Saab. The very name itself evokes a breadth of different emotions. Some look at Saab as just another dead brand, like Pontiac or Oldsmobile, while to the Saab faithful, the marque offers something uniquely special that other cars just don’t have.
In the case of the modified 2001 Saab 9-3 Viggen featured in the above episode of The Smoking Tire‘s “One Take,” there’s a combination of sound performance, character, and comfort that host Matt Farah is quite fond of. The owner bought the car during his senior year of high school, and has been making it his own ever since. Some of its modifications include a Genuine Saab shift-knob insert, turbo-back 3-inch exhaust, T5 cams to improve the torque curve, an upgraded fuel-pressure regulator, and a tune.
If you watch the video and like what you see, you’re in luck; these 9-3s can be had for next to nothing, and there’s strong aftermarket support for them. And let’s not forget that the turbocharged, 2.0-liter four-banger in the sixth-generation Camaro can trace its roots to the 2.0 four-banger under the hood of the non-Viggen 9-3.
Catch the 2001 Saab 9-3 Viggen in the video above.
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