Friday 13th August 2010

SOTW: Saab 9000 Carlsson

Shed is back on the barges with this 'Swede' little number...

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Shed is not one to shy away from a barge - as regular Shed fans will know - but a 20-plus-year-old Saab is a bit rich even for Shed's blood (although not unknown).

But the 9000 Carlsson is a little bit special. In markets outside the UK, it was known as the Talladega in honour of the 19 endurance records set by three standard turbocharged 9000s at Talladega Speedway in the US in 1986. In the UK, however, it carried on the tradition of the Saab 900 Carlsson and took its moniker from Swedish rally legend Erik Carlsson.

As well as a revised ECU (to allow for higher turbo boost pressure) and a twin-tailpipe exhaust that together liberated around an extra 30bhp or so from the engine (bringing it to 204bhp), the Carlsson was endowed with a less-than-subtle bodykit of colour-coded sills, bumpers and tail spoiler. Among the more appealing visual tweaks are a leather Momo steering wheel, and 16in alloys that are either cross-spoke jobs or the classic three-spoke Saab efforts.

The first Carlsson that caught our eye was this red one, up for £600, which really looks the part, and is the later 'sloping-nose' model with the 2.3-litre lump and traction control. Sadly it has been off the road for five years and thus, we suspect, rather breaks SOTW's T&T rule.

But, having got the taste for a Carlsson, a brief spot of extra trawling brought up a black hatch - complete with MOT (just) for £595. It needs a wee bit of TLC (the seller admits as much) and is the earlier 'flat-nosed' model with the 2.0-litre engine, but still represents a lot of turbocharged Swedish fun for the money

SORN'd Saab 9000 saloon ad is reproduced below

Saab 9000 cd carlsson turbo 2.3 For Sale (1991) £600
for sale is my carlsson which i have owned for 12 years it has been off the road for 5 yrs it has 130 k no mot no tax still starts and drives and is complete there is no rust just the odd minor blemish here and there it is solid underneath no welding required it needs handbrake sorting out and some bulbs are missing it will drive anywhere with no problems.the tcs needs re calibrating so it is a bit juddery but this will make a cracking car with little effort reluctant sale but i need my driveway back it has been dry stored all the time i have owned it loss off premises forces sale i have old mots service history

Hatchback 9000 Carlsson ad is reproduced below

SAAB 9000 Carlsson For Sale (1989), £595
SAAB 9000 Carlsson, black with dark grey leather interior. Circa 155,000 miles. MOT until mid August, and I dont believe any work will be needed to renew. Looks stunning, and goes extremely well. In good sound condition, but needs a bit more tlc. There are a few jobs that need doing but these are easy DIY type jobs. It does however need a new headlining.
This is a genuine flat fronted Carlsson which can only go up in value
Please phone if you are interested - Emails bore me!
Drive away for only £595 - so be quick!

[IsItACatInAHat]

Drove one of these (Admittedly the non-Carlsson version) to Rome and back no problem last year. Great car, faltered a bit in the high altitude around Stelvio Pass, ate up motorway no problem, but drank more than my Porsche does!

[900T-R]

"TCS is a bit juddery".... uh-oh. Best to get a non-TCS ECU and cable throttle housing, then...

[Truckosaurus]

I had one of these, in black J-reg, hatchback.

Good car. I recall they advertised it as "the world's fastest car" (in 5th gear between 2 certain speeds (50-70?)) as it was pretty much the only turbo engined 'normal' car.

[The real Apache]

We had a 98 fpt in black, it was really rapid in mid range, I mean really rapid. The engines are tunable and tough so they make for an excellent base for a sleeper, I am still looking for an excuse to get one

[FWDRacer]

The real Apache said:

The engines are tunable and tough

Aren't these SAAB motors based on the old Dolomite Sprint motor/block or have I been at the cheese again?

[Fleckers]

I still think that they look like they have had crappy body kits on

the red / pinky orange one is gross

[900T-R]

FWDRacer said:

The real Apache said:

The engines are tunable and tough

Aren't these SAAB motors based on the old Dolomite Sprint motor/block or have I been at the cheese again?

Completely different entities ever since Saab brought their 2-litre version to market at the end of 1972. Since then, nowt interchanges with the original Ricardo/Triumph/Saab design, even the bore spacing is different.

[Rockatansky]

This is the only example of 3 spoked wheels being acceptable on a car.

[900T-R]

Rockatansky said:

This is the only example of 3 spoked wheels being acceptable on a car.

Shame about the paint job on them on the red car...

[rawlo]

Used to walk past one of these every day on my paper round(!) years ago, visited that area again recently and it's still there! Black, red pin-striping/decals and the BBS style cross spoke alloys. Always liked them. Comfy, well made and good grunt. At that price what is not to like? They seem to last for years.

Top shed.

[richieboy3008]

Truckosaurus said:

I had one of these, in black J-reg, hatchback.

Good car. I recall they advertised it as "the world's fastest car" (in 5th gear between 2 certain speeds (50-70?)) as it was pretty much the only turbo engined 'normal' car.

My dad had a D reg 2.0 turbo has a company car back in the 80's, yes said between 40-70 in 3rd or 4th it was very very fast indeed.

[MrLou]

Shed Seller said:

This is a genuine flat fronted Carlsson which can only go up in value

Really? I think what he really means is:

Shed Seller said:

This is a genuine flat fronted Carlsson which will cost you a shedload to keep running before you finally give in and chuck it away.

[djt100]

I had a 9000 Turbo SE as could not afford one of these at the time, All the luxuries I needed and 4 up with luggage it went 0.0140 leptons, very impressive. silly fast once the wheels stopped spinning

[nav p]

i remember taking a turbo in swap when i worked in a BMW dealership...great value but had major undesteer.

[Frimley111R]

"This is a genuine flat fronted Carlsson which can only go up in value"

[Big Lebowski]

It'd take some bottle turning up at work in that pink monster; looks like a giant's embarassing trouser department infection. The black one's cool.

[Papa Hotel]

Hmm... I want to like them, I really do. I just don't though.

[Benjman]

Nice shed, always had a soft spot for their quirky design.

Rockatansky said:

This is the only example of 3 spoked wheels being acceptable on a car.

Well, the Viper lokks better with 3 spoke wheels, IMO. But still acceptable on the Saab.

[Steamer]

Nice - but I cant help thinking those older 900's are getting sexier by the day... 'the Milf of motors' in fact. (thats motor I'd like to fettle before anyone gets funny).

[aeropilot]

Nicest (and rarest Carlsson - less than 200 of them) is the later CS version IMHO..... I never liked the tacky body kits on the earlier ones as seen in the examples posted.