The Strangest, Sleekest, Rarest Saab You’ve Ever Seen Is Up For Auction

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If you’ve always wanted a Saab but never pulled the trigger on one because they’re just not, you know, weird enough, then boy do I have good news for you. Up for auction, right now, at this very moment, is one of the strangest, sleekest-looking Saabs ever to reside on earth. The sleek part is important, because as glorious as Saabs have always been, sleek is not necessarily an adjective commonly used to describe them. Well, except maybe the Sonett, but even those were peculiar and funky enough that I’m not sure “sleek” really fits. They’ve looked wonderful and strange and incredibly aerodynamic, from their aviation roots, but I’m not sure if “sleek” as an adjective would ever be applied. And yet once, in 1997, on the 50th anniversary of Saab, a Norwegian auto body shop owner named Per Ekstrøm had a vision to create a tribute to Saabs, one that somehow ended up looking like the sportscar Saab should have made, but never did.  This is the Saab EX.

Ex CxEkstrøm was based in Oslo and by all accounts was a car body expert, something that is borne out by the quality of the cars he ended up building. There were actually two re-imagined Saabs, the CX and EX, both of which weren’t modifications of existing Saabs, at least not exactly, but were more like originally-designed cars that used all Saab parts. The CX was a coupé, shorter than the Saab 99 and with a chopped green house and a more dramatic wheel-to-body ratio, with parts from the 900 Turbo and the 9000, built on a very heavily chopped-up Saab 99.

Saabcx

That’s not the car for sale right now, though. Somehow, after pouring about 2,500 hours into the CX, Ekstrøm decided that just wasn’t enough and went all-out on a new Saab, another design pulled from his Saab fever-dreams and forced into reality: the Saab EX.

Saabex1

This one was based on a Saab 9000, and is an even more dramatic re-imagining of the Saab design language and vocabulary. It’s lower and sleeker, with a chopped greenhouse and a roofline that feels almost like a Porsche 911. The wheelarches are dramatically flared, and the car has a low, athletic, feline stance. It feels like a pure sports car, just one that’s made with Saab parts, like Saab 900 taillights and a narrow rear window from a Saab 900 convertible and a load of interior and other parts from the Saab lineup. The drivetrain uses the Saab 2.3 turbo engine making about 220 hp. It’s quick, too, so it’s not all show.

Interior

Remarkably, SAAB Trollhattan, Saab’s parent company, and the Norwegian road authorities were all somehow involved and gave this car some amount of official blessings, which is certainly odd for a one-off car like this. Mechanically, it’s all Saab 900 stuff, as is the VIN, so it should be able to be registered and driven pretty much anywhere you’d drive a Saab 900 anyway.

Int 2

Bohams thinks it’ll pull between $64,301 and $96,452 at auction, and seeing as how this is the only one of its kind, that guess is about as good as anyone’s really. I think it’d likely be worth that money: it looks incredible, it’s dizzyingly rare, it has some sort of “official” factory approval, and the quality seems great, making this a very rare drivable, practical one-off car.

The car comes with all kinds of paperwork and I think it also comes with this small clay styling model, too:

Model2

I’m not positive, though, so don’t rope me into anything if you win the auction and they don’t throw in the model.

This is a really unusual and unexpected car to see at an auction; I’m curious to see how it does, and I hope whoever gets it plans to drive it around and really enjoy it, because, damn, look at it.

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78 thoughts on “The Strangest, Sleekest, Rarest Saab You’ve Ever Seen Is Up For Auction”

    2. Cripes, I agree! Both the EX and CX look like fantastic almost-factory creations, adding some additional sport to the 99/900. Were I in the tax bracket that permitted me to bid on and import such a thing, I’d be calling my money manager (or whoever rich folks have) to prepare the funds right now.

      Someone’s going to get a very special looking vehicle, and should they drive it around, it ought to be maintainable/fixable by any competent Saab mechanic like Saab and Raffi’s in Hollywood near me: https://www.yelp.com/biz/saab-and-raffi-los-angeles

  3. I want a SAAB again so bad. I had three 900s. My first car was an ’86 900S. Then I had an ’89 900S through college. My final one was an ’88 900 base model, three door. I never had a 9000, and I would kill for a CSE.

    All that said, the idea of a pre-GM model sounds like a nightmare to maintain becuase of lack of parts availability. Getting a GM model sounds like a let down. If a nice 900 SPG falls in my lap, I wouldn’t kick it out of my garage.

    1. Saab’s parts division is its own company and is still around. Parts aren’t hard to get. Labour is what will get you, if you can’t wrench yourself. Shops seem to charge ridiculous rates for the special skill of. . . owning a set of torx tools.

  4. I really like this car. For some reason, I’m trying to figure out what the tail lights came from. I don’t think that’s from a Saab model. Kinda reminds me of some of older Mazda’s from the 90’s. The car looks like a sleeker version of the ninth generation Ford Thunderbird.

              1. Half of them are probably retired morons. They most likely set an alarm to wake up to “cold start”. It’s always the same old gang of “gotta post a funny quip now or I mean nothing” types.

                    2. You’ve gone and fallen victim to the digital manipulation of the social feedback loop!

                    6. I mean… if you stand back and take it all in for a minute… even Rootwyrm is a moron for even being here.

                    17. What if the point of life has nothing to do with the creation of an ever-expanding region of control? What if the point is not to keep at bay all those people, beings, objects and emotions that we so needlessly fear? What if the point instead is to let go of that control? What if the point of life, the primary reason for existence, is to lie naked with your lover in a shady grove of trees? What if the point is to taste each other’s sweat and feel the delicate pressure of finger on chest, thigh on thigh, lip on cheek? What if the point is to stop, then, in your slow movements together, and listen to the birdsong, to watch the dragonflies hover, to look at your lover’s face, then up at the undersides of leaves moving together in the breeze? What if the point is to invite these others into your movement, to bring trees, wind, grass, dragonflies into your family and in so doing abandon any attempt to control them? What if the point all along has been to get along, to relate, to experience things on their own terms? What if the point is to feel joy when joyous, love when loving, anger when angry, thoughtful when full of thought? What if the point from the beginning has been to simply be?

                    18. Whoa! Calm down.
                      I hereby revoke our stupid as fuck internet privileges.

                      We have real life to attend to.

                      *extends a pale, quivering hand*

                    22. I reckon you spend your free time hovering up lead battery particles off Torch’s lawn with your nose.

                    23. That was so beautiful and inspired me to shut off my computer and go outside to breathe the crisp Autumn air and look at the stars.

                    25. What if the point is to extract foxglove and small insects with tweezers out of your lover’s sensitive, poison-ivy riddled parts after rolling around naked in a shady grove of trees?

      1. Using my super special psychoic powers, I can tell that PPS is male, probably in his 40s, married with 3 to 5 female offspringers.

        He is used to being the only person who listens to him.

  9. I was 110% ready to smash that “take my (pretend) money” meme button, but then I saw the rear 3/4 view and am now at a 75-80% level.

    I wouldn’t kick it out of my garage.

  11. Wow! This is the first time I’ve come across these, and they both look fantastic! I would love a world where the EX body styling had been adopted by Saab for full production.

  12. I’m already a fan of Saab 900s, so I absolutely love this. A custom one-off that actually looks… legit for lack of a better word. The design works.

  13. I see the Porsche roof and rear window for sure. Well done, but Porsche was not the only car with those design elements, it was just the most successful with them. The CX is super nice. It of course does not have the huge hatch, but the squared off roof line looks great from the front at least. I imagine that with the custom work it could still be a hatch. But the original hatchback was beyond useful. Huge, more cubic ft. than some wagons of the time. So with either they could have had a “wagon” and a coupe. Might have sold more units in aggregate. Not much different what the other manufactures were doing. The era of personal luxury what ever that means. Divorced and don’t have kids to drive around?

  16. Apologizing in advance to any Saabstans I might offend. I have never liked Saab’s styling. There’s plenty of good in their designs, but the styling has always put me off. With one exception, the near bolt upright windshield. I think it’s unique and handsome in a functional way and combined with the (in appearance at least) large greenhouse, is the best Saab characteristic. This thing does not have that, so meh.

    Oh, and I also like that their hatchbacks have openings roughly the same size as those cargo 747 nose cones.

  17. I have Saab friends. He raced a 99 for years, ironically always losing to a Volvo 240. She had a 900 and would take us to lunch. I admired the almost cylindrical windshield which looked freaky with Rain-x in a light shower, the grippy velour seats that made entry and exit a sit and hop affair, and the manual sunroof that opened with a simple grip and pull. Great cars.

  18. The 1st gen 96 and the Sonett I and II are the sleekest cars Saab ever sold to the public, at least from the standpoint of CdA value.

    You will be hard-pressed to find a more efficient donor candidate for an EV conversion.

    I’ve seen figures for the Cd value of the Sonett ranging from 0.29 to 0.32. Assuming that the frontal area is 1.34 m^2(1.448m width x 1.161m height x 0.83), this is a CdA value of 0.39-0.43. This entire range is LESS than that of a 1st generation Honda Insight.

    I had considered one from among the list of potential donor chassis for my conversion, but could not find one anywhere near me, and found the Triumph GT6 instead. While not as slippery as the Sonett, the GT6 had more going in its favor overall, the most important being the fact that it was RWD, but kept stock, the Sonett was far more efficient a donor. The GT6 is going to have a bunch of aeromods when its finished, and its low frontal area helps its case tremendously, so as a donor where keeping the car looking stock is not on the to-do list, the GT6 is the better donor.

  19. Could you say this inspired the Lancia Aurelia B20GT Outlaw, since the Saab predates the chopped-roof restomod? Because the greenhouses look remarkably similar…

  21. I drove a Saab for 30 years and this is such a unique take on the marque I’d love to have it, but I was listening to The Pretenders and Chrissie Hynde sang to me, “It is time for you to stop all your Saabing,” and I took that as a sign.

      2. I recently lost my Volvo and have been pining after another Swede 

        I recently sold my Volvo (’02 V70, base model with 3 pedals, 210K mi), and I’m definitely feeling some regret. First time I’ve been without a Volvo in decades. I grew up with both Swedes (New England was just filthy with ’em in the ’70s & ’80s), but OG Saabs are a considerably rarer breed in the PNW.

      3. Sorry to hear that. Did you check all of your local tow yards and post lost Volvo signs around your neighborhood? Maybe try the next town over too. I hope it shows up. It’s always difficult losing a Volvo, they’re a member of the family, too.

          1. I remember when I had to put my v70 down. I turned right around and bought a v60 even though everyone told me it was too soon. It made me feel better, though. Now I love my v60 no less than I did my v70 while still being able to look fondly back at the memories of the time shared with the old car.

  22. It’s certainly one of the best-looking Saabs I’ve ever seen. I wonder if there’s an accident how hard it would be to get those unique bits, though. And I love that the sale estimates aren’t “$64k to 96k” but “$64,301 and $96,452.” Why would you estimate down to the dollar?

    1. Auction estimates in Euros

      I think this may be something one needs to see in person to appreciate. I like the early 911 feel the (rear of the) model has, but I can’t quite envision the whole. That chop looks good, though

    2. Well Jack, the 99/900/9000 components under the skin ought to be sourceable (albeit perhaps expensive, from the tiny bit of research I’ve done in that area) but the exterior body parts that are unique certainly wouldn’t be ‘getable’ I imagine. They’d likely have to be remade either from scratch, or by adapting panels from some other Saab vehicle (if that’s how they were done originally). Driving a one-of-one car on public streets means always having that sword of Damocles hanging above your head, ready to strike you hard in the bank balance.

      It almost seems worth the risk though, given how alternate-universe Saab this car is. 🙂

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