Saab Youngtimers

March 6, 2019 Eleven

I’ve long been rather jealous of the Netherland way of life, their laid back attitude, exceptional cuisine, beautiful cities, crisp clear air and endless driving roads, but reading about a company called Saab Youngtimer almost made me up sticks and move to the Netherlands.

Due to favourable company car tax schemes, any cars over 15 years old are only required to be taxed at 35% over their basic value, and as we all know, older Saabs are incredible value, so if you fancy a reimagined Saab for your company car, either leased or purchased, Saab Youngtimer might just be the perfect solution.

Youngtimer promotes an open conversation with their customers, what model, colour and spec do you prefer, fancy a 2nd generation 9-5 Sportwagon with 350hp, 480Nm and a Hirsch style steering wheel, no problem, oh, and you want that in Nardo Grey, no problem, yes, they’ll even repaint your dream Saab in the colour of your choice.

A 2004 9-3 convertible has been completely reimagined with full 2014 specification, and it really is a beautiful creation, and that colour.

Essentially, Youngtimer will source the perfect Saab for your needs and then put it through an impressive program for refurbishment and replacement, they use genuine Saab parts wherever possible and commission a series of bespoke parts when unavailable.

You end up with a nearly new Saab that has been subjected to rigorous testing to ensure longevity, reliability and enjoyment. Being a Saab of course, your young timer is pretty much a timeless design that you’re helping protect for the future and needless to say, it is a far more sustainable choice than opting for a brand new car.

They’ve left me dreaming about collecting my new youngtimer, experiencing the fresh, unique smell and comfort of a Saab leather interior as you climb in for the first time and heading out of Mappel towards Doosje on the N375, open countryside, trees, canals, the beginning of a new Saab journey

Saabs Reimagined in Holland | Saab Youngtimer Lease

Driven by Beauty

February 14, 2019 Eleven

Back in 2011 I took delivery of a new Carbon Grey 9-3 TTiD Turbo Edition, it not only featured plenty of lovely Saab options including premium leather and navigation, but I managed to squeeze virtually every available item from Hirsch Performance, including the exceptional Nappa leather steering wheel.

More recently in 2017, I rescued a beautiful 9-5 Aero that also had a Hirsch steering wheel, and once you’ve had one, it’s very difficult to forget how beautiful they look and feel. Sadly, Hirsch no longer manufacture these steering wheels, but the kind folks at cardyourcar commissioned a number of exclusively crafted replicas, I’m not entirely sure if they came from the same factory, and some contouring it different from the Hirsch version, but non the less, it looked beautifully made.

I made the leap and ordered one on Monday from Germany, it arrived Wednesday and was on the car that same day. First impressions are excellent, the contours are different, but have been carefully considered and provide exceptional grip, materials seem to be equal to the Hirsch ones, and has definitely given a final bit of luxury to my newly refreshed Aero interior.

An early morning country drive with glowing sunlight seemed like an ideal opportunity to snap a few photos, I still can’t praise the Saab’s interior enough, it really is timeless, it just makes me smile every time I drive it, and with the new steering wheel, it really is pretty much perfect.

Black Edition

January 11, 2019 Eleven

Imagination, creativity and craftsmanship have long been associated with Saab, but in recent years, these skills have had to be lovingly upheld by the owners and diehards instead, the ones that can make things happen themselves.

When any car becomes a 'modern classic' it takes people like that to keep them alive and on our roads, parts might become rarer and difficult to find, but it also empowers us to be a little more creative in finding alternative solutions.

Obviously, the foundations are usually in place for us to be inspired by, folks like MapTun and Hirsch, Nordic Tuning and Abbott Racing have all given us desirable enhancements for our Saabs in the past but all too often these are no longer available.

This is where a bit of Saab craft comes in. I recently started to discuss a bespoke mesh grille with a lovely guy and a fellow Saabist. Turns out he's been reimagining Saab grilles for a while now, he sources perfect original plastic and chrome frames and then proceeds to adapt them, adding chrome mesh similar to Abbott Racing and Hirsch ones of the past.

I wanted to go a little further and create a satin black frame with a louver style anodised black mesh for my 9-5 Aero instead. After a few weeks, my bespoke grille has arrived and what a difference it's made, the Aero front feels updated yet timeless, it enhances the 'black edition' look and gives a subtly aggressive stance to a 17 year old Saab.

Whilst we have folks like this around, our Saabs have very bright and exciting futures, imagination leads to unique and interesting Saabs for us all to enjoy and admire, and allows to share them with future generations.

Need a bespoke grille handmade in the UK? Contact the craftsman here.

Saab Alchemy

December 21, 2018 Eleven

Is it just me or have you ever dreamt of how the Ian Callum designed 9-3 Aero bumpers would look on a 9-5, or how a late 9-3 one would suit an earlier 9-3.

Well, recently I came across the personal Instagram of one very talented Rickard Karlsson from Sweden, it seems there's nothing he can't do to perform cosmetic surgery on a Saab. What makes it even more impressive is the quality of the work, it looks completely factory fitted.

Rickard retro fits different components to various Saabs giving them subtle facelifts, uses ng colours on og cars and seems to be able to get stance perfection with just the right choice of alloys, even fitting 20" to his divine and exceptionally individual 9-3 Sky Blue 308 Sportwagon, in short, Rickard performs Saab Alchemy for family and friends

If we're going to keep our Saabs on the road and looking mighty fine, we need more people like Rickard around, I just wish I lived in Sweden, my 9-5 Aero would be going under the knife right now.

Rickard Karlsson Instagram

Aero Rising

December 14, 2018 Eleven

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…

Saab vs.

November 26, 2018 Eleven

A few years ago, SAAB created a series of ads based on the theme Saab vs. When I first saw them, they somehow reflected how I felt about SAAB; stylish, elegant, individual and timeless, they also became the inspiration for naming the blog Saab vs. Scepticism.

To this day i’m always happy to flip through and see them all again, from the exquisite Puritans to the beautifully simple Vivaldi and Nakedness.

Wonder Wheels

November 23, 2018 Eleven

If shoes maketh the man, alloys maketh the car.

I’ve somehow gone through 65 + cars in the past 30 years, at least 15 of those have been Saabs, I’m truly a self confessed petrolhead much to the continued despair of my wife, family and friends.

It hasn’t mattered what marque or value, from a very cool Lancia Delta Integrale to an iconic, air cooled Porsche 911 and everything in-between, there are 2 items that have to be right on each and every car - exhausts and wheels.

I’ve long admired Saab for their iconic wheel designs, from the early Super Inca and Super Aeros to the 3 Spoke Double Y and wonderful Turbines, all are absolutely timeless and perfectly harmonious. Wheels can truly make or break the entire look of the car, choose the wrong style or size and it can be a complete mess. Before I choose alloys for a car, I will have a play in Photoshop, trying different wheels and sizes to make sure the idea I had in my head works. I love keeping Saab cars and wheels together, but have often thought they look just too small, 16” or 17” when they should be 18” or 19”, and wheels from different models switched up and put on a different model, classic 900 Super Aeros and a 9-3, Aero X alloys on a 9000 maybe.

One company in Shanghai STR Forged had the same idea, they custom forge Saab designed alloys to new and exciting sizes, they look at offset and stud patterns to ensure fit and they craft some exceptional pieces of art for classic and modern Saabs alike, a real petrolhead dream come true, no limit to you imagination. Have a set of the most beautiful Viggen alloys upscaled to 19” maybe. As far as I can tell, sizes range from 17” - 22” and bespoke widths from 7” - 12”, how about a set of staggered classic Viking Double Y’s.

I don’t know if they export to the UK or not yet, but when I find out, I’ll be sure to share the Saab love, in the meantime, go drool over some of the sexist Saabs I’ve seen.

STR Forged Instagram | STR Forged Website