Always A Kid-Saab Turbo 006
December 29, 2012 in Off-Topic, Saabs History
Quite often I find myself on the internet aimlessly looking for anything SAAB related and often I find stuff from other people who are doing the same or I stumble across something I had forgotten. One such piece I have come across was that of the Saab Turbo 006 Convertible Junior. I remember seeing photo’s of this car on the showroom floor in my friend Darryl’s Saab dealership and never thought much of it.
Finding any information on this car is not as simple as typing into a search and finding the wikipedia file, but I did find a little more on this gem.
The Saab Turbo 006 was built in 1986 and was a great way of creating future Saab fans in the way of kids. This junior car is powered by a wheel motor that can turn into a 4×2 for winter driving (how cool is that? Even in a Go-kart). This according to Saab 900 Classic website who have a number of great photo’s on their site of the 006 including the one below of the 3.5hp engine.
The three photo’s above of the white colored 006 are from an old ebay ad from the UK which looks like it never sold and had a starting bid of £250.00 minus the engine. It would appear to have been in the process of a restoration. One of the pictures shows the undercarriage of the car and if you look close enough, you will notice the wheel motor parts around the top right wheel area. Below is a copy of an ad that if Google translate is working right it translates to “play and parts both summer and winter” which I’m sure means something like works great in summer and winter, just like any Saab.
On the Hemming’s blog, there is this photo of a description of the Junior Saab which states that in 1986, Saab produced 75 of these extremely rare Go-Karts for sale through the dealer network. The car was powered by a 3.5 horse power Honda four stroke engine and had a top speed of 22 mph and an original selling price of $1900. I read somewhere that $1 in 1986 is the equivalent of $2.09 today, that may be off a little but in any case it would still make this a pricey toy at just under $4000 but if you want something like this, you are not looking at it as a toy but as a collectable or something to please your inner child. I see it as something that would give countless hours of fun and would have a collector value attached to it as well. We are never to old to have some fun and these cars would have been a great way for a father and son to spend some time together bonding over working on the cars and going for a little ride.
Now if that doesn’t sound like some unbelievable fun, I suggest you watch the video below and check out this mans smile as he flies by. I think I would enjoy one now too.
Here is a gallery of the photo’s that I have found, if you’ve had the chance to either drive one or at least see one, please do tell.
Hjelle said on December 29, 2012
Realy cool Jason!
The text on the brochure says BTW “play and learn both summer and winter”
JasonPowell said on December 29, 2012
Thanks, not a catchy slogan but maybe it’s lost in translation
Hjelle said on December 30, 2012
hehe, I don’t think so. It is’nt catchy in swedish rather…
But I think they choose the slogan because it was a lot of money for a “toy”, maybe it was easier to sell it if the kids learn someting? :p
Bengt in Scania said on December 29, 2012
Julias 900
http://skane.saabklubben.se/media/hholm080712/medium/0001.jpg
Happy New Year!
JasonPowell said on December 29, 2012
hadn’t seen it in that color before, very nice
zippy said on December 29, 2012
Gotta ask, was it turbocharged?
JasonPowell said on December 29, 2012
absolutely nothing but the fun from driving it.
3cyl said on December 29, 2012
At first glance I thought this might be the reasonably priced SAAB some people are expecting from NEVS.
In any case, it looks like great fun.
Chris Ivory said on December 29, 2012
http://www.saabsunited.com/wp-content/gallery/germany/wearesaabstr-9bba1e9490c7d1058e0691387f45420746941a43.jpg
JasonPowell said on December 29, 2012
thanks for sharing that one Chris, I saw it somewhere else too. In my searches, I have seen orange, red, maroon and silver.
Ivar M said on December 30, 2012
Thanks Jason for this information. I have searched over 1 year for this. I ended up buying my son a 1962 blue SAAB 93 pedal car instead. It may be the only car left in that colour. Light blue, White and Red can be seen on pictures on the internet.
JasonPowell said on December 31, 2012
The one that was on the UK ebay looked like a fun project car to play with and the price seemed not so bad if you could get it for that. Sure you’d need an engine paint and some other stuff but it could be done at a decent price….. Not sure how something like that is shipped though. The detail in these little cars was great too, the seats show attention to detail as well as the Saab steering wheel.
rockydog said on March 21, 2013
hi there i have one of these in my garage its been here for years i will post photos as soon as spring sunshine comes , it was bought from local saab dealer