I spent many years looking for a great Saab Turbo with no success. Most people bought these cars in order to cover long journeys with great comfort and pace and hence most examples are now rather tired. I eventually found this great Turbo following a chance conversation with a then new customer about a completely different vehicle. It quickly became clear that he was an extremely fastidious collector and that the Saab reflected this. I immediately knew this was the car I had been looking for and managed to buy it following several conversations over a couple of weeks.

Earlier this year I travelled to Suffolk to meet the owner and collect the Saab. On first sight it didn’t disappoint looking much as it must have done when a year old maybe. The original body and paintwork are unmarked and importantly (and unusually) all of the plastic and rubber trim is in great shape. The drive home was great, everything works, it’s taut, fast, rattle free and clearly well sorted.

This was the top of the range Turbo when new with the most powerful 16 valve engine and it was specified with every available option including Anthracite leather interior, air conditioning, electric sunroof and heated seats. It was supplied when new in June 1990 to Home Park Garage, the Saab main dealer in Kingston Upon Thames who had ordered it as a demonstration vehicle. The following year they sold the Turbo to a customer based in Beaconsfield who enjoyed it until 1995, covering just under 30,000 miles in this period.

The second private owner, a resident of Oxford and Saab enthusiast retained the car until 2013, they used the car sparingly, the mileage rising to just 63,500 in their 18 years of ownership and they looked after it very carefully as is obvious from the cars great original order and from the extensive invoicing on file during their tenure from the Saab main dealer in Oxford.

In 2013 the Saab passed to a private collection and remained unused in a dehumidified environment before being purchased by the fastidious private collector from Suffolk from whom I bought it.

This last owner, like me, had been looking for a great Saab Turbo for some time and bought this immediately upon seeing it. Following purchase he set about perfecting the car and recommissioning it following its time in storage. To this end it was sent to Saab specialist Two Stroke To Turbo Ltd for a full evaluation. Following this any work required was completed including a full service as detailed in letters and invoicing on file. Upon first inspection they described it as being in exceptional fully original condition.

Following the mechanical work the Saab was sent to the highly respected restorers Clark and Carter for minor areas of bodywork and trim. Again, extensive invoicing fully details the work completed. This company have many Pebble Beach concours victories to their name and suffice it to say the Saab reflects this level of care and detail.

The Turbo 16S three door is the model to have, this one has every extra and has covered just 65,500 miles in the hands of four owners from new. It remains in fantastic largely original order throughout and comes with a great history including many service invoices and all previous MOT certificates. The last owner has spent £18,000 perfecting an already great example. Needless to say the drive reflects this and everything works as it should.

I have covered only a couple of hundred dry miles in the Saab and it has been kept in my dehumidified store. I had the new Blaupunkt Bremen retro classic stereo fitted recently by the fantastic Oxford Car Audio, at this time all speakers were replaced behind the original grilles and an expensive ultra thin amplifier and subwoofer were fitted under the passenger seat carpet. The original electric aerial was converted to receive a digital signal for the DAB radio. This high quality unit incorporates Bluetooth, phone streaming, and DAB radio whilst looking identical to the 1990’s Blaupunkt stereos that could have been fitted in the Saab when new. The original stereo is with the car.