Ultra-rare convertible from long-forgotten car brand ‘drives beautifully’ and can be yours for less than £5,000
A CONVERTIBLE sports car from a long-since discontined brand is a head-turner that can be picked up for less than £5,000.
The very cool Saab 9-3, which is one of the Swedish brand’s most recognisable motors, remains a firm-favourite among fans of cars from the noughties.
The 9-3 was produced from 1998 and ended when the Swedish brand went bust in 2014.
While it reguarly appears on used car websites such as Autotrader, the seldom seen ‘Viggen’ iteration is the one petrolheads are particuarly keen to get their hands on.
Indeed, only 4,600 Viggen spec versions of the 9-3 were build by Saab, all of which boasted a 2.3-litre turbocharged motor with enough performance to take on its main rivals at the time; the Mercedes C43, Audi S4 and BMW M3.
Despite their scarcity, we were able to find a stunning convertible example on the Cars & Classic website for a bargain £4,950.
According to the listing, this 9-3 Viggen is a “very rare model with less than 50 built to this specification when new.”
The listing said the car “drives beautifully and the body is in great condition”, ensuring would-be buyers that this model represents “the swansong for that generation of Saab and therefore received all of the performance focus possible.”
It includes a range of “unqiue Viggen features” such as uprated brakes, bespoke Viggen branding, interior colour splits, and special 17-inch spoke alloy wheels.
The listing added: “Due to all of the power going through the front wheels it is exciting to drive yet also very refined and a great companion on a long distance drive – it even averages 40mpg on a run.”
According to Parkers, the 9-3 Viggen convertible can produce 230 bhp, which gives it a top speed of 155 mph and a 0-60 mph acceleration of 6.5 seconds.
Recent data from Scrap Car Comparison suggests Saab run the risk of “disappearing from UK roads” alongside other discontinued brands such as Rover and Daewoo.
They claim Saab has seen a 71% ownership drop over the last 10 years.
This comes as a car expert recently suggested savvy drivers could make a fortune if they pick up a Saab 900.
Dealership owner and YouTube star Matt Goodwin of High Peak Autos described the 900 as “the quintessential 90s Saab”, and said the retro motor can be found for less than £5,000.
The expert’s only concern was that finding a specialist or certain parts for the Saab 900 may be hard to come by.
Elsewhere, last year a group of urban explorers filmed inside an eerie abandoned Saab dealership, which included three motors left behind after the car manufacturer went bust.