Given the company’s current discontinued status, it can be argued that: all Saab is a future classic. Even the final round of cars from the era owned by General Motors is worth going down in history. Seriously, how hot was he last 9-5?
Handsome design and quirky features were hallmarks of the Saab brand, and its cars were as luxurious as their main European competitors. But while other luxury car makers put a lot of effort into a full line of high-performance cars, Sweden only produced the oddly sporty Saab once in a while. A turn-of-the-century 9-3 Viggen that still blows us away today.
What makes the Saab 9-3 Viggen a future classic?
Saab’s whole “born from a jet” tagline didn’t make much sense, but at least the 9-3 Viggen name was a nod to the company’s aerospace roots. The Swedish word “Viggen” means “thunderbolt” in English, and the name was used on his Saab 37 Viggen aircraft, which entered service in the early 1970s.
The 9-3 Viggen is powered by a 2.3-liter inline 4-cylinder turbocharged engine best known for its incredible 20 psi boost pressure. Rated at 225 hp (later increased to 230 hp) and 252 lb-ft of torque, this engine was mated to a 5-speed manual transmission and front-wheel drive only. Stiffer suspension components, stiffer dampers, stronger driveshafts, stiffer clutches and revised exhausts were also part of the package.
The Viggen was relatively quick, serving 0-60mph in about 6.5 seconds. But the 9-3 Viggen is well known for things like ridiculous turbo lag and torque steer. These characteristics made this car a pleasure to drive, even if it lost its overall sharpness and composure.
What is the ideal example of Saab 9-3 Viggen?
Saab offered the 9-3 Viggen as a 3-door hatchback, a 5-door hatchback and a 2-door convertible. While the car is best known for its lightning blue shade at launch, Saab offered the Vigen in black, grey, red, silver and yellow. You can also specify the interior with blue, orange, or tan leather accents.
Perhaps the most iconic 9-3 Viggen spec is the Lightning Blue three-door hatch, but other colors are much more rare. The Monte-Carlo Yellow 5-door has one big weakness, but it really can’t go wrong. However, avoid the Viggen convertible unless you like the idea of shaking the cowl to death.
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Are there alternatives to Saab 9-3 Viggen?
oh yeah One of Viggen’s biggest problems with him is that he played in the same space as the well-established performance cars such as the Audi S4, BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG.
But no one misses the Saab because of how comfortable it is on the road. Instead, there’s a center-console-mounted ignition, weird flip-out cup holders, an upright dashboard and, of course, night panelFor these reasons and more, the 9-3 Viggen has always been a very popular serve.
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