1985 SAAB 900 Turbo

‘C190 URY’ is a rare flat-nose, full-pressure Saab 900 Turbo, making it probably the most desirable specification of them all, especially when you factor in the Cherry Red coachwork and complementary hide interior.

It’s had just four previous owners and still shows only 73,000 miles on the odometer, facts that nudged the owner to buy it from a fellow Saab enthusiast at the end of 2022 who told him it had been kept it in storage for many years.

Intended to be a ‘forever car’, an upcoming house move and associated loss of storage space forces the reluctant sale of his boyhood crush.
 

The Saab’s Cherry Red (colour code 127) paintwork shines nicely and all the traditional Turbo styling cues are present: deep front air dam, rear spoiler, and, of course, the iconic three-spoke alloy wheels.

Dealing with the latter first, the 15-inch alloys are in a decent condition, albeit it with some scuffs to the outer rims and localized paint loss.

The wheels are fitted with 195/60R15 Firestone tyres with date stamps from 2016 to 2021, with the former having a little less tread than the newer rubber, as you’d expect.

We will never get tired of telling you that experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly.

As for the bodywork, the metalwork, which is largely free of dents and damage, aligns fairly well too, although the plastic body kit makes judging shutlines difficult.

It does have a few marks, the most significant of which is to the offside rear wing, nearside front wing and door, door handles, boot aperture, and fuel filler cap, while there is some damage to the nearside corner of the front spoiler.

Some of the rubber trim and seals are showing their age, and the headlamps are missing their wipers, although the spindles are still fitted.

But the flanks run pretty true, the lamp lenses are all good, and there’s no sign of serious rust, so if you don’t mind your cars having a light patina you could run it as it is for a good while yet – and because it’s being offered with no reserve, there may well be headroom for the winning bidder to tidy it up and still come out ahead.
 

The interior is finished in Colorado Red (?) hide and walnut, a combination that works very well especially given the colour of the coachwork.

It, like the coachwork, presents well, albeit with the caveat that it is almost 40 years old and seems to be in an unrestored condition.

The front seats, which are labelled as being heated, are still firm and comfortable and have a lived-in look that would have Notting Hill residents fighting over them if they were a pair of armchairs; shabby chic has never looked so good.

The rear seats are in an even better condition and look nothing less than sumptuous with their over-stuffed design. They offer very good legroom too, for what is no more than a middling-sized car. Clever packaging, you see, something else the Swedes are very good at.

The door cards are good, and while headlining is intact it is a bit grubby and is starting to droop at the rear. The Saab also has a power sunroof, should you feel the need for even more air than the over-engineered heating and ventilation system can provide.

The walnut veneer is respectable from a couple of feet away, but closer inspection revels some lacquer loss and surface cracks.

A more modern Blaupunkt headunit has been fitted, the lettering on the switches and instruments is still surprisingly vivid and intact, and the seller tells us that everything works as it should.

The boot is vast and home to a space-saver spare wheel and partial tool kit. The floor looks okay at the moment but has some surface rust that needs arresting before it causes problems.

As for cosmetic flaws you might want to put right, the centre console is trimmed with blue carpet whereas the rest of the cabin is finished with a brown/red material.
 

The seller had the mechanicals were “gone through” and lightly refurbished when he bought it to bring it to a safe, MoT-worthy condition. The work included the braking system, and he says that the 900 “starts first time, every time” and drives with “no issues, including on the motorway”.

Again, the engine bay is patinated but presentable. It seems like the engine cover has been repainted or replaced recently and there looks like fresh silver paint here and there too, but the rest looks original including faded stickers and good underbonnet soundproofing.

The underside looks good but there is overspray on the exhaust rubbers, door locks, and front bumper, so it has had paint at one point or another.

The MoT in 2018 mentions “slight underbody corrosion” and black underseal appears to have been applied fairly recently to some areas, leaving others untouched and apparently original.

As for flaws, it seems to have a bit of a list to starboard but there is what looks like a recent exhaust too, so #swingsandroundabouts, eh?
 

The Saab’s MoT certificate is valid until October 2024, and it was issued with no advisories. The only prior MoT was in 2018.

The recent Vehicle History Check is clear and the V5 registration document is in the seller’s name but that is the extent of the paperwork. The seller was told it had a fully stamped service history booklet when the previous owner bought it but it had been lost during a house move.

Given the previous owner’s enthusiasm for the brand, the seller suggests the car may be known to the Saab community, but this is only a suggestion and bids should be based on the history we have on hand, rather than what might be available.
 

The Saab 900 Turbo has a cult following for a reason and that reason is largely because they’re so impeccably engineered and good to drive, attributes that led John Gardner to give James Bond one (‘The Silver Beast’) as his personal vehicle in the three books he wrote in the early eighties.

More humbly, there are tens of thousands of 40-year-old Saabs like this one continuing to provide daily transport for enthusiasts who like to drive the path less trodden.

Rock-solid residuals further sweeten the deal, so if you find the thought of paying anywhere from £6,000 to £8,000 for a car that’s about to enter its fifth decade off-putting, please do bear in mind its likely future value…

Still unsure? Well, it’s also being offered with no reserve, so will sell from the very first bid, further sweetening an already honey-laden offer.

This vehicle is currently with the vendor in Leicester; if you would like more information or to arrange a viewing please get in touch with us directly. We run online classic car auctions every weekday, every week of the year 24/7/365. Please sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date with what is coming soon.