10 FACTS ABOUT YOUR CLASSIC
Volvo, Saab designed the car to withstand extremes of cold, miserable weather and tested it thoroughly, the result being a car that needed very little change. So good was the 99, that the 900 was only ever a mildly revised version that ran until 1993, making the 99 design 25 years old when the axe finally fell.
The 99 was the last car designed by Saab’s chief engineer Sixten Sason Andersson who died in 1967, just before his final creation went into full scale production. A worthy epitaph indeed!
1
The 99’s first engine was a 1709cc slant four, a joint project between Triumph and Ricardo. Saab considered engines from other manufacturers including Ford, but Triumph had a good reputation and seemed to know what they were doing – and so the slant four went into a Saab some four years before a Triumph Dolomite.
2
However, the engine had early reliability issues – poor casting and assembly plus some fundamental design issues, such as the angled head studs and even left over casting sand found in the blocks. Saab had no control over engine manufacture and so it set to redesign the unit, with the new ‘Saab B’ engine arriving in 1972 after the Triumph unit had been revised as an 1850.
3
The Saab B engine was based on the Triumph slant four design but used no common parts apart from bore spacing and the main bearing spacing. However the bore and stroke were not the same as the 2.0 litre Triumph units used in the TR7 and Dolomite Sprint; these were 1998cc and the Saab unit was 1985cc.
4
Finnish market cars could be ordered with an engine that ran on Paraffin from 1978 onwards. This used the low compression pistons and electronic ignition system from the 99 Turbo to give an engine that developed 85bhp. However, this early dual fuel car could be manually switched back to petrol. These cars were built in Saab’s Finnish factory in Uusikaupunki.
5
The three- door 99 Combi Coupé was Saab’s first hatchback model and formed the basis of the 1978 Saab 900. Using the existing front end and doors, the rear end was completely redesigned
and strengthened to accept the opening rear door. The front end was later lengthened, the suspension revised and the interior redesigned to become the first 900.
6
Saab took the Triumph 1850 engine in 1971 to give the 99 more performance, and added a Bosch fuel injection system (D Jetronic) to give the engine 94bhp as opposed to the 85bhp of the standard unit with a carburettor. Saab had also fitted D Jet to the 1709 engine to create the first 99E, now a very rare car. Three speed automatic versions of the 99 were now available as well.
7
Saab dropped the 1709cc cars in 1972 when their own 1985cc unit became available but continued with the 1850 Triumph units for a while – by this time, the Triumph built unit was much better with low warranty claims, although Saab would drop it by 1974. Their own 1985cc version was more popular as Saab moved gradually upmarket.
8
The 99 Turbo arrived in late 1977 as a Combi Coupé based model. Finished mainly in black with the distinctive Inca alloy wheels; red, silver and metallic grey cars were also built. With 145bhp on tap combined with strong power delivery, the 99 Turbo was an excellent performance car and a poke in the eye for cars like the BMW 323i with it’s scary handling.
9
The 99’s body was a very unusual design for 1968. The clamshell front opening bonnet, doors that went all the way to the floor and wheel arches without mud trapping lips meant that the 99 wasn’t a particularly rust prone car and the huge curved screen gave very good vision. The CD figure was 0.37, incredible for its time and better than an E-Type. Most other family cars around at the time were well over 0.45.
10
The 99 ended production in 1984 after a 16- year run. The Saab 90 replaced it as a budget sub 900 model (99 front end and 900 two- door rear) but really it was much the same. Built for three years, the 90 was produced in Saab’s Finland factory with production ending in 1987. With only 25,000 built, it wasn’t a huge success with buyers just preferring the 900.