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I just read the article about Per Ecklund's rallycross car in Racecar Engineering - it's very cool. But let me dispel any delusions of racecar grandeur that 9-3SS owners might have developed after seeing it/hearing about it: like his newgen 900 predecessor, this machine is heavily modified to the point of sharing very little with the original.
The car is based on a production chassis, but that's about the limit of its similarity to the one you drive to work each day. Per's is suspended by a completely custom, Saab-designed double wishbone front- and modified rear-end (dampers are triple-adjustable Ohlins - bling!); loses weight with several carbon fiber body panels and kevlar wheelwells; cools via trunk-mounted radiator (hence the NACA ducts on the rear quarters); stops with Alcon calipers (good stuff, Saab seems to like British brakes); drives the wheels via Pro-Drive AWD mated to a 4- or 6-speed gearbox; and generates thrust with a bored & de-stroked, older iron-block engine that's force-fed by a Garrett T04 (with restrictor plate) and redlines at 9,000. It's tuned to roughly 500hp by Trollspeed but it does not use Trionic. An Ecotec engine, with its lighter aluminum block, is expected to be fitted next year; Per's team expects to tap into the experience of U.S. drag racers, who are already making big power with Ecotec motors. Meanwhile, the car is said to be competitive, but still weighs about 70 kg over the 1200kg minimum weight.
It's nice to see Saab in racing, albeit on a very limited basis. Saab would do well in Speed World Challenge series in the States, where many cars are similarly heavily modified to achieve relative parity, e.g., Pontiac GTO, Volvo, and others.
posted by 80.190.250...
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