EU Market Find: Rare Saab 900 Turbo S Ruby Edition Hits Market in Netherlands

What: 1993 Saab 900 Turbo S Ruby Edition
Color: Ruby Red (rubinröd; metallic uni; 242; Saab)
Chassis #: YS3AD35
Mileage: 197,500 km / 122,720
Price: €37,995
CarFax: N/A
Window Sticker: N/A
Location: Doetinchem, The Netherlands
Seller Listing: Link

Why We Love It:

Nothing says 1980s quite like a Saab 900 Turbo. Back in the Reagan era and even then quirky, Saabs came into vogue for their unique shape, hatchback and early use of turbochargers… not to mention kitschy yet trademark three-spoke wheel designs. The Swedish brand from Trollhättan built a cult-like following, long before being purchased by GM and later shuttered by GM during the great recession.

All that serves to make an already obscure car even more obscure in the collectors market. Throw in an UK-market super limited edition (converted to left hand drive for your non-UK driving pleasure) and you have, what we’d argue, achieved peak obscurity. Enter the Saab 900 Turbo S Ruby Edition.

The year was 1993, and Saab UK wanted to do something special. The idea was a special edition model limited to just 150 units. With no intentions of homologation or anything like that, the plan was basically a color and trim package, but from a brand that didn’t offer many limited editions it was and remains a highly collectible thing amongst Saab-o-philes.

At its center is the Ruby Red paint, from which it draws its name. It also got a unique Bridge of Weir Scottish ‘Buffalo’ leather upholstery with ruby-matching Zegna wool inserts [1]. The original Ruby Edition also got color-coded bumpers and grey three-spoke wheels rather than silver [2] in order to set it apart from other period Saab 900 offerings in the UK. From the factory, the car boasted the brand’s turbocharged 16-valve 4-cylinder tuned to 185 bhp.

While hardcore collectors may grouse, those seeking this car as a drivable classic will likely appreciate the primarily OEM plus modifications you’ll find in the listing linked above. These include the aforementioned left hand drive conversion, and also European bumpers, Aero skirts and GT specs, 16-inch Saab Aero wheels with polished rims, engine upgrades to about 225 hp, Saab 9000 front brakes, OEM rear wiper retrofit, OEM exterior temperature gauge, Bilstein shocks, Blaupunkt Radio, LED dash lights and headlights, OEM third brake light from Saab 900 Classic and more. The seller even lists that he’s got louvered slats for the rear window if that’s desired.

This is one of our Euro market finds, so the usual caveats apply for our primarily North American readership. For Europe and other markets, we focus on cars older than 25 years, meaning a relatively easy import into the USA. This is often done by working with firms such as our friends at Orchid Euro, you can have the car purchased, transported to port, shipped to America and cleared through customs for clients seeking this sort of service.