Page 1
SAABTURBO
“IN THE
LONG RUN”
Page 2
TALLADEGA
On October 7. 1986 three standard Saab
9000 ‘Tarbos set off on what was to be a
record breaking high-speed endurance
test.
the Alabama International Motor
Speedway in ‘illadega, Alabama, U.S
(cansidered to be the world’s fastest
racing circuit) was chosen for the attempt
because lop speeds could be maintained
at all times due to the steeply-banked
curves.
The three unmodified turbo cars that
set offon the “Long Run” were randomly
selected off the production line by an
official of the Fédération Internationale
de Sport Automobile (FISA). Thereatter
the 16-valve turbocharged engine, gear-
bux and transmission were seuled before
the cars left the Saab factory in Troll-
hiitlan, Sweden. Tb ensure authenticity
the entire procedure was also super
by a Notary Public.
Afier a 600 mile run-in, the cars were
ed and air-freighted to ‘Talladega,
“The main purpose of (he Long Run
project is to test the endurance of our cars
as part of our on-going testing programy
explained Olle Granlund, chief of Saab’s
engine and transmission division and the
man in charge of the Saab Turbo In the
Long Run project. “The fact that we are,
at the same time, setting out to establish
international (and world) speed records
re-s
certainty adds an extra touch (of excite-
ment) and will clearly show what can be
achieved by a purely standard Saab?
(As wsalety precaution, the cars were
equipped with a steel-tubed internal roll
cage and full safety harness).
Shell, Pirelli and the Garrett Corpor-
ation — the turbocharger manufaciurer
0 participated in the project. Since
Saab wanted to incorporate as mary
everyday conditions as possible into the
test. it was decided to run the cars on
Shell's premium gasoline and TMO motor
oil, and to drive on Pirelli P600 erate
radials (the same original equipment
fitted on the 9000 ‘lurbo).
Represenatives from these companies
were at the trackto see how their produets
faired during the world’s most gruelling
high-speed test for standard cars.
The marathon session got under way
at 8:00 a.m. Though each car began from
astunding stagpered + they all regis:
tered speeds in excess of 125 mph before
completing the first lap.
Over the next 2U days and nights the
three Turbo cars were pushed non-stop al
full throttle. They only paused tor re-
fueling. tire changes and servicing.
NASCAR officials were at the track to
take charge of time keeping and technical
checks on belialfof FISA. The clocks were
kept running even while the cars were in
Page 3
the pits.
‘rhe cars traveled equidistant through
out the project to make sure there was
no speed advantage gained from slip
streaming.
Vhe first internatianal speed record
fell five minutes after the waving of the
green start flag. The fastest of the three
Saabs flew past the 10 km mark at an
average speed of 126.004 mph.
‘The second international speed record
came minutes later, when the sume car
had completed 10 miles at an average
speed of 128.770 mph.
By the 24th hour, each of the cars had
dup the equivalent mile:
would take to drive from coast-to-coast
on the continental U.S.A. At the same time,
the cars had established 13 international
speed records.'The highest average speed
during the first day was 136.678 mph,
which is faster than the ear’s indicated
top speed.
It wasn’t smooth sailing at all times.
Unseasonable rain, fog, heavy wind and a
temporary loss of lighting around the
tack, didn’t make it any easier for the
drivers to round the £ mile circuit.
The weather got so bad that officials
offered to stop the clocks ifSaab wanted
to wait for the torrential rainstorms to
cloc ge it
pass. Saab pressed on regardless.
History was made on the 16th night
when the fastest of the Saab Turbos swept
past the 50,000 mile mark at an average
speed of 132.762 mph — breaking the
world record set by Ford in 1963. It was
only fitting that Olle Granlund was
behind the wheel,
“It is a fantastic feeling! This must be
the world’s fastest quality control? said a
jubilant Mr. Granlund, “If everything
runs as smoothly as it has. we will stand
a good chance of breaking the world
record for 100,000 km?
Mr. Granlund proved right.The cars
continued at their
pace day and night.
The climax came at 8:12 p.m. on
October 26 when Olle Granlund took Car
No. 2 into the pits after it had passed the
100,000 km mark at the world record-
setting average speed of 132.542 mph
pedal to the metal”
tkm/h).
‘The two other car's soared past the
milestone during the wee hours of
October 27.
But the “Long Run” wasn't over.
Not yet.
On the afternoon of October 27,
(2
journalists from many of the world’s
leading car magazines arrived in a char-
tered plane to see and test drive the
record-setting Saabs.
At4 p.m, that day, Les Richter,
NASCAR's chief official at the track.
waved the checkered tlag to bring the
“Long Run” to an end,
With the engines shut offand the
records just waiting approval, the Saab
Turbo “In the Long Run” team could
begin celebrating their achievement.
Everyone agreed that 24 international
speed records and two world records were
conclusive evidence of what an exclus-
ively-appointed five seater could do.
Page 4
DAY IN DAY OUT PERFORMANCE
Watching the cars sprint around the circuit a few
days before the official start of the Suab ‘Turbo
“Tn the Long Run? a NASCAR official remarked
“This won't take long. It'll all be over in a few days;
a week at the most, No car ean last 100,000 km at
full speed on this track”
NASCAR's doubts were only natural.
“The Americans were really surprised that we
kept going when it rained. They never run a com-
petition in such circumstances?’ said Olle Granliand.
The heavy rains and winds pushed the team of
mainly amateur drivers to the limit.
Keeping in line with the “standard” nature of
the project, it was decided to use as many “ordinary”
Mier a few days of high-speed driving and a
number of international speed records later, the
people of this organization had becume deeply
impressed, Even local citizens started coming to the
track to see what the Serazy Swedes” were up to.
To everyones disbelief (except Saab‘s) the three
Tarbo cars kept running and running at te 1p speeds
day in and day out.'This can be directly attributed
to the car’s power source — Saab's third gi
DOHC 16-valve intercooled turbocharged engine,
which was run at extremely high rpm to propel the
cars at full-throtile speeds. ‘The turbocharg
at 100,000 rpm,
Che cars continued at tremendous speeds
though torrential rains (uncharacteristic October
weather for Alabama) threatened to flood the track.
Even when night driving became nearly impossible
after the track lights failed. the cars soared on.
(A white florescent line had been painted alon
the infield! which enabled the drivers to maint
daytime speeds with full safety even while zooming
around the circuit during nightly thunderstorms.)
Even though front-wheel drive Saabs are
renowned for being an exceptional bad weather
vehicle, NASGAR’s officials were prepared to stop
the car
ration
rs rau
too difficult. Rain certainly wasn’t going to stup the
Saab team, though it did result in a slight drop in
average speeds. Lap times rose from
71 seconds which led to an average
39 seconds to
rourly drop
of 3 mph,
nd the clocks ifdriving conditions became
drivers as possible, However, a few exceptions were
made (to build a full team) by including such top
Swedish rally drivers as Brik Carlsson, Anders
Norstedt. Bi
rtil Johansson, Kjell Olofsson and rave
car driver Giran Johansson,
team members drove in 2-hour shifts.
“Tough but fun) commented legendary
rally driver Erik Carlsson after handing the wheel
to another, “The ear runs as smooth as can be, but
you have to be on the alertat all times at the speeds
we are traveling. The bends are so heavily banked
that you don’t have to let up on the gas pedal.
But you really feel it in your whole body when you
swing around the bends at over 135 mp
As the test progressed, NASCAR officials begun
nge their tune.
toe
This type of endurance has never becti carried
out before in the United States. Saab’s Long Run will
certainly be talked about in the automotive world
fora long time to come? summed up one official,
Another-went on to savy “1 thought it was going’
to be a bit boring. You kn
fion cars and that sort of thing. But it wasn't
monotonous. 1
wy turbocharged produc-
was a really interesting test
— Iwas impressed by it. And that engine: it’s a
helluva racing engine?”
Page 5
_firrecu CARBETS Shell) j
Sf
a
Page 8
LIFE IN THE PITS
var No. 2 zips into the pits for its specified 12,000
nile service check.
Like a well-oiled machine, the pit crew whirl into
action, Almost instinctively, a mechanic thrusts the
gas nozzle intu the gas tink, feeding the car with
Shell premium gasoline, Another one slides effort-
lessly under the car to drain the oil. Yet another
pops open the hood te replace the filters. change the
plugs and insert the Shell ''MQ motor oil. A quick
————
IRELLS
check of the tires, fan belt and various cha
mountings and the service is over and the caris off
in pursuit of 100,000 km.
Atypical four minutes in the pits tor the Saab
Turbo “In the Long Run” service team,
Life was never dull for the 32-man crew. Several
times an hour they were promited into action by the
arrival of one of the three cars. During these re-
fueling stops, the vil was checked and. ifneed be,
the tires changed, Because of the severe stress and
side slip caused by the high lateral and vertical
g-torces (1.5 down and 0.5 side) induced by the
stecp banking. the crew replaced the Pirelli P600
tires on the front wheels everv 12 hours and on the
rear wheels every 24 hours.
Occassionally the pit crew's rhytlun was dis-
rupted by the unexpected,
During the first day the water pump an ©
No. 4 began to leak, but it tok only 15 minutes ta
change it. On the sume dav, Car No. 1 had to make
an unexpected stap because grease was spitting out
of the universal joint; After putting a spot of lubri-
cantin the joint and fitting a stronger clip on the
rubber bellows, the car was aut of the pits and on
the track.
A tew days later, the ail hose to the power-
sivering on Car No. 1 ruptured, A replacement also
tailed so the crew started to look elsewhere for the
fault. They quickly found it — the servopump’s bot-
tom attachment had shaken loose — and quickly
fixed it,
A veal test of the crew’s talents came around the
project’s halfway point. Car No. 1. afier clocking up
32,717 miles. was called intu the pits after showing
signs of overheating. I'he cause? A burned out
exhaust valve. Time was of the essence, sa instead
of grinding a new valve, the cylinder head was
replaced. For sufety’s sake. the Garrett ‘13 turbo-
charger and fuel pump were alse replaced.
The other two cars went through the same pro-
cedure on the following day.
{According to FISA’s rules, the cars could only
“WHS She
use the spares they carried. The weight of the spare
parts was restricted to five percent of the car's total
weight plus 44 pounds; 191 pounds in all),
Although the mental and physical strain put on
the crew may not equate with the strain put on the
cars, it was a gruelling time for these 32 mechanics
(some who doubled as drivers) who worked in
eight-hour shifts.
The erew endured the long hours, blazing sun
and pounding rain, and ensured that the cars main-
tained peak performance throughout their long run.
And ater the last kilometer was completed, the
crew quickly turned their attentions to the sweet
taste of success and thrill of being part of the
record-setting team,
Page 9
_
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAID
Afier each of the cars had past the
100,000 km milestone and before
they were sent back to Sweden for a
technical postmortem, Saab invited
members from the international
motoring press to drive the record-
breaking ‘Turbos, Here's what they
had to say.
“Certainly one of the nicer aspects of
driving the Saab 9000 Turbo is that it
does everything so well without a lot of
effort, and 1 think that’s the secret of its
success, It instills a great deal of confi-
dence in the driver and makes for relaxing
motoring even at speeds in excess of 130
mph. Certainly ifit performs in this
manner under record setting conditions.
imagine the pleasure of driving the 9000
Turbo in a real-world environment. 1 can
think at very tew cars that could approach
what Saab has accomplished in depend-
ability, speed and comfort at any price”
Bill Warner
Roael ¢? Track
United States of America
“Twas surprised at the lack of drama and
noise at speeds constantly indicated in
excess of 140 mph, but the ferocity of the
bumps on the first 33 degree banking
emphasized that this truly has been just
as much a test of chassis (Particularly the
rear suspension ) as it was of a turbo-
charged engine under full boost,
“There were absolutely no thumps or
groans from the running gear and the car
generally felt as taut as one could hope
for after such a rugged test session.
The gearchange worked fluently and
Iwas more surprised at the sheer speed
of this 16-valye front-wheel drive sedan”
Jeremy Walton
Motoring News
Great Britain
“\We have the Formula 1. We have the Rally
World Championship. We have the Puris-
Dakar rally. All of these represent motor
racing at its very best. The motor racing
seene is full of records and sensations.
So what is a world record set on a track
somewhere in the wilds of America worth
nowadays?
“Thave been asked this question many
times, I havent answered the question
directly, preferring to tell people that |
saw three Saab 9000 Turbos driving for
three weeks. Day and night round the
clock. In that time, they covered 100,000
kan (62,1100 miles). They were perfectly
ordinary cars, straight from the assembly
line. And all they needed was routine
inspections and tire changes.
“The most amazing part of it was the
average speed of 130 mph, When people
heard this they fully understood what the
world record was worth?
Alfred Weinzierl
Auto Bild
West Germany
“The thing that impressed me most was
the tact that Saab had publicized its
ambitious record attempt in advance,
even mentioning the number of cars
taking part. This was in defiance of all
conventional wisdom. Usually this kind
of attempt takes place in the strictest
secrecy and is only publicized and used
for marketing purposes Wit is successful.
Considering the fact that it would have
been quite possible for all three cars to
have succumbed to the arduous test
under constant full load, those respon-
sible at Saab are to be congratulated on
the courage they showed in taking this
risk’
Mar Nitoli
Automobile Revue
Switzerland
“Until I drove the car myself, | didn't have
4 fall appreciation of what these automo-
biles had just been through.
“Think about it, Twenty days. 137 mph
plus 5,500 rpm. Each engine has turned
over 165 million times, Bach turbo-
charger spun at least 30 billion times.
And each piston covered a distance of
18,000 miles, Eavh var has covered a
distance equal to what the average
(Buropean) motorist drives in eight years.
And they've been flat-out at top speed the
whole way.
“It may be years. if ever. betore any
other car maker could take a churge al
Saub’s records. The first requirement will
be to build a much better car than the
Saab 9000 ‘turbo, Nobody in the world is
doing that at the moment?
Len Coates
World on Wheels
Canada.
“Nothing happened at Talladega. That is
an odd way to summarize a punishing
three-week inarathon, but nevertheless:
nothing happened at Talladega. That was
the whole point. That was why Saab tech-
nicians and engineers had labored for
vears, that was why drivers drove round
the track 24 hours a day without a break
for more than 100,000 km: to be sure that
9
nothing would happen. No technical fail-
ures. not a single one, interrupted the
triumphal progress of the three strictly
standard Saab 9000 turbos. Everybody
who was al Talladega has a lot of tales
to tell, but those are the little stories.
the big stury is that it is possible to drive
100,000 km at fall throtile, over 125 mph,
with a turbo engine. That is the finest
testimonial one can give toa technology
that was marginal not so long ago”
Jean-Francois Marchet
Auto Hebdo
France
“The only way tv come to grips with
Saab’s performance was to be at the
Talladega cirenit and personally witness
the cars in action, I was one of the lacky
few who could, with my own eves. attest
the cars’ incredible display of speed and
endurance,
‘To further underline the ears’ abil-
ities, Saab invited each of the journalists
at the track to test drive one of the reeord-
setting cars.
“It surprised me that a car, which had
been pushed to the maximum for three
weeks, could feel so fresh. Neither the
engine, transmission nor suspension
showed any apparent signs of flogging?
Gert Karlsson
Bilsport
Sweden
Page 10
FOR THE RECORD BOOK
It's 6:00 p.m., October 26. The sun’s gone down but
the excitement is rising.
Car No. 2, with Olle Granlund in the driver’s seat,
is fast approaching the 141,000 km mark.
In just a matter of minutes (12 to be exact)
Saab will set the 100,000 km record at an average
speed of 132.542 mph thus shattering Ford's 23-vear
old record by more than 22 mph,
The second Saab ‘lurbo completes the course at
= ie, te
MG ROM "TRIE Le
OSTACE | KM MPH
3:00 a.m, on the following day. It’s average speed
was 130.250 mph.
Three and a half hours later, the third Saab joins
the illustrious team by completing 100,000 km at
the average speed of 129,458 mph.
The three unmodified cars had been running
non-stop for 20 days and nights, leaving the record
book for production cars in tatters. In all, Saab set
21 international speed records for production cars
and two world records for cars in all categories.
There’s no question that Saab’s achievement is
monumental.'The fact that these standard cars went
the distance at speeds above and beyond the call of
duty says a fair deal about the performance and
durability ofa Saab 9000 '‘lurbo in particular and
the entire Saab range in general,
After the cars had driven the equivalent of seven
trips around the world, Mr. Granlund had this to
say.
“The result of “The Long Run” shows what a
modern high performance car can achieve without
any special preparation or tuning.
“We were looking for engine wear, I don't think
we'll find much. I was listening to the engine during
the final laps and it was running very smoothly.
© are proud and happy. We believe it will be
difficult for other manufactures to beat our records
with pure standard ears? he conchided.
10