Saabs converted by TWR.
Discussion
Does anybody know if any of the Saabs converted by TWR for Saab City in the 1990s are still on the road ? I believe that bodykits, suspension, brakes, steering and engine output was worked on.
I don't know how many were produced, if they were just as company demonstrators or if they were retailed in numbers. I believe that both the 9-3 and 9-5 were developed by TWR but cannot find any articles or road tests.
I don't know how many were produced, if they were just as company demonstrators or if they were retailed in numbers. I believe that both the 9-3 and 9-5 were developed by TWR but cannot find any articles or road tests.
Through some old work contacts I've now spoken to an ex employee of TWR who has been able to give me some facts about their dealings with Saab in the UK. In Sweden there were quite a few dealings, as TWR had a base there, because of TWR's involvement with Volvo and if they had come to fruition there might have been a need to have different branding to the normal "TWR" so as not to upset Volvo which was a very lucrative contract.
I'm told that some Saabs that TWR worked upon, the 9000 model range in particular, could be turned into very quick motors as a number were for internal use to see what levels the performance could be taken to. It was realised the tuning potential was greater than it was realistic to sell as everyday usable cars that could have brought in horrendous warranty claims by mechanically unsympathetic drivers.
In the UK from the 1970s TWR was involved officially with a number of car manufacturers and sales brochures were produced marketing the joint ventures, some with TWR being the dominant partner and some with the manufacturer. Some ventures didn't reach fruition or not on the scale that both parties would have liked, Saab being one of them. It could have been a good partnership for Saab. Many of their dealers were also Jaguar franchises so the TWR branding was known to sales staff.
It can be seen from Saab GBs profile in UK motorsport and that of their main dealers that they wanted to be amongst their market leaders here and celebrity drivers with free to use Saabs and Special Edition cars within their ranges were a normal everyday happening. Tony Dron, the racing driver, was employed on sales in their Piccadilly showroom for a while. Whilst Ace and Abbott Racing and others were commissioned to produce high powered models in the various ranges none would have the high profile of TWR.
TWRs involvement and success in Worldwide motorsport was a brilliant marketing tool for them and from the early 1980s they had outgrown their Kidlington premises for all of their projects so as a new project came along it would be placed in its own temporary premises in the area. Kidlington, and then Bloxham, became mainly Jaguar and then Aston Martin, but these bases as time progressed were more manufacturer owned and TWR controlled.
Tom Walkinshaw, being a Scot, was a very shrewd businessman for much of his life although late in his business life his wheeler dealer, cost cutting attitude was a financial weakness. Wth a new car project on board the initial investment of parts, engineering and staff would come out of his stock bank which was considerable. Parts made for , often supplied for, another manufacturer would be used rather than started from afresh although invoices did not always show this. A designer working on a project for a manufacturer would often be used to do initial designs for a pending project and strangely body parts could have a striking similarity, even being adapted to fit a very different car.
The involvement with Saab GB was by the supply of a number of cars, of all models, some even as unsold stock from a dropped model range that were still usable as test beds for components, from both Saab GB themselves and some of their importer owned dealerships. I don't know what numbers we are talking about but for a while a small number of TWR engineers and designers were driving Saabs as their company cars whilst working on other projects. They could pick and choose from the company's parts bins and modify their cars accordingly. Within the company's subsideries there were engineering experts in all matters mechanical and design. Therefore there were some very different Saabs on English roads, some wearing TWR stickers, many not. From their very early days TWR had experience with turbos on road cars so they were a natural to work with Saabs. With their involvement in motorsport they had staff who understood the required workings of a high performance road car as well as any car manufacturer. As previously stated, unfortunately the project did not come to fruition and what happened to those cars is not known. It was unlike TWR to readily hand back a car they had "spent time and money on".
What identifies a TWR Saab today?
Stickers or badges may remain on the car but it was unusual for TWR to sell on a road car that was not to manufacturer design whereby the new owner may seek compensation from TWR if faults appeared. So normal procedure was to remove any TWR branding before sale despite the car being modified in some way. If the sale was to an employee then the invoice would state the car as Salvage Only.
Paintwork was often two tone, a TWR giveaway, being a darker colour over a lighter colour. Google TWR cars and Jaguars and Mazdas are often two tone.
Wheels were often of a TWR design but often the design would appear on a number of cars.
So there were TWR Saabs on the UK roads at one time but finding one today may be elusive.
I'm told that some Saabs that TWR worked upon, the 9000 model range in particular, could be turned into very quick motors as a number were for internal use to see what levels the performance could be taken to. It was realised the tuning potential was greater than it was realistic to sell as everyday usable cars that could have brought in horrendous warranty claims by mechanically unsympathetic drivers.
In the UK from the 1970s TWR was involved officially with a number of car manufacturers and sales brochures were produced marketing the joint ventures, some with TWR being the dominant partner and some with the manufacturer. Some ventures didn't reach fruition or not on the scale that both parties would have liked, Saab being one of them. It could have been a good partnership for Saab. Many of their dealers were also Jaguar franchises so the TWR branding was known to sales staff.
It can be seen from Saab GBs profile in UK motorsport and that of their main dealers that they wanted to be amongst their market leaders here and celebrity drivers with free to use Saabs and Special Edition cars within their ranges were a normal everyday happening. Tony Dron, the racing driver, was employed on sales in their Piccadilly showroom for a while. Whilst Ace and Abbott Racing and others were commissioned to produce high powered models in the various ranges none would have the high profile of TWR.
TWRs involvement and success in Worldwide motorsport was a brilliant marketing tool for them and from the early 1980s they had outgrown their Kidlington premises for all of their projects so as a new project came along it would be placed in its own temporary premises in the area. Kidlington, and then Bloxham, became mainly Jaguar and then Aston Martin, but these bases as time progressed were more manufacturer owned and TWR controlled.
Tom Walkinshaw, being a Scot, was a very shrewd businessman for much of his life although late in his business life his wheeler dealer, cost cutting attitude was a financial weakness. Wth a new car project on board the initial investment of parts, engineering and staff would come out of his stock bank which was considerable. Parts made for , often supplied for, another manufacturer would be used rather than started from afresh although invoices did not always show this. A designer working on a project for a manufacturer would often be used to do initial designs for a pending project and strangely body parts could have a striking similarity, even being adapted to fit a very different car.
The involvement with Saab GB was by the supply of a number of cars, of all models, some even as unsold stock from a dropped model range that were still usable as test beds for components, from both Saab GB themselves and some of their importer owned dealerships. I don't know what numbers we are talking about but for a while a small number of TWR engineers and designers were driving Saabs as their company cars whilst working on other projects. They could pick and choose from the company's parts bins and modify their cars accordingly. Within the company's subsideries there were engineering experts in all matters mechanical and design. Therefore there were some very different Saabs on English roads, some wearing TWR stickers, many not. From their very early days TWR had experience with turbos on road cars so they were a natural to work with Saabs. With their involvement in motorsport they had staff who understood the required workings of a high performance road car as well as any car manufacturer. As previously stated, unfortunately the project did not come to fruition and what happened to those cars is not known. It was unlike TWR to readily hand back a car they had "spent time and money on".
What identifies a TWR Saab today?
Stickers or badges may remain on the car but it was unusual for TWR to sell on a road car that was not to manufacturer design whereby the new owner may seek compensation from TWR if faults appeared. So normal procedure was to remove any TWR branding before sale despite the car being modified in some way. If the sale was to an employee then the invoice would state the car as Salvage Only.
Paintwork was often two tone, a TWR giveaway, being a darker colour over a lighter colour. Google TWR cars and Jaguars and Mazdas are often two tone.
Wheels were often of a TWR design but often the design would appear on a number of cars.
So there were TWR Saabs on the UK roads at one time but finding one today may be elusive.
Edited by Tazar on Tuesday 11th December 02:54
Gassing Station | Saab | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff