We have a tuned Saab 9-3 Cabrio on the dynamometer.
Hirsch Performance: So at least 275, maybe 300 or even more horsepower?
Saab has become much better known as a car manufacturer than as an aircraft manufacturer. Yet they still do the latter, but the cars have really come to an end since 2014. Airplane and car come together harmoniously on our dynamometer: we’re going to fly low with a Saab 9-3 2.8 V6 Aero. A convertible.
Last year he set out to buy his dream car, and Peter van der Kraan cannot complain. “I had a fairly short, but ambitious list,” says the 53-year-old transport manager from Wateringen. “I was in the market for a Lexus IS 250 Convertible, a Lexus SC, a Mercedes-Benz CLK and a Saab 9-3 Convertible.” There was one more condition: a six-cylinder engine please. Peter ran into sky-high prices for second-hand Lexuses, but still bought his dream car. “I always thought a Saab 9-3 Convertible was beautiful. And I wanted a six-cylinder. These things came together in this one.”
Bought for €11,000
The Swedish two-door was his for €11,000 with 248,000 km on the clock. But the start was false. “The Saab dealer I bought it from assured me that that mileage wouldn’t be a problem. But after a week, smoke was coming from under the hood. Turned out to be a hose from the cooling system leaking. That was neatly arranged under warranty.”
Rebuilt to original
Peter entered into a relationship with the 95-PJR-2, but on one condition: that lowering set had to be removed. “The car was rock hard as nails. That was also neatly arranged in Apeldoorn, where I bought it: the original springs went underneath and I received the disassembled parts.” Peter is very pleased with the service and attention of the former Saab dealers, now specialists. “I went for maintenance in Pijnacker and there they alerted me to a rust spot under a rubber of the first part of the hood. If you don’t do anything about it, it will rust further. It’s great that they made me aware of that. I had it addressed immediately.”
Hirsch Performance helped this 9-3 to 175 hp
From the glove compartment, Peter takes a nice document in A4 format. Van Hirsch, a renowned tuner of Saab automobiles, who was allowed to tickle the V6 turbo engine a bit from the previous owner. “It says that the car now has 275 hp,” says Peter. But the car’s ad at the time mentioned a power of 300 horsepower… What about now? There’s only one way to find out: hit the dynamometer. With a disclaimer in advance: it doesn’t really matter to Peter in the end. “I drive a V6 for the relaxed engine character and sound, but I don’t drive a convertible to pedal like crazy all day. On the other hand, of course I want to know.”
Well, that’s mustache. On Ghisbert van Ginhoven’s dynamometer, the cool 18-year-old Swedish performs like a charm. The V6 even delivers more than 300 hp, in combination with a lot of torque to say to you. Peter drives home with a big grin and a sunny mood. With the hood down.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl