Just a couple of weeks ago, I became the proud owner of a 2001 Gen1 9-5 Aero, more to the point, it’s the first Gen1 i’ve owned, the other 6+ have been later models. Always loved the Saabness of these, the iconic front grille, the large, clean rear lights, and an interior that always looks and smells just so Saab. After over a year of Saablessness it’s a huge welcome return.
This one’s got some great heritage, originally the demo Aero for Adrian Smith Saab, then under the careful ownership of the Chief Constable of Cumbria until being purchased again by the old Director of Adrian Smith Saab again. Carbon Grey with Rocky Black interior, it’s a timeless combo i’ve always loved, the all important manual gearbox tops the spec to perfection for me.
After driving it for 2-3 days, it went in to the amazing folks at Malcolm Miles for its inaugural thorough health check - sump drop, new oil, filters, new brake pipes, vac pipes, handbrake springs and various other refreshers, but as ever, not content with leaving things standard, we started to undertake my fast growing list of individualism:
Bilstien B8 suspension
MapTun Springs
Poly bushes
Noob Tune Stage 3
What next? An APH Performance downpipe coupled to a full BSR stainless steel system, BSR Filter, carbon fibre dash, bespoke mesh grille and set of uber rare 19” Carlsson Turbo X alloys for starters, the bodywork isn’t perfect either, so will be given a bit of tlc to get back on top of things. It’s a baby with only 93,000 miles on the clock, so worth a bit of indulgence, above all, it’s another amazing Saab Aero kept on the road for years to come, giving me new lease of Saab life and the ability to get this blog going again.
THOUGHT
Why the hell don’t more people buy older Saabs, they’re stupid value, hugely reliable, more luxury than most modern exec barges and have an unnerving ability to be tuned to embarrass most so-called sports saloons, all for sub £5k. I don’t get people, 100,000 miles is literally nothing on these things, parts are still readily available, and find a great Saab specialist like Malcolm Miles and your sorted, there’s nothing they can’t fix, do it…