The Brabus-Saab - history repeats itself (not) (1)

When you think of Saab and tuning, you think of Hirsch Performance. Tech-savvy customers also like to think of Maptun, or the Saab of the Troll and Viggen series. Those who are well informed may still know the Rinspeed Saab or the 900R. And somehow tuned Saab continue to look decent, continue to embody Scandinavian understatement, just as you would expect from a SAAB.

Even if the look is significantly sportier, the athlete wears a business suit instead of a tracksuit.

When you think of Brabus, you think of Mercedes, if not the usual pensioner Benz. It is not for nothing that the trade press likes to refer to the "Bottrop handcart" as a reference to the company's location. Brabus means opulence: every detail of a Brabus-tuned car expresses power and dynamics – the athlete is now wearing his competition jersey.

 

And Brabus is said to have worked for Saab?

The Brabus Saab was an emergency solution. The sporty Aero expansion stage was being considered and approved, but had not yet been produced, and a bridging solution had to be found. Jens Becker, at that time still managing director at Saab Germany, entered into a cooperation with Brabus (Link) a. As part of this liaison, a total of around 100 examples of the Saab 9—5 SE with the Brabus sports package were built.

So it's quite a rarity. But also a coveted one? Opinions differ on that.

It is undisputed that the Brabus Saab was expensive fun. The basic version of the sedan with a 2,3 liter engine in the SE variant costs DM 63.430. In addition, the previous owner of my copy was not picky, opting instead for the fully equipped variant: alarm system with glass breakage and tilt sensor (DM 750) , cruise control (600 DM), leather upholstery (2900 DM), headlight wiper system (500 DM), traction control TCS (620 DM) and seat heating of the front seats (620 DM) - a total of at least 70.000 DM was due.

And the revisions made by Brabus are not even included here. When asked, Brabus didn't even know that they had worked for Saab, let alone a price list. The salesman at the local Saab center had talked about a new price of around DM 100.000 when he bought it.

Since DAT lists do not list the model either, I give Ralf Muckelbauer's price estimate as the most reliable one (Link) mentioned 80.000 DM, which I consider to be quite realistic.

On the other hand, the following picture emerges: if you search for “Brabus” and “Saab” on Google, you will find complaint threads in relevant forums. There is talk of inferior quality, of cheap optics and improvement of known deficits of Saab interiors at the time.

Are these statements true? Let's check it out with a case study of a Brabus Saab.

The Brabus Saab: engine and drive train

Nothing has changed on the engine - under the hood the well-known 2,3-litre unit does its work, in the first version from 1998, with the LPT turbocharger put on the leash (hence the small "t" in the model name), which drives the engine to a maximum of 170 hp at approx. 5000 rpm. 280 Nm of torque are available from around 2000 rpm.

You can more than live with that - it can even be too much for the neck muscles of one or the other passenger. Everything is monitored by the Trionic 7, ignited by a black cartridge.

Shifting is done manually. In principle, I've never been completely at peace with automatic transmissions (and then always chose the sequential shift mode), so that suits me. At this point I have to get rid of what I always say at this point: I sorely miss sixth gear.

The translation of the fifth is so long that you shouldn't upshift too early from fourth if you don't want to starve between 60 and 90 km/h. But the first gear is so short that it is really only good for the first meter. The harsh throttle response also ensures that you are inclined to quickly disengage the clutch, so as not to explode at the slightest tap of the accelerator.

Personally, I like to keep my foot on the gas when changing gears up to third gear in order to protect passengers who are not used to turbo, otherwise the back of their heads will hit headrests - no matter how soft the clutch is.

With a mileage of 100.000 km, the engine is in the best SAAB age, measured against the usual mileage for SAAB. Mechanically it is still original and has run without problems so far. However, non-mechanical components have already shown signs of aging. Almost exactly after 11 years, first the throttle valve potentiometer and then the entire Trionic failed one after the other.

Anyone who knows a good electronics technician - or even a Saab workshop that knows a good electronics technician - has a clear advantage, because both components are very expensive spare parts.

The chassis of the Brabus Saab

The chassis is one of the well-known weaknesses of the Brabus Saab, and in the forums it is the most frequently mentioned technical weakness. Brabus has shifted the set-up somewhat to the sportier range, which helps with road holding but creates another problem.

The built-in springs are encased in plastic hoses – usually blue – to prevent noise. There is nothing wrong with that at first, but water can get into the space between the spring and the hose and then not simply dry off, making the springs a popular starting point for rust. This problem occurred to me after about 80.000 km, other drivers report problems after about 70.000 km.

Is this a serious deficiency? Hard to say. I didn't even notice it at first - it was only during the main inspection (which otherwise passed without any problems) that the inspector noticed the Suspicious Brabus lowering, which was not even on the vehicle registration document. And at second glance he noticed two completely rotten feathers, broken twice on the left and three times on the right. At the TÜV, I was probably the number 1 topic in the canteen that day.

It speaks for the SAAB that he didn't let me feel anything. Apparently the SAAB is male, maybe a Saabastian, and not a Saabine. However, caution is advised, because without springs, the shock absorbers are more heavily loaded, which can lead to leaks and failure of the shock absorbers. In my case, neither the TÜV nor the workshop noticed any during the inspections, but you shouldn't take this defect lightly and at least have it monitored.

Replacing the front axle springs cost me around 250 euros. Not a very high price, in my opinion, given the level of security that is being bought. Incidentally, broken springs are quite easy to spot if you know what to look for. If you hear rumbling noises, the road holding is suspiciously lowered and the car does not spring back when you lean on the front or rear, you should plan a visit to the workshop. As I said, repairs are not that expensive.

- Sequel follows -