CarBrandLogos archive · Saab · 1984

SaabSaab 9000

A shared Italian platform, a Giugiaro body, and 100,000 kilometres flat out at Talladega.

Photo: Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in Saab history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Saab 9000, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Saab was too small to develop a large car alone, so it joined the Type Four project with Fiat, sharing a floorpan with the Lancia Thema, Fiat Croma and Alfa Romeo 164. What emerged in 1984 was more different from its siblings than that arrangement usually allows: Saab redesigned a substantial proportion of the structure for its own crash standards, put Bjorn Envall to work on the details of Giorgetto Giugiaro's body, and mounted the engine transversely for the first time in a large Saab.

1994-1997 Saab 9000 CD sedan · OSX · Public domain

Design and engineering

The five-door CC and CS hatchbacks gave the car an enormous load bay for its class, and the CD saloon that followed added formality for markets that would not buy a hatchback executive car. Turbocharged four-cylinder engines dominated the range, with a V6 later added, and the Aero versions of the 1990s were among the quickest front-wheel-drive cars available.

1991 Saab 9000CC Turbo · Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

Saab's demonstration of durability was carried out at Talladega in 1986, where three 9000 Turbos ran for 100,000 kilometres at an average speed above 210 km/h, taking a long list of endurance records and making the point that a turbocharged Swedish saloon could be driven hard indefinitely.

1990 Saab 9000 CD non-turbo · Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0

Legacy

Production ended in 1998 after just under fourteen years, with the 9-5 taking over. By then General Motors owned half the company, and the 9000 was the last large Saab designed before that ownership shaped everything the firm did.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Engine

2.0&nbsp

Designer

Björn Envall

Body

4-door saloon

Technical specification

The Saab 9000, in detail.

Production: 24 May 1984 – 6 May 1998
Class: Executive car (E)
Body style: 4-door saloon (car); saloon (CD) ; 5-door hatchback (CC, CS)
Layout: Transverse front-engine, front-wheel drive
Engine: 2.0 L Saab H engine#B202; B202/Saab H engine#B204; B204 Straight-four engine; I4 ; 2.0 L B202/B204 Turbocharger; turbocharged I4 ; 2.3 L Saab H engine#B234; B234 I4 ; 2.3 L B234 turbocharged I4 ; 3.0&
Transmission: 4-speed ZF 4HP18 automatic; 5-speed F25 manual
Designer: Björn Envall ; Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign
Assembly: Sweden: Trollhättan (Trollhättan Assembly) ; Finland: Uusikaupunki (1984–1991)
Manufacturer: Saab