The interesting, wild and often obscure treasures of the Saab museum

In 1976, decades before the term ‘electrification’ became a marketing buzzword in the auto industry, Saab alchemized a humble 99 into a boxy, battery-powered delivery van for Sweden’s postal service. Engineers mounted the battery pack under the passenger compartment. It could be removed for maintenance by using a purpose-built cart. Saab tested the van extensively but never moved forward with plans to mass-produce it.

99 Turbo (1977)

The 99 Turbo played a crucial role in forging Saab’s image as a purveyor of performance cars. Forced induction let the company squeeze 145hp from the 99’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, an impressive statistic during the 1970s. The firm had geopolitics on its side, too. It launched the 99 Turbo in an era when rising fuel prices on both sides of the Atlantic created an unprecedented demand for cars that delivered both performance and fuel economy.

Saab displayed the example in its museum at the 1977 Frankfurt auto show. It wears white pearl lacquer paint and its interior is upholstered in two-tone brown leather, two options never offered on the regular-production car.

900 GLE (1979)

The 99 evolved into the 900, one of Saab’s most popular models, in 1978. Saab extended the front part of the car to obtain more space in the engine bay and lengthened the wheelbase to make the interior roomier. That was just the start of the 900 story. The firm later expanded the line-up with several body styles, including a convertible, and turned the performance dial up by several notches with versions like the SPG and the Aero.

Saab built 908,817 examples of the 900 between 1978 and 1993. The American-spec example pictured wears chassis number 17. It’s the oldest 900 left, according to Saab's archives department, unless there's an earlier one stashed away in a barn in rural Sweden.

96 V4 (1980)

Saab closed a long chapter in its history when it built the last 96 (pictured) on 8 January 1980. The model directly traced its roots to the firm’s first car, the 92 introduced in 1950, though it was more modern in almost every way. Saab built 730,607 examples of the 92, 93 and 96 during an unusually long 30-year production run.

900 Safari (1981)

In the early 1980s, Saab directed buyers seeking ample space for people and gear towards the four-door hatchback variant of the 900. The firm showed no interest in following rivals Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and BMW into the booming station wagon segment so Swedish coachbuilder Nilssons stepped in to fill the gap.

900 Safari (1981)

Nilssons extended the 900’s roof panel and added raked d-pillars to give the Safari a cohesive, well-proportioned design. It looked much sportier than Volvo’s boxy 245. Only a tiny handful of examples were built, including the like-new 1981 example displayed in the Saab museum. Saab finally entered the segment when introduced the 9-5 SportCombi in 1998.

900 Cabriolet (1983)

Saab remembers it considered two options when it started developing the 900 Cabriolet in the early 1980s. The first one was based on the 900 hatchback and fitted with a targa-style roof. The American Sunroof Company designed the second option as a full convertible with a retractable cloth soft top. Saab chose the latter proposal and introduced it as a prototype (pictured) during the 1983 Frankfurt auto show.

EV-1 (1985)

Unveiled in 1985, the 285hp EV-1 explored what the sports car of the future could look like. Saab kept weight in check by building the coupe using then-revolutionary composite materials like carbon fiber. Its designers penned a strikingly aerodynamic silhouette with a greenhouse made of tinted glass. Solar panels embedded in the roof powered the air conditioning system in order to cool the cabin even if the car spent hours parked in the Arizona sun.

Saab built the EV-1 on a 900 Turbo chassis as a technology demonstrator and never seriously considered adding it to its line-up.

9000 Aero (1996)

The 9000 Aero made headlines after breaking cover during the 1992 Paris auto show. It wasn’t just an updated 9000; Saab proudly presented the model as its fastest car ever. Power came from a four-cylinder engine turbocharged to make an autobahn-storming 225hp. Model-specific parts inside and out (including four bucket seats) helped the Aero stand out from lesser 9000s.

9-3 Viggen (1999)

Saab again tried beating the Germans at their own game with the 9-3 Viggen, a high-performance model launched in 1999. Staying true to tradition, Saab fitted the Viggen with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine tuned to deliver 225hp to the front wheels. On paper, it dazzled enthusiasts with its enviable specifications. Behind the wheel, it startled them with an impressive display of understeer.

Saab’s American division suggested Viggen buyers take an intensive driving course on the Road Atlanta track to learn how to safely flirt with the car’s limits. It included the two-day program with every purchase. Only about 30% of buyers took the course.

SVC (1999)

Though it looks like a run-of-the-mill 9-5, the SVC is a high-tech test mule fitted with a supercharged 1.6-liter five-cylinder engine. Its compression ratio is fully adjustable; it’s higher when cruising on the highway for improved fuel economy and lower when the pace picks up on a twisty road to deliver better performance. In 1999, Saab quoted a strong 225hp output and promised diesel-like fuel economy.

Saab could have become one of Autocar’s groundbreakers but its five-cylinder engine never reached mass production. Instead, Nissan’s Infiniti division became the first company to bring variable compression ratio technology to the market with the VC-T engine, which made its way into various Nissans and Infinitis, starting in 2017.

9-2X (2004)

Subaru and Saab briefly cohabitated under the General Motors umbrella. Executives saw a cheap, easy opportunity to leverage Subaru’s extra production capacity in order to give Saab sales a much-needed boost in North America. The 9-2X was little more than an Impreza hatchback with a Saab-esque front end and minor chassis tweaks.

The Linear model used the Impreza’s 165hp 2.5-liter flat-four engine. The top-spec Aero variant benefited from the WRX’s turbocharged, 227hp 2.0-liter four. Both came with Subaru’s winter weather-defeating all-wheel drive system.

Subaru’s plant in Japan made 10,346 examples of the 9-2X alongside the Impreza for the 2005 and 2006 model years. Most of the production run went to the United States but a small handful of cars ended up on the Canadian market. Saab never sold the 9-2X in Europe.

9-7X (2004)

Saab introduced the 9-7X at the 2004 New York auto show in order to surf the SUV wave. The Griffin emblem up front fooled no one; it took only a quick glance to tell the 9-7X was yet another variant of the GMT360 platform that also spawned the Buick Rainier, the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, the GMC Envoy, the Isuzu Ascender, the Oldsmobile Bravada and, oddly, the Chevrolet SSR.

Saab showed a surprising amount of foresight when it launched a sporty Aero variant of the 9-7X powered by a 6.0-liter V8 with 390hp on tap. Other versions of this engine also powered the Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS, the Pontiac GTO and the Chevrolet Corvette. Stuffing a large-displacement American V8 in a big, burly SUV in the midst of a crippling economic downturn was about as productive as opening a Chipotle franchise on the moon. The 9-7X did little to turn around Saab’s fortunes and retired after the 2009 model year.

9-5 (2010)

Saab learned from past mistakes and put a tremendous amount of effort into making the second-generation 9-5 competitive. It shared its platform and many mechanical components with the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia but it wore a brand-specific design. Saab took the 9-5 upmarket by offering features like a head-up display, adaptive cruise control and traffic sign recognition.

The 9-5 went on sale in June 2010. Sales ended in March 2011 after Saab made 11,280 units.

9-4X (2010)

Saab presented the 9-4X at the 2010 Los Angeles auto show. It shared its platform with the Cadillac SRX but Saab wisely avoided blatant badge-engineering. Though the 9-4X entered a booming segment of America’s new car market, it arrived far too late to save the brand from collapse. Only 814 examples were built in General Motors’ Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, factory before Saab filed for bankruptcy.