When I first spotted this rare 9000 Aero T18, I immediately thought that it would become a long term resident, one of my stable Saabs. I’d been searching for a car that provided a level of uniqueness amongst other 9000’s, and being only 1 of 21 global builds, it certainly had the rarity.
I’ve now owned it for a few months, and have fallen for its modified performance, its firmly routed 90’s aesthetic, and its single owner, low milage provenance. Let’s face it, 9000 Aeros are a very special breed of Saab already, but add the special edition collaboration between Abbott Racing and Saab City, and you have a bit of a unicorn.
Although it was in great condition, it had plenty of niggling faults and areas for improvement. As you use these older Saabs, you get to know how they drive, and what might need attention, this one having a number of modified parts, means that some would need to be sourced and purchased for future security, the brakes and suspension for instance, these are luckily still stocked by Abbott Racing, but other parts, such as the exhaust and interior parts can’t be bought or possibly even replicated.
We found a number of initial issues; link rods, CV boot, thermostat and exhaust hangers, all worn and needed replacing. We’ve given the car a good service with fresh oil and filters, we’ve freed off the brakes and generally given it a reset. Far more work will come, possibly to include a suspension and brake refresh, but we have time, this one will remain in the collection for the foreseeable future.
Internally, the Saab is in wonderful condition, but some of the instrument cluster bulbs needed replacing, and a new vent and switch installing, we took the opportunity to also replace the dashboard speakers to a set of heavy duty, 2 way Alpine units.
Last Sunday also gave me a good opportunity for a quick clean, a gorgeous sunny morning and a local classic car gathering was the perfect platform for showing off this unique Saab. It gets a lot of admiring glances and inspires conversation, usually around someone, knowing someone who once had a Saab 9000 Aero ‘ super fast cars, wonderfully comfortable, wish I’d never let it go’, but very, very few would know what this specific T18 actually is besides dedicated Saab folk, and that’s a great feeling.