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Natural evolution at Saab sought to replace the aging but rally-proven Saab 96 with company's new model 99. Initially Saab used 16-valve non-turbocharged Saab 99 EMS but when FIA's homologation exception expired at the end of 1977 season, they were forced to look to turbo in order to get more power out of 8-valve engine. Saab was already quite familiar with concept of using turbo in a competition car, as they had been using turbo in rallycross version of the Saab 96 early 1970s.
Like Saab 96, also 99 was front-wheel driven and the road-going version was designed with safety in mind. That made car heavier than was ideal for competition car, though it also had larger wheels to benefit from. Saab 99 was rallied both in 2-door sedan as well as 3-door hatchback versions, though these were mechanically identical.
As with other very powerful 2WD rally cars, also Saab found out that pumping out 270 horsepower through just two driving wheels was tricky at best. Not willing to expand their competition department to heights that being competitive in the 1980s would have required, Saab decided to cease their rally involvement.
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| Debut WRC event: | Great Britain 1978 |
| Best WRC result: | 1st by Stig Blomqvist in Sweden 1979 |
| Rallies contested: | 2 | (works entries) |
| WRC starts: | 4 | (works entries) |
| Outright wins: | 1 | (wins to rallies ratio 50.0%) |
| Podiums: | 2 | (podiums to starts ratio 50.0%) |
| DNF's: | 4 | (DNF's to starts ratio 100.0 %) |
| Points scored: | 18 | (manufacturer championship points) |
| Avg points per rally: | 9.0 | |
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| Group and class | Group 4 |
| Engine |
| Location: | Front longitudinal |
| Turbo: | Yes |
| Cylinders: | 4 in line |
| Valves: | 8 |
| Bore x stroke: | 90.0 x 78.0 mm |
| Cubic capacity: | 1999 cc |
| Power: | 270 hp |
| Torque: | 340 Nm |
| Compression ratio: | 6.5:1 |
| Dimensions |
| Length: | 4385 mm |
| Width: | 1690 mm |
| Height: | 1435 mm |
| Wheelbase: | 2475 mm |
| Front track: | 1410 mm |
| Rear track: | 1440 mm |
| Weight: | 1080 kg |
| Transmission |
| Drive: | FWD |
| Gears: | 4 |
| Sequential: | No |
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Saab 99 Turbo
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