Saab is not doing so hot these days. There's new product in the pipeline for sure, but 2002 was a record year for red ink at the formerly independent automaker. Nowhere are people more aware of this fact than in Trollhaettan, Sweden. Home to Saab's manufacturing base, there is a growing sense in the industrial town that the future of the company is truly at stake. But where Saab's success matters the most, the enthusiast's torch burns brighter than ever, as evidenced by this brilliant "Inka Gold" SQR Saab 900.
The tuning aftermarket that has grown up around Trollhaettan is doing much to keep the home fires burning and helps fuel further passion in the hometown marque. SQR's namesake, Frank Stroemqvist (StroemQvist Racing), is a key player in that field, not just a parts seller but an integral part of the hardcore Trollhaettan enthusiast crowd, providing support and information to the fierce band of Saab loyalists and club members.
Not that the owner of this incandescent 900, Lars Granberg, had much of a choice when deciding on a car to tune. Like many of the folks in the area, Granberg's father works at Saab. He also belongs to the local Saab club, which is the world's largest. When this club meets, which is often, there's usually 10 guys wrenching away inside a local garage getting a member's Saab ready for a track outing or show, while hundreds of club members congregate outside the shop doors. "That's what we do, we spend a lot of time in the garage," Granberg explained. "We also spend a lot of time speaking with the Saab engineers, who tend to think in terms of evolution of the Saab powerplants, where we just think in terms of power."
Granberg bought this 1994 900 Turbo in 2000 and drove it stock for two weeks before deciding it would become a tuning project. First order of business was pulling the 180-bhp 2.0-liter mill and replacing it with the 2.3-liter Turbo engine from a Saab 9000. This big-block/Viggen-esque route is common among Saab tuners, and being a turbo, further gains came from adding a larger, Mitsubishi TD04-19T compressor. The trick to unleashing the potential of any turbocharged engine is unlocking the secrets of the ECU. When it comes to this, especially on Saab Turbos, the high priest of high-boost is SQR.
Regardless of the Saab project in the area, Stroemqvist's chip-tuning services are considered integral to any big-horsepower project. Among any gathering of the faithful, you constantly hear the phrase, "Frank got me an ECU," or a "Frank-tuned ECU." Like many of the highly tuned machines running around Trollhaettan, this car is a conglomeration of factory go-fast parts, teamed with delicate tuning of the Trionic engine-management system. Current output is just over 360 bhp.
That power is routed through an aftermarket clutch disc and Viggen pressure plate to a Viggen five-speed transmission. The suspension was lowered onto H&R springs, and Bilstein shocks handle wheel motions at each corner. Plumbed with stainless-steel brake lines, larger brakes have been grafted from a Saab 9-5 Aero. The more effective binders are housed inside Fondmetal Type 9A 17-in. wheels wearing 225/45 series Michelin rubber.
Strapped into the Viggen seats, you realize that Granberg's 900 gives off its own glow, thanks to the shimmering Inka Gold paint job. The engine pulls impressively from just off idle, the brick-shaped torque curve keeping thrust constant until it begins to taper off around 7000 rpm. That lull near redline is Granberg's only gripe with the car's current tuning state; he'd like it to keep pulling past redline. That and the desire for "a little more brake" will have him keeping the shining 900 for a few more tweaks.