Bonkers one-off Saab concept heading to auction

Built by a fan to celebrate the Swedish brand’s 50th anniversary, the wild, road-legal, 1997 Saab EX Prototype could be yours.

Celebrating a milestone anniversary with a special model is a pretty standard approach by most car manufacturers, but Saab was never ‘most’ manufacturers.

Back in 1997, the Swedish brand celebrated 50 years of automobile production, marking half a century since the June 1947 reveal of the Saab 92 prototype. At the time they offered a special-edition Saab 9000 sedan for regular consumers, but rather than developing a show-stopping centrepiece to ring in the ‘golden jubilee’ in-house, a Saab superfan did it for them.

Five years earlier, a Norwegian body-engineer named Per Ekstrøm, took it upon himself to create a one-of-a-kind machine that celebrated the best that Saab could be. He and his team took a two-door body from a Saab 99 (precursor to the 900), chopped the roofline, added both Saab 900 and 9000 body elements, threw on wide Aero three-spoke wheels, jammed in a Saab 900 interior and stuck a 118kW/255Nm 2.0-litre Saab 900 Turbo-16 engine under the bonnet.

This was the Saab CX, a wholly independent work, and a car that won hearts and minds across the border in Trollhattan.

Whether Saab reached out to Ekstrøm or Ekstrøm to Saab for the 50th Anniversary construction is unknown, but the vehicle listed for auction by Bonhams is again a one-off Frankenstein Saab coupe, also built to represent the best that Saab could be – only this time with support from the factory.

The Saab EX follows Ekstrøm’s unique approach to construction by using elements from other cars to create the ‘perfect’ Saab.

Work started with a Saab 900 Series II (NG) coupe body and again the roof was chopped (by 70mm). The tailgate was sourced also from a 900 Series II, but the rear window is the glass item from a 900 Convertible. The wide wheel arches come courtesy of a Saab 9000CS, and the 165kW/342Nm 2.3-litre turbocharged engine from a 9000 Turbo Aero.

Only Saab components were used, which makes the EX something of a cohesive special rather than a coach-built anomaly.

According to the auction listing, Ekstrøm’s team invested up to 4000 hours in the build, which now carries a road-legal (and registerable) VIN from a 1987 Saab 9000CC.

With 154,000km on the odometer, the majority of which was conducted from the engine’s previous life, the EX has lived a pampered life since it was presented, and will be sold with a recent paint correction and full documentation of its conception and build.

Bonhams has suggested a price range between €60,000-90,000 (A$100,000-150,000), but the Saab EX will be auctioned without reserve on 8 October 2023. View the listing here.

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