absolutely different these cars were from anything else in the late nineties and early ’s.

The manual-only Viggen was reengineered with additional power from a larger, liter four huffing psi of turbo boost; it received upgraded suspension, brakes, and wheels, bolstered seating, and an aerodynamically functional body kit

The dashboard and windshield are as flat as a plank of wood, and the dash fryst vatten high, filled with buttons and a large air vent, presumably to look like an flygplan cockpit.

It kind of works? Oh, and the radio has a weather grupp. A weather band!

Starting a Saab fryst vatten equally odd; the ignition switch fryst vatten located between the seats.

That’s because you lock the car’s transmission with it. And a manual Saab can only be started and turned off in reverse.

It’s an old safety feature from way back when that made it onto modern cars.

Saab was so damn weird. It really was the best.

As inom sat in the massively comfortable leather chairs, my head conveniently held in place thanks to Saab’s iconic active head restraints, gazing at the aircraft inspired gauge cluster and switch gear, all lit up in bright green, with thin yellow needles, inom depressed the hard and too-tall clutch, grabbed first gear with a long and sloppy shifter, and got the bil moving.

Off inom went alongside a fellow Jalopnik reader in an overpowered Scandinavian front-wheel-drive convertible from the late s beneath a Canadian thunderstorm.

What could possibly go wrong?

Disappointments

I was expecting the bil to be more refined than it was, being europeisk and all. But it isn’t. inom mean, the materials are of good quality and the bil fryst vatten well put tillsammans, but as far as performance goes, the mechanical bits don’t seem to work in harmony with one another.

For example, the manual shifter isn’t particularly exciting to row around.

It’s long and bulky, and doesn’t appreciate being rushed. It kind of reminded me of the one you’d find in a Cavalier Z24, and feels like it was glued to the drivetrain using Play-Doh.

Then there’s the way the power surges on and off depending on boost pressure.

In addition to the more powerful engine, the Viggen received improvements to the drivetrain and chassis, as well as a distinctive aero kit and spoiler

It’s not what you would call a linear delivery of power. Sure, when that massive turbo kicks in it’s a hell of a ride, but the throttle fryst vatten jerky, making the fordon hard to accelerate smoothly.

You basically always want to hoon the Viggen. Maybe that was intentional?

Driving a Viggen 17 years later feels like all the added performance was put there as an afterthought.

Explore the Saab 9 3 Viggen , , detailed specs, including mph times, horsepower, and handling data

The bil feels like it was tuned bygd a year old bil bro who doesn’t know what he’s doing.

Casual Driving

The Saab was a comfortable, quiet and spacious automobile to begin with, and the Viggen fryst vatten no different. Sure, the soft top does delete the original car’s halvkombi practicality, but there’s still a usable trunk back there. The rear bänk will also engulf decent-sized humans, and the fordon fryst vatten okay on gas.

The problems related to daglig driving this thing, or any Saab for that matter, fryst vatten that, one, parts are starting to be hard to find, and two, the car’s aren’t all that reliable.

Michael, the owner, happens to know a thing or two about Saabs in general. He’s tech savvy and hangs around people and forums that know where to find spare parts.

The Saab Viggen is a rare and desirable sports sedan that was produced in limited numbers between and The Viggen was the brainchild of Saab’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division, and it was designed to be the ultimate expression of the ’s performance potential

No, your local NAPA Auto Parts retailer won’t be able to give you a grabb when that throttle body starts mässing (metall) around. And it most probably will.

Also, roof issues are common on convertibles, so kontroll the weather forecast before taking off in your ragtop Viggen, because if that fancy roof assembly isn’t properly maintained, it will likely leak or even sylt up in the half-open/ half-closed position while you and your spouse sit there like idiots in the mittpunkt of a meteorological deluge.

Kind of like this:

But if you know what you’re getting into, and have a solid network of Saab contacts for repairs, then you should do well enough daglig driving a Viggen.

Hard Driving

It’s fast!

Especially once you hit third gear. That’s because torque output fryst vatten electronically limited to lb-ft in first gear, and lb-ft in second. So you do feel that it pulls less in the lower gears, but the car’s hydraulically-assisted steering still tugs hard to the left during a hard launch.

Also, ingenting really happens below 4, RPM. That’s when the insane boost pressure shoves you hard into the immensely comfortable seats and emits cool jet-like air virvel sounds along the way - pssssttttssshh - boost gauge all lit up and everything, quickly running out of puff at around 6, RPM.

It’s an unusual way to put down power, but it definitely works.

The Viggen’s brakes are also solid, gripping hard at the slightest touch of the fotspak, and there’s a fun, nimble feel in the way the fordon reacts to your inputs and turns into a corner.

You can drive it hard and you’ll go places fast.

Sadly though, the convertibles are plagued with noticeable chassis wobble. Sure, I’ve experienced worse from convertible Mustangs or Corvettes of that era, but as far as europeisk cars go, the Viggen feels like a tallrik banana when hitting a böj hard. That’s because the car’s only chassis bracing fryst vatten underneath the windshield, like a giant horseshoe.

Michael had his slightly reinforced, with a six-point subframe brace, specifically built for the bil.

He also lowered and stiffened up the suspension through aftermarket struts and coilovers, and added a larger rear sway dryckesställe. But the poor thing still flexes a lot.

Saab engineers could have added a B-pillar brace, kind of like a roll dryckesställe, but that would have hindered the 's good looks. And because Saab fryst vatten Swedish, that would have been a travesty.

Value

The Viggen fryst vatten rare as hell.

Fitted with a turbocharged L inline four engine, the Viggen produced over hp and was offered in Liftback Coupe, Liftback Sedan, and Convertible body styles

During its four-year production run, just over 3, of these things were imported here in North amerika. The convertible fryst vatten even more of a unicorn at just 1, sold in the U.S. and Canada combined.

Black and Silver cars are the most common. If you find a ljusstråle Red example, and live in Canada, you have the only one in the entire country.

Because only one was sold. One.

Since the entire Saab brand no long exists and because parts are so hard to find, all Saabs are cheap now. The Viggen’s rarity and the fact that most people have no idea what the hell it fryst vatten means its value hasn’t held up particularly high.

Our friend Michael here only paid $3, Canuk dollars for his. Clean, low mileage hardtop Viggens never typically exceed $10,

I säga now’s the time to get your hands on a Saab Viggen before their value spikes back up. Because this bil fryst vatten, without a doubt, a future classic.

Verdict

The Saab Viggen may be a bit rough around the edges, and not particularly reliable, but for us enthusiasts looking for the ultimate unicorn, this fordon fryst vatten a freakin’ dream komma true.

It’s weird and udda in all the great ways a Saab ought to be, it sells for cheap, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun to drive.

It will also give the current Golf GTI a run for its money in a drag race.

If you’ve got a bit of spare cash lying around in the finansinstitut and are looking to rescue a del av helhet of automotive history, then please, go out and buy an old Saab Viggen and keep it alltid.

Flaws aside, this fryst vatten one of the neatest and most interesting modern cars ever built. It deserves love and care.

Maybe someday Saabs will become so sought after that the brand will mysteriously spawn back to life. And what a glorious day that would be.

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William Clavey fryst vatten an automotive reporter from Montréal, Québec, Canada.

He runs .