Back in 1991, Saab launched the 9000 CS, a revised and updated version of the CC hatchback, it took another 2 years before the Aero model arrived in 1993. I'd recently joined an Advertising agency, and my boss at the time had just taken delivery of a brand new black, 9000 Aero. He had it shipped directly from the local dealership to Abbott Racing for a few immediate upgrades, and when it arrived, I was pretty obsessed with it.
It took me another few years before I bought my own, and it had to be a 9000, sadly, not an Aero, but still, my very first Saab. That black Aero inspired my love for Saab, and since then, I've owned over 40, however, the 9000 Aero really does have a special place in my heart, and I keep going back to them over and over again.
A few moths ago, I'd seen this one for sale, it was a car I'd been offered before, but wasn't in a position to buy it at the time. I remembered its story though, and the wonderful work involved to rescue it. Owned originally by a customer and friend of a 'home brew Saab specialist, the 9000 had been parked outside his home, when a neighbour's car rolled down the hill and in to the back of the Aero, damaging the rear quarter, that was in 2016, it was some time before the owner asked his friend to fix it, by which time, it needed a long list of work doing.
As things got underway, the original owner had second thoughts, and offered his friend the car. A deal was done, and the Saab immediately became a parts car with the airbag, wheels and lights removed. It was then left until 2021, when the son of the home brew Saab specialist, went to look at the car and decided it was a genuinely great 9000 Aero that needed bringing back to life.
He set about welding the areas required, replacing both front wings, and all of the missing parts that had been previously removed. The engine had a full top end rebuild, with cleaned head, new stem sills and valves freshly lapped in, the throttle housing was ported, turbo rebuilt with a new mellet core, new water pump, new aluminium radiator, 3" downpipes and numerous other hardware. It's also had a stage 3 map by Saab Clinic and a compression result of 185psi, which is very strong. Having covered 250,000 miles, it feels beautifully smooth and tight, the gears are reassuringly strong, and the torque has lost none of its appeal.
Whilst the exterior is good and rust free, it's the interior that really demonstrates Saab's exceptional build quality. Besides the normal patina on the Rocky Black leather Recaros, the space is wonderfully free of wear. All of the dashboard illumination works perfectly and the materials have held up exceptionally well, almost 30 years old, and it still feels like such a wonderful space. The seats of some of the best Saab ever designed, and the comfort level is like no other.