Hendrick Saab/Spyker Meet & Greet, 7/23/11

It is, to be kind, a rough time to be a Saab dealer.  And I suppose any time is a rough time to be a Spyker dealer.  But with Saab still not actually making any vehicles in Tröllhattan, and people not buying a whole lot of Saabs in the first place (Saab sold 323 cars in the US in June, which admittedly is almost 50% more than they sold in June of last year, but still less than Suzuki, Porsche, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mitsubishi...), Saab dealers everywhere have to do something to make sure people realize they're still alive, and they're still selling cars.  And in fact, they're still selling very good cars - like the new 9-5 Aero XWD, which I test drove, and will be reviewing within the next few days - stay tuned.

To drum up some interest in Saabs, the local Saab dealer (Hendrick Saab) held an event for the Saab enthusiasts and potentials to come hang out, eat some food, share stories, and check out the new stuff.  Of course, a nice variety of classic and modern Saabs made the trek out there.

From left to right: two 1997 9000 Aero's (both belonging to a friend of mine), a 1990 900 SPG, a 3-door Electric Blue 9-3 Viggen, a 9-5 Aero, and a black 5-door 9-3 Viggen, with a new 9-5 Aero XWD just barely out of frame.  I drove the red 9000 Aero to the event; there will actually be a feature on these two cars coming in the near future.

Electric blue was only offered on the first production year of Viggens, 1999.  This one has north of 150,000 miles on it, still going strong.  There were 426 of these made in total.

One of the cleanest SPG's I've seen in some time, it's littered with all the best period-correct add-ons and modifications - like the hatchback louvers, 9000 Aero wheels, Pilot Motorsports exhaust, body-colored SPG panels... sigh.  I miss my SPG already, and it sat around dead for almost a year before I got rid of it.

Another of the SPG, from the front - the headlight wipers didn't originally come on SPG's, but they're a useful addition.

Definitely haven't seen one of these in a long time - a 1971 Sonnett III V4.  This one was a recent purchase by the owner, who was chasing down transmission issues and a hunting idle, but it still made it out for the event.  The interior is cool, too...

These cars, like the Sonnett II's that proceeded them, were based on the Saab 96, but with a light fiberglass body on top.  They also had an integrated roll cage from the factory.  These cars used a 1,500cc (later 1,700cc) Ford Taunus V4, which is a surprisingly compact engine - entirely forward of the front axle.

The "soccer ball" style alloy wheels are a mainstay of Saabs of this period, and they're very unique.  You can see the unusual proportions of the Sonnett III from a profile shot like this, even with the door open - look how long the front overhang is compared to the stubby rear end.

A more modern performance Saab, this 5-speed 9-5 Aero has a full exhaust and stage 4 software.  Although it just looks like a regular Saab sedan, 300+ horsepower is not a stretch on these with just software and bolt-ons.

A Saab 9-3x, Saab's take on the Volvo XC70/Audi allroad/ Subaru Outback concept.  I haven't actually seen one of these on the road yet.  It's basically a 9-3 SportCombi with plastic cladding, slightly raised ride height, and Haldex IV AWD.  However, the coolest thing in the showroom was not the 9-3 wagon.  It was the Spyker C8 Spyder, obviously.

I'll freely admit to being a little starstruck by the Spyker; I've never seen one in person before.  But it's truly a site to behold.  Pictures don't do a car like this justice, but I tried.

Just impossibly exotic yet classy, from every angle.  But it's the details on the Spyker that make the (hefty) pricetag make sense.

That one-piece clamshell front end hides a surprise.

Cantilever-style front suspension with adjustable shocks.  Look at how beautifully assembled everything on this car is...

Of course, it's not all artwork.  With a standard Audi RS4 V8 (4.2L, 420 horsepower mated to a six speed manual) pushing around about 2750lbs of weight, a C8 Spyder is no slouch either.  And if you're going to borrow components, they might as well be Audi components.

Then you get to the interior.  Most cars provide a place to sit and switches and buttons to fiddle with.  A Spyker, well, it's more of an art gallery you participate in.  Look at the quilted leather everywhere.  Observe the polished, exposed shift linkage.  Drool.

All that machine-turned polished aluminum, the aluminum rocker switches, the Gallardo steering wheel, the polished steering column.  It's artwork that you can drive.

Even the pedals are beautiful.  I'm not sure I could actually drive this car, I'd be too busy staring at it.

Of course, with a base price of $219,990 (as equipped, $241,540!), you would hope the C8 Spyder is a rolling piece of artwork.  Not that this is a car to which practical considerations could possibly apply, but that's almost Ferrari 458 or McLaren MP4-12C money, both of which are far more sophisticated and powerful.  It's also nearly $100,000 more than the base MSRP on an Audi R8 4.2, which is also a mid-engined aluminum supercar with an RS4 engine behind the seats.  You can't even option an R8 V10 Spyder to the C8's base price if you check every single option box, plus they're AWD.  But if there's a car out there that can make an R8 look dowdy and boring, it's gotta be this.  In fact, it makes the MP4-12C look pretty uninteresting.  Different strokes for different folks!

This seems like as good a picture as any to end this article on.  Stay tuned for the review and verdict on the 9-5 Aero XWD - a car that's crucial to Saab's survival as an automaker.  A big thanks to Hendrick Saab for putting this event on, feeding us, and putting up with a bunch of Saab nerds for the whole day!