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26 Jan 2010, 16:54 (Ref:2619775) | #1 | |
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Saab-Spyker!
The takeover of Saab by Spyker seems to be imminent.
Spyker have been doing quite well last year in the LMS. Let's hope we will continue to see them in the series this year But I do have some questions: has Saab ever participated at the 24hrs of LeMans? Maybe we will we see a Spyker racing with a Saab-engine in the future??? Does Saab have an engine that will comply with the rules? |
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26 Jan 2010, 17:46 (Ref:2619804) | #2 | |
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They have, but it was a really long time ago.
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26 Jan 2010, 18:11 (Ref:2619818) | #3 | ||
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1959 Le Mans... Saab 93 Sport
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26 Jan 2010, 18:34 (Ref:2619828) | #4 | ||
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I tend to struggle to reconcile the words 'Saab' and 'Sport' in the same sentence....
Having said that, Saab did have a pretty extensive rally history, did it not? |
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96 days... |
26 Jan 2010, 18:54 (Ref:2619841) | #5 | |
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A lot of rallying from the 50´s up to the early 80´s and Rallycross in the 90´s with Saab 92 - 96, 99 and 9-3.
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26 Jan 2010, 19:43 (Ref:2619879) | #6 | |
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The Saab 93 Sport run at Le Mans in 1959 finished 12th overall, 3rd in class and was the last running car to be classified.
A replica of it has run at the Le Mans Classic and was featured in Octane magazine last year (or the year before, I can't remember). It was noted to be the loudest car in the whole event! It's a beautiful little number, grey with red wheels. |
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26 Jan 2010, 20:31 (Ref:2619920) | #7 | |
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great!
so Saab has some history at Le Mans. Victor Muller, the CEO of Spyker did mention the motorracing past of Saab in the press-conference this evening. Having said that, I have been a visionary you know... Driving a Saab 9-3 and wearing a Spyker (cap) for the last 3 years... |
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never reinventing the wheel means living in the stoneage |
26 Jan 2010, 20:39 (Ref:2619922) | #8 | |
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Here the link to the Saab that Simon talked about...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_lXG2q4xGw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3oXmSc_1kY my god what a noise... it's a hoot! Last edited by Lipp; 26 Jan 2010 at 21:02. |
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never reinventing the wheel means living in the stoneage |
26 Jan 2010, 20:40 (Ref:2619923) | #9 | |||
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Quote:
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26 Jan 2010, 20:41 (Ref:2619924) | #10 | |
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They have a car ready to race in touring cars:
Source: TouringCarTimes http://www.touringcartimes.com/news.php?id=2735 http://www.touringcartimes.com/news.php?id=2746 |
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26 Jan 2010, 22:01 (Ref:2619982) | #11 | ||
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Is this a 2 stroke? The Le Mans car, not the touring car.
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27 Jan 2010, 00:32 (Ref:2620044) | #12 | ||
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Yes, three cylinder two-stroke. They were pretty cutting edge in two-stroke tuning back then.
Indeed, it is a hoot! |
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27 Jan 2010, 00:36 (Ref:2620048) | #13 | ||
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maybe we will see SAAB powered Sykers in future then?
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27 Jan 2010, 02:10 (Ref:2620069) | #14 | ||
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Saab doesn't have anything of their own. I'm sure a sales deal would include GM producing the engines for a few years, but eventually they would have to start from a clean sheet of paper.
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27 Jan 2010, 09:32 (Ref:2620194) | #15 | ||
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Lets look at this without the aid of rose colour specticals, a dutch company selling about 40 cars a year and running up quite substanial losses over the last few years is taking over a swedish firm that makes 1000 times as many cars which has never made a profit this century.
Not exactly a sure fired success, and Saab cars are basically GM products with a different body, how are they going to develope and then find the money to put into product any new products, the Grants from the swedish Government will cover some continued production but for how long. This deal could spell the end for Spyker, I can see no long term future for Saab, unless huge sums are invested and no one was prepared to do that. |
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27 Jan 2010, 10:38 (Ref:2620226) | #16 | |
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I'm sure one of the entry lists for Le Mans (1980?) has a Lamborghini Uracco with a Saab turbo motor in the 'didn't show up or get an entry' - section.
Whether or not the vehicle actually existed is another question entirely... I really hope Spyker can pull this off. I also hope that the Swedish govt. understands the significance of having TWO premium brands in its territory and does everything it can to help out. |
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27 Jan 2010, 12:15 (Ref:2620293) | #17 | |
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In fact there is a Saab engined thing apiece on 1979 and 1980 reserve entries. But most of you knew that already!
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27 Jan 2010, 14:27 (Ref:2620361) | #18 | |
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Didn't John Bartlett's Bardon-Cosworth C2 (the car originally built as the Arundel, later sold to Bartlett and re-named) appear on entry lists at one point (1987-ish I think) with a 2-litre Saab Turbo engine? I don't think it ever actually appeared at a race in that form though, usually being seen with a DFL
http://truphotography.co.uk/photo_380294.html |
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28 Jan 2010, 19:02 (Ref:2621199) | #19 | |||
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Quote:
The Bardon that ran in '86/'87 at Le Mans definitely had a Cosworth engine. |
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96 days... |
28 Jan 2010, 22:10 (Ref:2621318) | #20 | ||
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What next now ??? A Saab GT or Proto at Le Mans in the future ???
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29 Jan 2010, 18:20 (Ref:2621858) | #21 | ||
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I completely agree with GT6 on this one. Victor Muller hasn´t shown himself as a solid profitmaking manager of the Spyker mark,so I have absolutely no confidence in him making a succes of Saab. Like F1,he´ll use it to mingle with ´the big boys´ and enlarge his personall netwerk and then when things spin out of control,he´ll try to sell all. Including the mark and reputation of our proud little sportscar factory,Spyker...
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29 Jan 2010, 18:58 (Ref:2621892) | #22 | ||
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...but if it will become a success you will be cheering Victor for what he has done and say that you are proud that a Dutch entrepreneur has made it possible :-)
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29 Jan 2010, 20:23 (Ref:2621940) | #23 | ||
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Muller may not be a fantastic entrepreneur, but he is a magnificent brand-builder. Something he's done with McGregor, something he's done with Spyker (profit? no. Own identity? Hell yeah), and something I'm positive he'll do again with Saab. Now I only hope he's got a good team of managers sitting there.
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4 Feb 2010, 08:02 (Ref:2626182) | #24 | |||
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Untill now,Spyker has been juggling with loans and financers from all over the world to stay allive and race their cars on a shoestring. A good friend of mine works at a supplying factory for Spyker(leather interiors) and there they got to know that Muller simply can't be trusted to pay for his stuff. Nowadays they only supply him if he pays up front. So if you don't mind,I don't have too much faith in the whole venture... |
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4 Feb 2010, 08:33 (Ref:2626202) | #25 | ||
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We can all hope that the venture is a success, but experience tells me otherwise and the car market is rather full of "Premium Brands" that were not that long ago ordinary brands. they will not all survive and I can not see anyone providing the levels of cash required to move SAAB up to the reasearch and development spending that the likes of BMW,Jaguar, Audi and Lexus are spending and therefore SAAB and Volvo will both slip down the pecking order of large/medium volume car manufactures until they either vanish or become just a badge on a far eastern model. It is sad but that far more likely than the chance of a recovery in the car market allowing them to sell large numbers of under developed cars at a profit.
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