Saab Independence Cabriolet No. 14. A new car is sold.
There are cars whose history you know. They accompany you for years, unexpectedly appear again and again. The Saab Independence Cabriolet number 14 is one of them. The first contact was made at 5,6 km. The Saab was still very young and stood in the exhibition space of the Frankfurt branch.
It was probably one of the last new cars, a rarity. Only 6 of them came to Germany and I took the opportunity to take some pictures. With the bankruptcy of Saab in Sweden and the Frankfurt branch, the convertible also disappeared from the scene. I didn't know where it was being sold to. Until a few weeks ago ...
Independence Cabriolet number 14 appears.
Auf dem Marketplace An Independence Cabriolet from the 1st German Saab Club was introduced. Ironically, number 14 was back. With just a few kilometers, a little sensation. Could that be real? I was interested in the story behind the Saab, which is still a new car.
It is a story that is typical of Saab. It tells of loyalty that car brands can only dream of in the present. The owner had 7 vehicles from Trollhättan during his lifetime. Starting with a 900 Turbo, then a 9000 CSE, a 9000 CD and then a 9000 CSE 2.3 Turbo. This was followed by a 9-5 Aero station wagon and a 9-5 Aero deer. Finally, the Independence Cabriolet came to the yard.
Everything was great cars, says the owner. Probably each has its own story to tell. Just like at the very beginning with the Saab 900 Turbo. His wife was pregnant and a serious accident happened while traveling in Norway. Everything went well because you drove Saab. That connects.
Now bond ends, a story comes to an end. Saab has accompanied him all his life, but not in the future. The 9-5 Aero Hirsch has already been sold, the Independence Cabriolet is now the last Saab in the house. The speedometer is actually only 1.257 kilometers. Totally crazy! But they are easy to explain and understandable.
Two maintenance in Frankfurt, two private excursions with the convertible. As a rule, it is covered and dry in a garage, the owner lacks the time. It has hardly been moved for 3 years, it should be in good hands.
What can Independence Cabriolet number 14 cost?
Now it's getting difficult. There were 6 copies for Germany. 38 instead of 366 were built. I will give you the exact list soon. The Independence Edition is therefore very rare. In contrast to the rare sports suits of the pre-series, which are similarly rare, but mobile and unproblematic.
In the background is the story of Independence Day, the grandiose idea of celebrating it annually. The thing about the mythical little manufacturer who is fighting for its independence. That weighs heavily, and it's hard to ignore when talking about this car.
Add to that the low mileage, the new car status. Since there will hardly be another comparable copy and only a number 14, pricing is difficult. The owner calls € 55.000 as a basis for negotiation. I think that's fair, not too expensive. Especially not for a vehicle with a historical background. And which new car today could offer something similar?
No. 14 as TTis is advertised in the Netherlands - 32,5 kEUR with 48 tkm
https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/details.html?id=312113360&categories=Cabrio&damageUnrepaired=NO_DAMAGE_UNREPAIRED&isSearchRequest=true&makeModelVariant1.makeId=21800&makeModelVariant1.modelId=5&minFirstRegistrationDate=2010-01-01&pageNumber=1&scopeId=C&sfmr=false&searchId=dfd42130-7913-00eb-c731-f981b065cc1f
Ebasil
Unfortunately, you can only find the picture on a cup (enter “Saab cups” here on the blog). After all. I would like a large poster of it ...
The car (Ursaab) and the picture are two icons in Union.
The name change is not to be understood as a ranking. Saabolvo does not sound as nice as the wonderfully soft and long ending on aab.
How it comes? A symbolic act and expression of my desire for peaceful coexistence - no camouflage. I was aware that I would remain recognizable in terms of content and style. Everything is said at the right address.
Volvaab Driver
Oh, the photo sounds interesting, but I don't know it. My goo ... search was unsuccessful. Is there maybe a link? Thank you in advance! 🙂
PS: Volvaab Driver = Herbert Hürsch, right? Why the name change? Then why not “Saabolvo”? After all, you have to set priorities! 😉
@ Ebasil,
maybe it is so profane that the red pencil is not so easy to apply to the convertible?
Every change costs money. Door handles from GM and the omission of protective strips are only worthwhile from a quantity of X.
It's nice that the bars on the convertible with its long doors were not saved.
Just think of the iconic b / w photo (Saab, open door, bent lantern) ...
Hi Tom,
learned a lot again (about the door handles) - THANK YOU! 🙂
Is there also a spec. Reason why the protective strips on the doors have been retained in the convertible?
In principle not. I think there was no need to change. New tools are expensive, the BLS spoke in favor of sedans and station wagons. Not with the Cabriolet.
The car is a dream.
Paint & door handles:
The funny thing is that for a surcharge, all possible brands have been offering model variants that carry plastic parts without paint for some time now.
They are called Allroad, Xross Country, Scout or whatever. And rarely do they have all-wheel drive. The 9-3X was Saab's first and last contribution in this direction and also (depending on the engine) not necessarily on the road with XWD ...
I am ambivalent there.
I think the 9-5 is a good example. The monochrome chrome glasses with their all-round paint look more modern, are already chic, but also significantly more vulnerable than the original ...
At least with mine, the door handles and their hollows are visibly scratched. Even the top edge of the rear bumper and so on and so on. In principle, all components that were previously (deliberately) not painted were affected to a greater or lesser extent.
From time to time the question arises as to whether the latest zeitgeist is actually progressive. Especially since at the same time all-encompassing painted cars were also created that defined unpainted plastic as a luxury that was subject to a surcharge. It was very clever from the industry.
Anyway, the convertible is damn beautiful the way it is ...
The unpainted door handles just feel like a cheap mini car.
Everything has its time. What had looked good in the 90s was no longer popular 10 years later. I think the unpainted door handles are ok, especially if the vehicle is painted dark. With light paint you can see the upcoming classic and the thinking of the time.
So the door handle topic was also a short topic at the Saab meeting recently, whereby we took the view that the facelift door handles, i.e. 9-3III, feel higher and firmer than the partially unpainted door handles in the 9-3II.
I only recently noticed that the convertibles kept the plastic strips on the doors, always thought that they had disappeared everywhere.
That's right, the GM door handles on the 9-3 II feel good. There is more than a decade between the construction of the two components. The fact that they were only painted from the facelift (chrome glasses) on the 9-5 I is typical for Saab. What is the point of painting these things - you will have asked yourself? Function comes before beauty 😉
Hallo,
I bought my SAAB car one after the other and replaced it with a newer model when the time came. Most recently I sold the SAAB 9-5 Combi Areo Hirsch (300 HP) because it was a bit tedious to always have the maintenance done in FFM. Also, I didn't need a car that fast anymore ... but it was a lot of fun. I sell the convertible for the reasons described. .. and now I drive a polo or use the train / plane.
PS to TOM: Thanks for the nice story.
NSK
Tom,
thanks for this hint, interesting story! You could get weak !! 🙂
It makes me a little sad, however, that this loyalty of the owner now ends completely. 🙁 Why is he selling all Saabs? Hopefully he won't put up some stupid bling-bling car? !!!
Jan HH,
yes, even after the facelift, i.e. as 9-3 III from MY 2008, all convertibles had the old grips and the side bumper strips, but at least (unlike MY 2007). As I said, this was the case with all convertibles from MY 2008 to MY 2012 (Griffin) (including the Independence version), there was never anything else. Accordingly, there can be no shortage of materials or the like. have been lying. It is very funny that this was changed, for example, in the SportCombi, but not in the Cabriolets. I only noticed this recently (as owner of a 2011 SportCombi and 2012 Griffin Cabriolet) - embarrassing! 🙂
The story of the Independence Cabrio is at least as exciting as that of the remaining SportCombis.
But I've been asking myself one question for a long time. Why does the limited convertible still have the old door handles from the pre-facelift 9-3? Did you resort to it for cost reasons? Have you built in old stocks? Because all other 9-3 were delivered with the revised, "new" handles at the time. Apparently an exception has only been made with the convertible.
The handles already came with the 902. They were quite expensive to manufacture and, typically Saab, optimized for emergency services. Very beautiful in terms of design and technology. It is not without reason that Porsche used a similar layout for some models.
With the 9-3 II, the changeover came to the meaningless and simpler corporate door handles with Cadillac BLS and facelift. No changes have been made to the convertible, another production location. Just like the 9-5 I that had it to the end.