I had a 1977 SAAB EMS, it was my first new car, and I was 18 years old. I tested a BMW 320i, a Triumph TR7 and a Fiat 131 at the time, and the SAAB was uber kuhl compared with the competition. I found it languishing at the SAAB-Dodge dealer in Dover, NJ, in the spring of '78. I think the 900 had already come out, or was to soon, so this was the last of the 99s. Great, tough car, had it through college, and then only sold it when I saw the highly anticipated Rabbit GTI hit US shores.
What a great video. A look back at 1 of the best car comp ever Saab. There cars were very much underrated . SAAB was 1 of those car makes that made there cars and parts BETTER than they needed to be. This unlike most car comp that made there cars just below pare . SAAB With Stig Blomquist at the wheel its no wonder they did so well. Its a shame SAAB is no more. It has been said that the SAABs were build so well they did not even need Roll Cages. They were only put in to pass tech .
Project 99 was born in the summer of 1974. On the crooked gravel roads, the Saab 96 wins one victory after another. The 96 is still on top, but for how long? Far back among the starters, there's a car which few people noticed: an entirely new Rally Car, which someday may replace the 96. It's called the Saab 99 EMS. Here, an ordinary everyday-Saab 99 is being born. The car is taken by the competition experts who tear it down, and examined it “piece by piece”. The results are surprising. The 99 is so strong built that very little reinforcement is necessary. Meanwhile, we talk about tires with Brian Bennett from Dunlop. Stig Blomqvist and Bo Swanher from Saab’s competition department know what’s best for 96. But can we use the same tires on the new car? They discuss the problem, and listens to Per Eklund and Stig. And look at the different tires to be tested. The strenuous job of finding the right type of tire is done on closed-off forest roads. It’s a cruel test, the wheels take a terrific beating. Now-and-then the tires are checked, partly to see how the thread is wearing. Then off they go again, mile after mile, day after day. April 1975, at last, the 99 is ready for its international debut. The car which is rolled out from the competition department has an engine that has been tuned up from 118 to 165 Horsepower. The car is entered in the Nordland Rally. Now Saab will get the answers to many questions: Will the 99 be good enough? Will it stand up to the foreign competitors? Or is the car too big and heavy? They’re off, and before long we know the Saab 99 is keeping in there. The German driver “Achim Warmbold” believes that a straight line is the shortest distance between 2 points. Unfair? Yes of course, but on our home-ground, we turn a blind eye. Now the speed is really fast. Stig has the best time on several special stages. But he’s been chased fiercely by Warmbold in an Alpine. Anders Kulläng, Opel. And Ove Andersson, Toyota. On the straight tarmac roads of Germany, the engine capacity is not enough. Stig is passed by rally racers like the French Alpine. In this chase, Stig stretches the car to its utmost limits. But after 12 stages, it happens: engine trouble. Stig and his co-driver Hans Sylvan pull out, but they’re satisfied anyway. Now we know that Project 99 is off to a good start. This is confirmed 2 weeks later, when Stig finishes 2nd in the Hessen Rally. At home in Trollhättan, the trouble is soon spotted: a cracked valve. At the same time, Saab is working on a new, more efficient, racing-type cylinder head. There are twin overhead camshafts, and each cylinder has 4 valves instead of 2, otherwise the engine is perfectly standard. The project is so secret that the engine is built behind locked doors. After hundreds of working hours, it’s all ready. One of the specially made camshafts is pushed into place. The test drive is a pleasant surprise. The engine delivers over 200 Horsepower. The question is: Can the 99 take advantage of that enormous capacity? Yes it can, the first few test laps on the Shinakola Rallycross Track show that this car will go very-very fast. Now there’s no longer any doubt, Project 99 will be a success. Just before Christmas, the new Rally Car is shown to the press. Stig offers a violent ride on icy forest roads, and it’s a fast trip, the car is geared for 175 km/h. The first part of the Project 99 is finished. Now the serious business starts. Our debut is an overwhelming victory in the Belgian Winter Rally “Boucles de Spa”. And in the Spring Rally on Elba, Stig has a chance of comparing the 99 to the World Champion “Lancia”. The Saab team is in 4th place, when a distributor breaks, and they have to pull out. This Rally is won by the new Fiat Abarth. The next Rally is in Wales, people know it will go fast. Because Stig is at-home on the British roads. By the first night, everything is going beautifully. Stig is in 3rd place overall when the cars appear out of the morning list. But suddenly, the silver-grey 99 is missing. A loose valve guidance puts Stig out of the race. The Welsh Rally becomes a duel between 4 drivers, Ari Vatanen, and Roger Clark. But the British are worried. Now they know the Saab 99 will put up a tough fight in the Autumn RAC Rally. The next trial for Project 99, is the Rally of The Thousand Lakes in Finland. Here, it’s a matter of “Win or Get Out”. Stig Blomqvist and Per Eklund are hot-off-the-mark. Both want to beat the Finns on their home-ground, and the place is terrific. Stig says it’s like driving Formula One in a forest. For the 99, the Rally is a disappointment. The sump guards under the engines are too weak. After only a few stages, both Stig and Per pull out with broken gearboxes. The test year is over, now we face the reality: The RAC Rally. Saab designer Björn Envall, helps to put some color into the new competition card. There were many suggestions, and finally, they decide on a black body with Swedish Blue-and-Yellow striping. At the same time, the cars are being manufactured in the workshops. Everything is hand-made. Nothing is left to chance. Saab knew that careful preparations are half the victory. Tires are a special problem in the RAC Rally, because of the roads which vary between gravel and tarmac. The problem is discussed with Jeremy Ferguson from Dunlop. He reveals that they’ve constructed a new tire which maybe just right for the RAC. England, November 1976. This is the acid-test for the Project 99. Here, the Saab drivers will meet the best drivers in the world. Hannu Mikkola is driving a Toyota. Markku Alén, Fiat. Walter Röhrl, Opel. The Swede Per-Inge Walfridsson, Lancia. Roger Clark, Ford. Jean-Luc Thérier, Toyota. Björn Waldegård, Ford. The rain makes the rally wet and terribly slippery, which many drivers discover too late. The narrow slippery tarmac roads make no room for mistakes. Sandro Munari is not at all happy, and he’s obviously taking it easy with his highly-tuned Lancia Stratos. But Stig Blomqvist feels quite at home, he gains constantly and finishes 2nd overall, beaten only by Roger Clark. And immediately after the RAC Rally, work starts on the next event, one of the most important: The Swedish Rally. It’s a cold tough rally, and is included in the world championship. Now the 99 is tested and ready. All that remains is to find the right tires for ice and snow. Once again Dunlop helps out, by coming to Sweden with complete sets of different tires. The tires undergo intensive tests, and while the tires are being changed, Stig confers with Brian Bennett and Bo Swanher. Now we’ll find out if 3 years of preparations are enough, and whether Project 99 is a success. The 99 handles best in the Swedish Rally. It’s built to be driven in cold weather and snow. Its Front-Wheel-Drive provides better road holding. Right from the start, the Saab drivers fight it out with the Fiats, Opels, and Toyotas. It’s a fierce Rally. They’re all using pace notes and know exactly what the roads are like. Last year’s winner Per Eklund has done 5,000 kilometers of practice. He takes the lead, but over-revs his engine and breaks a piston. Stig takes the lead, he’s won this Rally 3 times before, now he wants his fourth victory. The first night is dramatic, many pulled out, including Hannu Mikkola. Markku Alén also is stranded but gets going again an hour later. When the sun rises on the Rally, Stig Blomqvist is leading, but he’s lost 30 seconds on the skin, and he has a very narrow margin. His driving is concentrated uncontrolled, and he knows that one mistake in braking can send the car right out into the meter high snow banks. On the way to the finish for this stage in town of Karlstad, Stig and Hans wait their chances. Will there 53 secondly be enough for 740 kilometers of the next stage, or should they increase their pace of it? They decide to speed up. Right after the start, Stig pulls away from the field, and after 4 more stages, they have almost a 5-minute leap. At the same time, one of the favorite disappears. Pentti Airikkala is out with a frozen fuel pump. For Fiat, the Rally is a disappointment. Markku Alén’s car catches fire and burns up. While Timo Mäkinen’s car is out with electrical problems. So Simo Lampinen automatically moves up to 4th place. And Bror Danielsson finishes 2nd. But Stig isn’t disturbed by all the drama behind him. He drives on calmly, knowing that victory is his. The only thing that could take the victory from him now, would be a mechanical fault. After 2 days and 1,500 kilometers, Stig Blomqvist wins the Swedish Rally for the fourth time. Project 99 is completed, now at last it’s the winner: The Saab 99 EMS.
@jfv65 The EMS model sold to the public did not have a 16v head. But the racing ver. did. It was a pretty beefed up engine and like many other "high-performancing" engines of that time, it was inspired by the Cosworth BDA design. Some say that the 16v head, that I think was inspired by Cosworth, was originally made for a Volvo engine. I might be wrong. According to pictures, I think that the rally engine was driven by a cambelt, instead of a chain that is normally found on the SAAB engines :)
yup, that's right, except, it was dual chain, on the "back" of the block. The '99' and 900 had the motor mounted 'backwards" from rear-drive conventions. But the valve-train, and, initially, the block, were from British origins, and as such, early upgrades used British fitting kits and dimensions, but, luckily, NOT Lucas electrical's.
I had one, such. It, sadly, died (well, the 1st time/?) on a Telephone pole during an Ice storm, while I was driving. The car, as such, recovered on 3 wheels from hitting the pole. The local Saab shop fixed the Body of my '99, and the motor went North of Claremont. I bought a '75 Wagonback instead. It died by water-pump-shaft fail, next winter. I believe that Don Davis ended up with the motor from the '78/99? It as a factory 16/valve Twincam. Installed in '79.
Do anyone know the name of the mentioned people in this video? I can't decipher all the names. I'm making a subtitle for this video since some of the audio is partly missing
BTW, I have driven '99 Saabs in over 18" of fresh, into, through, and Back uphill Out of John Clay's fields in Reading, Vt (where their Fire-station is now. Pretty much at the Bottom of my Sled-hills as a Kid (yes, the House is gone, the same damn Fire-Dept burned it down, but it was NW of the barn (which, perilously, now, still exists). Anyhow, my point is this: I've driven Base Sasbs in conditions that would STOP a Subby, dead, in it's tracks. Why? Articulation and traction, but, also, better Heaters/Defrost...
I owned a new Saab 99 EMS in 1978. I had a problem with dirty fuel clogging the injectors. It was expensive having it repaired, after the second problem I traded it in on a 1983 Honda Accord. The Saab seats were the most comfortable of just about any car. The 1983 Accord was smaller than a 2018 Civic I purchased!!
Det är en härlig syn att se vad Saab klarar av bara !
I had a 1977 SAAB EMS, it was my first new car, and I was 18 years old. I tested a BMW 320i, a Triumph TR7 and a Fiat 131 at the time, and the SAAB was uber kuhl compared with the competition. I found it languishing at the SAAB-Dodge dealer in Dover, NJ, in the spring of '78. I think the 900 had already come out, or was to soon, so this was the last of the 99s. Great, tough car, had it through college, and then only sold it when I saw the highly anticipated Rabbit GTI hit US shores.
I had a 1977 one as well, biggest mistake of my life selling it
What a great video. A look back at 1 of the best car comp ever Saab. There cars were very much underrated . SAAB was 1 of those car makes that made there cars and parts BETTER than they needed to be. This unlike most car comp that made there cars just below pare . SAAB With Stig Blomquist at the wheel its no wonder they did so well. Its a shame SAAB is no more. It has been said that the SAABs were build so well they did not even need Roll Cages. They were only put in to pass tech .
Project 99 was born in the summer of 1974. On the crooked gravel roads, the Saab 96 wins one victory after another. The 96 is still on top, but for how long?
Far back among the starters, there's a car which few people noticed: an entirely new Rally Car, which someday may replace the 96. It's called the Saab 99 EMS.
Here, an ordinary everyday-Saab 99 is being born.
The car is taken by the competition experts who tear it down, and examined it “piece by piece”. The results are surprising. The 99 is so strong built that very little reinforcement is necessary.
Meanwhile, we talk about tires with Brian Bennett from Dunlop. Stig Blomqvist and Bo Swanher from Saab’s competition department know what’s best for 96. But can we use the same tires on the new car?
They discuss the problem, and listens to Per Eklund and Stig. And look at the different tires to be tested. The strenuous job of finding the right type of tire is done on closed-off forest roads. It’s a cruel test, the wheels take a terrific beating.
Now-and-then the tires are checked, partly to see how the thread is wearing. Then off they go again, mile after mile, day after day.
April 1975, at last, the 99 is ready for its international debut. The car which is rolled out from the competition department has an engine that has been tuned up from 118 to 165 Horsepower. The car is entered in the Nordland Rally. Now Saab will get the answers to many questions: Will the 99 be good enough? Will it stand up to the foreign competitors? Or is the car too big and heavy? They’re off, and before long we know the Saab 99 is keeping in there.
The German driver “Achim Warmbold” believes that a straight line is the shortest distance between 2 points. Unfair? Yes of course, but on our home-ground, we turn a blind eye.
Now the speed is really fast. Stig has the best time on several special stages. But he’s been chased fiercely by Warmbold in an Alpine. Anders Kulläng, Opel. And Ove Andersson, Toyota.
On the straight tarmac roads of Germany, the engine capacity is not enough. Stig is passed by rally racers like the French Alpine. In this chase, Stig stretches the car to its utmost limits. But after 12 stages, it happens: engine trouble. Stig and his co-driver Hans Sylvan pull out, but they’re satisfied anyway. Now we know that Project 99 is off to a good start. This is confirmed 2 weeks later, when Stig finishes 2nd in the Hessen Rally. At home in Trollhättan, the trouble is soon spotted: a cracked valve.
At the same time, Saab is working on a new, more efficient, racing-type cylinder head. There are twin overhead camshafts, and each cylinder has 4 valves instead of 2, otherwise the engine is perfectly standard.
The project is so secret that the engine is built behind locked doors. After hundreds of working hours, it’s all ready.
One of the specially made camshafts is pushed into place. The test drive is a pleasant surprise. The engine delivers over 200 Horsepower. The question is: Can the 99 take advantage of that enormous capacity?
Yes it can, the first few test laps on the Shinakola Rallycross Track show that this car will go very-very fast.
Now there’s no longer any doubt, Project 99 will be a success.
Just before Christmas, the new Rally Car is shown to the press. Stig offers a violent ride on icy forest roads, and it’s a fast trip, the car is geared for 175 km/h.
The first part of the Project 99 is finished. Now the serious business starts. Our debut is an overwhelming victory in the Belgian Winter Rally “Boucles de Spa”. And in the Spring Rally on Elba, Stig has a chance of comparing the 99 to the World Champion “Lancia”. The Saab team is in 4th place, when a distributor breaks, and they have to pull out.
This Rally is won by the new Fiat Abarth.
The next Rally is in Wales, people know it will go fast. Because Stig is at-home on the British roads.
By the first night, everything is going beautifully. Stig is in 3rd place overall when the cars appear out of the morning list.
But suddenly, the silver-grey 99 is missing. A loose valve guidance puts Stig out of the race. The Welsh Rally becomes a duel between 4 drivers, Ari Vatanen, and Roger Clark. But the British are worried. Now they know the Saab 99 will put up a tough fight in the Autumn RAC Rally.
The next trial for Project 99, is the Rally of The Thousand Lakes in Finland.
Here, it’s a matter of “Win or Get Out”.
Stig Blomqvist and Per Eklund are hot-off-the-mark. Both want to beat the Finns on their home-ground, and the place is terrific. Stig says it’s like driving Formula One in a forest.
For the 99, the Rally is a disappointment. The sump guards under the engines are too weak. After only a few stages, both Stig and Per pull out with broken gearboxes.
The test year is over, now we face the reality: The RAC Rally.
Saab designer Björn Envall, helps to put some color into the new competition card.
There were many suggestions, and finally, they decide on a black body with Swedish Blue-and-Yellow striping.
At the same time, the cars are being manufactured in the workshops. Everything is hand-made. Nothing is left to chance. Saab knew that careful preparations are half the victory.
Tires are a special problem in the RAC Rally, because of the roads which vary between gravel and tarmac. The problem is discussed with Jeremy Ferguson from Dunlop. He reveals that they’ve constructed a new tire which maybe just right for the RAC.
England, November 1976.
This is the acid-test for the Project 99. Here, the Saab drivers will meet the best drivers in the world. Hannu Mikkola is driving a Toyota. Markku Alén, Fiat. Walter Röhrl, Opel. The Swede Per-Inge Walfridsson, Lancia. Roger Clark, Ford. Jean-Luc Thérier, Toyota. Björn Waldegård, Ford.
The rain makes the rally wet and terribly slippery, which many drivers discover too late.
The narrow slippery tarmac roads make no room for mistakes. Sandro Munari is not at all happy, and he’s obviously taking it easy with his highly-tuned Lancia Stratos.
But Stig Blomqvist feels quite at home, he gains constantly and finishes 2nd overall, beaten only by Roger Clark.
And immediately after the RAC Rally, work starts on the next event, one of the most important: The Swedish Rally. It’s a cold tough rally, and is included in the world championship. Now the 99 is tested and ready. All that remains is to find the right tires for ice and snow. Once again Dunlop helps out, by coming to Sweden with complete sets of different tires. The tires undergo intensive tests, and while the tires are being changed, Stig confers with Brian Bennett and Bo Swanher.
Now we’ll find out if 3 years of preparations are enough, and whether Project 99 is a success. The 99 handles best in the Swedish Rally. It’s built to be driven in cold weather and snow. Its Front-Wheel-Drive provides better road holding.
Right from the start, the Saab drivers fight it out with the Fiats, Opels, and Toyotas. It’s a fierce Rally. They’re all using pace notes and know exactly what the roads are like.
Last year’s winner Per Eklund has done 5,000 kilometers of practice. He takes the lead, but over-revs his engine and breaks a piston.
Stig takes the lead, he’s won this Rally 3 times before, now he wants his fourth victory.
The first night is dramatic, many pulled out, including Hannu Mikkola. Markku Alén also is stranded but gets going again an hour later.
When the sun rises on the Rally, Stig Blomqvist is leading, but he’s lost 30 seconds on the skin, and he has a very narrow margin. His driving is concentrated uncontrolled, and he knows that one mistake in braking can send the car right out into the meter high snow banks.
On the way to the finish for this stage in town of Karlstad, Stig and Hans wait their chances. Will there 53 secondly be enough for 740 kilometers of the next stage, or should they increase their pace of it?
They decide to speed up. Right after the start, Stig pulls away from the field, and after 4 more stages, they have almost a 5-minute leap. At the same time, one of the favorite disappears. Pentti Airikkala is out with a frozen fuel pump. For Fiat, the Rally is a disappointment. Markku Alén’s car catches fire and burns up. While Timo Mäkinen’s car is out with electrical problems.
So Simo Lampinen automatically moves up to 4th place. And Bror Danielsson finishes 2nd.
But Stig isn’t disturbed by all the drama behind him. He drives on calmly, knowing that victory is his. The only thing that could take the victory from him now, would be a mechanical fault. After 2 days and 1,500 kilometers, Stig Blomqvist wins the Swedish Rally for the fourth time.
Project 99 is completed, now at last it’s the winner: The Saab 99 EMS.
@jfv65 The EMS model sold to the public did not have a 16v head. But the racing ver. did. It was a pretty beefed up engine and like many other "high-performancing" engines of that time, it was inspired by the Cosworth BDA design. Some say that the 16v head, that I think was inspired by Cosworth, was originally made for a Volvo engine. I might be wrong. According to pictures, I think that the rally engine was driven by a cambelt, instead of a chain that is normally found on the SAAB engines :)
yup, that's right, except, it was dual chain, on the "back" of the block. The '99' and 900 had the motor mounted 'backwards" from rear-drive conventions.
But the valve-train, and, initially, the block, were from British origins, and as such, early upgrades used British fitting kits and dimensions, but, luckily, NOT Lucas electrical's.
I had 1977 99 awesome car.
i wishd id had 5 99 ems saabs from 1976 to 1979..
i never knew that the 99EMS got a 16V head!
I had one, such. It, sadly, died (well, the 1st time/?) on a Telephone pole during an Ice storm, while I was driving. The car, as such, recovered on 3 wheels from hitting the pole. The local Saab shop fixed the Body of my '99, and the motor went North of Claremont. I bought a '75 Wagonback instead. It died by water-pump-shaft fail, next winter. I believe that Don Davis ended up with the motor from the '78/99? It as a factory 16/valve Twincam.
Installed in '79.
Do anyone know the name of the mentioned people in this video? I can't decipher all the names. I'm making a subtitle for this video since some of the audio is partly missing
Swedish drivers: Stig Blomquist and Per Eklund.
Hi DanOrgy99 are you there
Saab should never had been let go to the wall
Any Saab 99 will be likely undervalued on a rough or slippery road. So be it, SUCKERS! See Ya!
BTW, I have driven '99 Saabs in over 18" of fresh, into, through, and Back uphill Out of John Clay's fields in Reading, Vt (where their Fire-station is now. Pretty much at the Bottom of my Sled-hills as a Kid (yes, the House is gone, the same damn Fire-Dept burned it down, but it was NW of the barn (which, perilously, now, still exists). Anyhow, my point is this: I've driven Base Sasbs in conditions that would STOP a Subby, dead, in it's tracks. Why? Articulation and traction, but, also, better Heaters/Defrost...
I owned a new Saab 99 EMS in 1978. I had a problem with dirty fuel clogging the injectors. It was expensive having it repaired, after the second problem I traded it in on a 1983 Honda Accord. The Saab seats were the most comfortable of just about any car. The 1983 Accord was smaller than a 2018 Civic I purchased!!