VIDEO: 700-HP Saab 99 Quattro Turbo is like missing Koenigsegg ancestor
700-hp 1969 Saab 99 Quattro Turbo – Click above to watch video
Sweden has just over nine million people – that's an entire country whose population is just a little bigger than New York City – and we'd believe it if someone told us they exclusively devoted their time to blessing the world with peculiar automotive concoctions. We'd file this latest one under "quirky," but it's far too powerful: a 1969 Saab 99 given the Audi Quattro treatment and a turbocharging to the tune of 700 horsepower. And then left to look rather stock.
The brainchild of a man named Gustav, it's development is recorded on Savar Turbo for those of you who speak Swedish (translated, if you don't). It runs sub-10-second quarter-miles with ease, which includes a few tenths lost for wheelspin and manually shifting gears. And we like it. We like it a lot. And we want whatever he's been drinking – we're guessing drums of aquavit. Follow the jump for videos of this stealthy Swede's quarter-mile runs and have a look at what's under the hood in the gallery of high-res images below.
Gallery: 700-HP Saab 99 Quattro Turbo
[Source: Savar Turbo via Car Throttle]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Guitar Hero 12:34PM (11/05/2009)
Now that's a sleeper if I ever saw one.
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Jeff Banks 5:47PM (11/05/2009)
...except that it sounds like an idling top fuel dragster.
L.S. 12:37PM (11/05/2009)
Now that's a true sleeper!
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Sebastien Hubert 12:40PM (11/05/2009)
It's only missing that 100 some years old camaro driver from a previous post and then, ultimate sleeper...
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Heysus 1:28PM (11/05/2009)
hahahaha nice one.
kaslings 1:54PM (11/05/2009)
Holy crap, that thing is AWESOME!
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G.G. 12:48PM (11/05/2009)
SAAB, now under Swedish ownership with Koenigsegg, should build them like this - just like this, please! Yes, Go SAAB Go!
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larry raines 12:53PM (11/05/2009)
cool how he kept it a Saab motor
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zingZACH 12:54PM (11/05/2009)
So glad Gustav's car finally has worldwide recognition. Here in the states, it took me many months to find more information on this. I eventually found the savar turbo site and used google translate. I have followed this build as much as I could. Being a Saab enthusiast, this is what many of us love to see.
Gotta love the Swede's and their wacky builds. Their long darkness in the winter must give them lots of down time and they must occupy that spare time in their garage's building amazing cars. Some of the best built engines come out of Sweden.
Also... some more videos.
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Andy 12:57PM (11/05/2009)
Can't imagine why the speedo is in-op........ What a beast! Nice clean no-nonsense workmanship too.
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zingZACH 1:00PM (11/05/2009)
More videos...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5PKBdz08_M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfsIZjqjrlE
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turboSAABman 1:12PM (11/05/2009)
You're on the saab link right? The engine seems interesting. A set of carburetors on a T5 engine? I've never seen that before Gustav came along.
fmwso 1:10PM (11/05/2009)
Wow, that's really insane (in a good way). That's a true sleeper right there.
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meatbag 1:11PM (11/05/2009)
i saw this on jalopnik a few days ago, i'm surprised it took this long to aggregate here.
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Chris Ice 1:27PM (11/05/2009)
If you're going to hot up an Audi 5 cyl Quattro motor, this seems like a more "sensible" thing to do with it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNs_FF7ar8c
I don't get the Saaudi thing...mad props, but, ...why?
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zingZACH 1:47PM (11/05/2009)
First of all... it's not using an Audi 5 cylinder motor. The Saab is using a SAAB motor from a c900 Turbo (B202 motor)... The only thing Audi in it is the Quattro AWD drivetrain. All of the power comes from a 4 cylinder Swedish motor. It usually does help to read first... or even look at the pictures lol.
Kris 1:34PM (11/05/2009)
That's nearly my dream car. Now replace that crazy awesome engine with a nice TDI and it would be my ideal daily driver. I had a 75 Saab 99 hatchback in high school. That car could go anywhere.
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Bill 2:02PM (11/05/2009)
Not to nitpick, but notice the windshield wipers.
Although this car is LHD, it appears that the configuration of the wipers are for a RHD car.
Or maybe all Saabs of this vintage were that way?
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zingZACH 2:04PM (11/05/2009)
All 99's were this way. They are opposite from a c900.
zingZACH 2:03PM (11/05/2009)
and turboSAABman, yeah I post on TSL... also, that's not a T5 motor, it's a B202 from a classic 900. And it's fuel injected now, not running carbs. It's also running VEMS standalone and is producing around 709AWHP and 700NM.
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