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Saab Announces Start of Production for High Performance Saab 900 Line

14 October 1997

Saab Announces Start of Production for High Performance Saab 900 Line

    Saab Partners With England's TWR Group and Finland's Valmet Automotive
                        for Exclusive Saab 900 Series

    NORCROSS, Ga., Oct. 14 -- Saab Automobile AB announced today
that it has formalized an engineering and manufacturing agreement to begin
production of limited edition, high performance Saab 900 Coupes, Convertibles
and 5-doors in the fall of 1998.  A special group within Saab's technical
development center, based at the company's Trollhattan, Sweden headquarters,
has teamed up with Oxfordshire, England-based TWR Group to turn the concept
Saabs first shown at the 1996 Geneva Auto Show into reality.  TWR Group is
owned by Tom Walkinshaw, and is one of Europe's foremost design and
engineering houses, specializing in high-performance tuning.  Production of
these special high-performance Saabs will begin next year at Valmet
Automotive, Finland, and will be limited to 3,000 cars annually.
    The new series of special Saabs will feature top-of-the-line performance
characteristics, including styling and aerodynamic exterior refinements,
sport-driving influenced interiors, and extensive engine, chassis, wheels and
brakes performance enhancements.  Concept variants shown have featured an
aggressive color palette, and such enhancements as body-color matched leather
interior trim.
    For this new series of Saabs, Coupe and 5-door car bodies will continue to
be manufactured at Saab's factory in Trollhattan, then shipped to Valmet for
painting and final assembly.  The Convertible variants will continue to be
built at the Valmet plant, where Saab's popular Saab 900 Convertible has been
produced since the first generation debuted in 1986.
    Saab will announce complete vehicle specifications and pricing of its new
high-performance series in 1998.

SOURCE  Saab Cars USA