SAABOTR Mission Statement

I've had an idea of what the car modifications' objective should be ever since I conteplated purchasing the car, but it only just occurred to me to put it here.

The mission statement of the whole project is, and has been, to create a high performance (~300hp) daily driver that combines sporty and exhilirating driving manners with everyday utility; there must be a balance between these two aims, though sport is favoured over utility.

Sport and utility also take precedence over in car entertainment (ICE).  Though ICE is a part of the experience, ICE is certainly not the single driving theme of the project.

The car must stand out from the generi-performance American/Japanese/German car, but it must do so in a subtle and sophisticated manner that defines the European sport coupe.  The materials and components used must be of high quality yet supremely functional; they must combine the themes of sport, comfort and style in a manner dissimilar to the mass produced, cheap and angular feel of American and Japanese cars.  Passersby should take notice of the car's modifications and overall presence, though they would be forgiven if they did not.  Car enthusiasts should become excited at the quality of the components used and appreciate the extent of the modifications performed.

In this context, the Saab 900 SPG is, for me, the perfect beginning point.

The late Russell Bulgin was one of the evo writers.  He summed up the intangible quality known as 'evoness' quite well.  The original piece is reproduced here...

...and more lately, the 2002 Evo Car of the Year article in the January 2003 issue features some words written by Peter Tomalin that I think sum things up quite nicely:

"What we look for in a car is the tangible evidence that it's been engineered for people like us, conceived and honed by enthusiasts who understand why it's important for a car to communicate, who understand that raw speed isn't everything, that responses should be keen and predictable, breakaway progressive, the limits easily read.  Sure we want acceleration, and a stirring soundtrack to go with it.  But we also want tactility, connection, involvement."

Admittedly, ~300bhp is likely too much to deploy to the ground with FWD and an open-diff.  But oh well...if I never did this project, I'd kick myself and wonder why I never did.  As Juha Kankkunen once said "you can never have enough power...okay, except maybe when we had Group B, then we had enough power."  All joking aside, I want about 300hp, as much as possible, to take on anyone who wants to run from a roll in a straight line fight.  That said, the car's got to turn too.  The last line from Peter Tomalin above is great: a true driver's car connects the driver to the road, so that the two operate as one.  Thus all of my modification are geared towards this goal.  I want excellent on throttle response, with a good mid range shove to boot me out of corners; I want a sharp turn in, so that it's like if I think the car into the corner, it responds instantly; I want excellent grip through the corner with as neutral a cornering attitude as possible.  What does all this produce?  I think it makes a car that is rewarding to drive, but most of all, fun.

I would have to say that there are two or three cars on which I want SAABOTR to be like the most.  The first is the E30 BMW M3.  If there ever was a driver's sport sedan, this would be it.  More lately, there are the Alfa Romeo 156 GTA and the Ford Focus RS.  Both of these put out well over 200hp (250bhp and 212bhp respectively) and both are FWD.  While these two have come under some flak from the motoring press recently, I still love them and appreciate what their designers wanted to do. Added to all of this, I have the utility of the classic Saab hatchback.  As a daily driver with enough poke to have fun yet compliant enough for the street, I couldn't ask for more.

I finally sat down and wrote out with more care and in more detail the philosophy behind the car:

M.  Evolution.  V-Spec.  GT3.  RS.  GTI.  Cosworth.  GTA.  RSR.  Type-R.  Aero.  STi.  These simple letters denote major sub brands of various car manufacturers.  What is special about these sub brands is that they are all associated with the higher performance versions of more mundane cars.  These high performance cars are for the more discerning, more hardcore driving enthusiasts that are out there.  I count myself as one of them.

It is in the spirit of these high performance cars with which I carefully built SAABOTR.  The pleasure and thrill of driving are imbued with these cars, and it is this spirit - more subjective than objective, more emotional than analytical - which I wanted to instill into my car.

BMW has an ad which states that "Happiness is not around the corner; happiness is the corner."  I would have to agree.  I find the most driving pleasure from plunging through a series of quick corners.  Flick the car in, feel the tires grip, foot on the loud pedal and out, into the next corner. This would be automotive nirvana.

For this type of driving, you would want a car with sharp steering reflexes so that the car takes the driver's inputs and translates them to the road, as if the car was an extension of the driver's body; they must act like they are one.  You would want a suspension system that allows you to feel the road, how it curves, how it is shaped so that the driver knows what is happening.  In this way, the car can be driven as quickly as possible given the road conditions.  You would want a flexible and responsive engine, with as wide a range of power and torque as possible.

That then, is how I would characterize SAABOTR's build philosophy.  Every modification has been performed with these performance oriented goals in mind.

However, there are two more notable characteristics that I kept in mind when building the car: quality and originality.  The latter is easier to articulate.  SAABs are a relative rarity, a tuned one even more so.  Driving a SAAB is an extension of my personality in that I refuse to follow the norms.  I want to be different, but in a subtle way, for it is not my style to follow trends nor to be an exhibitionist.

Quality, in the automotive sense, does not necessarily mean expensive.  That said, a lot of the components used on SAABOTR were expensive.  But quality necessarily means that parts and solutions must not be cobbled together hastily.  Thus the selection of parts and materials for SAABOTR range widely: the pistons are American made to custom specifications for durability and weight savings; the engine management system is Canadian that reaches the objectives simply and in a cost effective manner; the Japanese boost controller is simple, easy to use, and effective; the transmission was made in Sweden by a specialist and comes with an enviable reputation.  Where it made sense to spend the hard earned dollars, they were spent; where money could be saved, it was, and parts were acquired which worked properly and effectively notwithstanding the lower price.
 

In the selection of parts, I did pay much attention to brand names, and in this respect I could be seen as materialistic or shallow.  However, to understand the quality and reputation behind the brand names is to justify acquiring the brand name.

Thus to the trained eye, the quality of both the parts and their installation will be evident.  That the car is a SAAB is one way of being original; my choice of parts and the direction of the modifications is another way.