Weird Wagons: Saab 900 Safari

Saabs are a bit strange. Perhaps that’s why we miss them so much.

And yes, they’re mostly front-wheel drive despite some aggressive looks. And yes, they went a bit too hard on the jetfighter thing for a while. And yes, we know they’re usually driven by overcommitted weirdos.

Never the less, they didn’t deserve the general-motors-derived fate that befell them.

The 900 was built from ’78 all the way through to ’98. In that time it had no less than 15 (!) limited edition variants, including such gems as the ‘900 Tjugofem’ (not an Ikea product, surprisingly) and the ‘900 SIS’ (which stands for ‘Springtime in Sweden’). This special wagon was not one of them.

No, as though not enough variants exist already, some third-party coachbuilders still went to town on the 900’s chassis.

Strange, slow, and very rare.

This one is called the 900 ‘Safari’ wagon. Of the probably hundreds of thousands of 900s built, there are only two ‘Safari’ wagons in existence.

Based on a 1981 Saab 900, the Safari had custom coachwork constructed by Nilsson Special Vehicles in Sweden. It’s suggested that the rear window comes from a sedan, and the rear lamps come from the hatch. Despite the wagon-back’s side windows not quite matching up, the bizarre unresolved vent fittings and the roof-racks that look out of position, the car looks as though it could have been OEM, in a Saab kind of way. It even manages to pack a dorky towbar.

The ultimate dorky parent car.

In 1981 the Saab 900 was powered by the Saab H series engine. A 2.0-litre carburetted unit pumping out a huge 74kW. Later, there were also more powerful fuel-injected and turbocharged versions, but whether the one privately owned car has had a swap, it's hard to tell. If this weird site is to be belived, it maintains the original carburetted unit.

Manual is a big plus.

Of the two cars that exist one is red and is privately owned, while the other is blue and sits in the Saab museum collection. Which, to our surprise, still exists. You can even go and see this car in the flesh!