In 1977, Saab
ushered in a new epoch in the automotive world.
After broad-based testing with a hundred 1977 cars (three-door with EMS
equipment, serial numbers 900-999) lasting for six months, a production
version of the Saab 99 Turbo was launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show on
September 13, 1977. The show car had a special white pearl finish and can
now be seen in the Saab museum.
The background to the development of the turbocharged engine was the
demand for more power from a two-litre, four-cylinder engine, without
increasing its fuel consumption. Saab solved the problem by fitting the
engine with a light-weight turbocharger that does not run under ordinary
motoring conditions - that is to say for about 85 per cent of the time.
On flooring the accelerator, the turbocharger cuts in and delivers a
hefty power boost.
Saabs first-generation turbocharged engine produced 145 bhp and gave the
car a top speed of nearly 200 km/h. Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h took
8.9 seconds.
Of almost more importance is the overtaking acceleration provided by the
Turbo engine. The Saab 99 Combi Coupé Turbo accelerates from 60 to
100
km/h in only nine seconds, the kind of performance that makes for safer
overtaking.