Yahoo Autos Exceptional 1978 Saab 99 Turbo Is Today's Bring a Trailer Pick
Saab was one of the earliest automakers to experiment with turbocharging.
The first turbocharged Saab was the 99 model in the late 1970s.
This car, first sold in Europe, has exceptionally low mileage, desirable equipment, and great colors, and it's up for auction until January 16.
Sweden was once home to two very different car companies, one square and stolid (Volvo), the other freeform and innovative (Saab). But there is far more to the appeal of an early Saab than weird individuality; Saabs are deeply mechanically satisfying to drive, and when properly equipped, far quicker than you'd expect.
A seminal event in Saab history was the arrival of turbocharging back in the dark days of the 1970s. As our review of the then-new Saab 99 Turbo put it, "Hello blower, goodbye boredom." This 1978 Saab 99 Turbo up for auction on Bring a Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos—is sure to chum the waters for the Saab cognoscenti.
This early model with a whistling turbocharger under the hood has traveled less than 20,000 miles, is resplendent in Carmine Red, and rolls on a set of iconic 15-inch Inca wheels (which are specific to the 99 Turbo and designed to look like the blades of a compressor). On the first day of the auction, bidding raced past $35,000.
The interior is just as good as the outside, with spectacularly comfortable seats, a sporty three-spoke wheel, and a dash-mounted boost gauge.
In its day, this Euro-spec 99's 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine was good for 145 horsepower (U.S. models had 135 horses). By late-'70s standards, that's basically moose-power, enough to perhaps catch an emissions-strangled Corvette by surprise on the highway. The engine was thoroughly overhauled by a Belgian Saab specialist before the car was imported into the U.S., and it received brake work and a new clutch in 2021.
But punchy boost isn't the best thing about a Saab 99; it's the wonderful character and attention to detail throughout. In that long-ago road test, C/D's David Abrahamson wrote:
"The new Saab Turbo is a genuine performance car: strong, supple, good off the line, fast through the corners, whisper smooth, and lovingly screwed together. Speed comes so effortlessly that the only way to stay out of traffic court is to force yourself to check the speedo every 30 seconds—and I can promise what you find there will delight you."
This '78 Saab 99 Turbo looks like an ideal way to see what all the fuss was about—although the winning bidder may have to beat out a school of frenzied Saab fans.
The auction ends on January 16.
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