SAAB 99 Turbo Rally

    Scarcely had the Saab 99 Turbo made its debut before it was pressed into service as a rally car. In point of fact, the competition department was first to start experimenting with turbocharging but they had to desist so that word could not get out about what was being done to the production cars. However, Saabs new rally car was officially announced on January 16, 1978. The 145 bhp of the standard car had been increased to 240 bhp although it was not maximum power but the engines amazing torque characteristics (369 Nm at 3500 rpm) that made it so easy to drive - for rally drivers.
    The first year was an experimental period, but a year after the car first appeared on the rally scene, Stig Blomqvist won the Swedish Rally with a 99 Turbo. But the Saab 99 was too much of a standard car to measure fully up to the specialised rally cars of that time, and when the rules were subsequently changed so that the specially constructed group B cars (only 200 units need be built for officially approval) could compete, Saab felt that developments were heading in the wrong direction and decided to pull out of rallying.
    1980 was Saabs last year of official participation in rallying with a works competition department. Sights were set on the European Championship in which Stig Blomqvist finished sixth with a Saab 99 Turbo. This car was the most sophisticated rally car Saab had ever built - elegant and with meticulous attention to detail through and through. Just note the holes made in the bumper brackets for lightness and the safety tank installation with pumps and fuel lines in the boot. The Dymo label on the instrument panel is a message from the mechanics to Stig, wishing him good luck and success.