Robert J. Sinclair, President of Saab-Scania of America, was the
initiator of the Saab 900 Turbo 16 Convertible unveiled in 1983. But the
Saab Design Department, headed by Björn Envall, had already started
sketching an open-top Saab 900. It was felt that the demand for it was in
the air.
The Saab 900 Turbo 16 Convertible was first shown as a design study at
the International Motor Show in Frankfurt in the autumn of 1983,
pricipally to gauge the interest of the motoring public. The prototype
car had been built by the American Sunroof Company (ASC) to Saabs
drawings.
The prototype aroused enormous interest - particularly among dealers
around the world. In April 1984, a decision was made to take the car into
production at the Saab-Valmet plant in Uusikaupunkki, Finland. Production
started during spring 1986.
The Saab 900 Turbo 16 Convertible is an open car, manufactured under
perfectly standard production conditions and subjected to the same
rigorous quality inspection as other Saab cars. Saab-Valmets experience
of special cars (such as the Saab 900 CD - a lengthened version of the
Saab 900 Turbo) and their flexible production resources are perfect for
the Convertible. The special parts for the top are produced by the
American Sunroof Company. The Saab 900 Turbo 16 Convertible includes
about 300 special parts that differ from those of the corresponding
two-door Saab 900 Turbo 16 Sedan.