You are browsing the archive for Hirsch.

Avatar of till72

by till72

Hirsch brakes for the first generation 9-5

February 6, 2012 in Hirsch

Yesterday Tim posted about his attempt to fit 331 mm Hirsch brakes on a 2007 9-5. I got some additional information about this issue directly from Hirsch today.

Those 331 mm brakes were originally designed for the Troll and Saab Performance by Hirsch 2002 model versions. Since it was originally destined for those models and due to its size they it only be installed in combination with the Hirsch Performance 17″ or 18″ 6-spoke wheels. It looks like exactly that issue caused the problems for Tim and his friends when they tried to install it.

From model year 2006 on Hirsch offered the 345 mm brake for the 9-5 and 9-3 that fits the standard rims, too. This one could have been installed without problems. I got it in my 9-3x and I just love the performance it offers.

So if you are offered a Hirsch Performance brake kit for your 9-5 make sure to check the diameter to be sure if it really fits.

5 Comments »

Avatar of TimR

by TimR

18″ Claw – Hirsch

January 2, 2012 in Hirsch, SAAB Automobile AB

This morning I got an e-mail from Manfred Lenherr who is Sales & Marketing Director at Hirsch Performance with regards to the 18″ Claw article I did yesterday. As it turns out Hirsch actually used this wheel as a base for their first mock-up’s of the 18″ 5 Twin spoke rim’s. The fake screw holes were filled in and with some help from photoshop the result became absolutely fantastic!

It’s always fun how a story develops into a history lesson! =)

8 Comments »

Avatar of till72

by till72

The Taiwanese Hirsch Performance experience – Part 3

December 15, 2011 in Hirsch

If you come all the way from Taiwan to Central Europe and someone handed you a car like the 9-5 Hirsch Performance where would you go? Of course the Green Hell is the place to experience the abilities of the car. And it looks like they enjoyed it: “Simply put, it’s dynamic performance on the track, makes you forget that it is absolutely up to five meters in a cart, and dynamic performance in the Sports mode, the performance is also hot”. The full story can be found on http://car.cool3c.com.

Here’s the video they shot on the track.

Click if you missed Part 1 or Part 2.

Image and video courtesy of sniper.liao/car.cool3c.com.

Tags: , , , 13 Comments »

Avatar of till72

by till72

The Taiwanese Hirsch Performance experience – Part 2

December 15, 2011 in Hirsch

In the second part of his story sniper.liao writes about the parts that Hirsch has added to the 9-5 and how they work. What is really worth a look are the photos they took, most likely still in Switzerland. The full story can be found on http://car.cool3c.com (English translation).
Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , 4 Comments »

Avatar of till72

by till72

The Taiwanese Hirsch Performance experience – Part 1

December 14, 2011 in Hirsch

A few weeks ago three guys from the Taiwanese website car.cool3c.com visited Hirsch in Sankt Gallen. Sniper.Liao took lots of pictures and videos and made an extensive reportage about the company and the 9-5 Hirsch Performance they borrowed for a few days to experience the car on their own.

You can read the full story here – of course is in Chinese but a googletrans gives you at least an impression on how much they liked it. Maybe the most interesting feature in this article is the interview video, which is in English.

Image and video courtesy of sniper.liao/car.cool3c.com.

Tags: , , 8 Comments »

Avatar of till72

by till72

Hirsch Performance History: The SuperSport Concept

December 9, 2011 in Hirsch

Back in 2007 the crew of Hirsch Performance came up with the idea of designing a Saab two door sports coupé. The purpose of that car was to create media attention for Saab and Hirsch, as well as to serve as a showcase for technology, design and product. As the Aero X had just been shown the design was inspired by that concept. But the SuperSport was not only a concept car, it was designed to be built as a limited edition of about 20 vehicles – for sale to customers.

Plans for the engine featured the V6 upgraded to 400 hp. It was even discussed to take the challenge of tweaking the V6 to run on E85. The power would have been delivered through a six-speed manual transmission to all four wheels. Yes, you get that right, the plan was to integrate XWD with eLSD in the convertible chassi. Definetely an ambitious task but that amount of engine power is the way to go. And I have no doubt that the engineers at Hirsch would have found a solution to make this work.

Read the rest of this entry →

49 Comments »

Avatar of till72

by till72

Hirsch Performance Leather Interior For The 9-5 – Re-Posted

November 28, 2011 in Hirsch

When I posted this article two particular questions came up. So I went to clarify them and decided to re-post the article.

1. Why is the kit not available for RHD?
As sad as it is, this is related to the lack of production at Saab. Of course it can be made for RHD, too, but this will only happen if Trollhättan really starts to make cars again. At the current state the expected sales just can’t justify the tooling costs.

2. How durable is that heavy duty adhesive tape?
The parts in the white 9-5 Hirsch Performance prototype have been affixed with that tape over a year ago. One winter and one summer have caused absolutely no problems. The manufacturer states that it is good for 300+° F, which should be enough for a car interior. Additionally, the fact that other manufacturers use this tape to mount spoilers speaks for itself I think.

Some of you have already spotted it on the Hirsch Performance site – the leather interior upgrades for the 9-5 are now available. The kit contains a cover for the light switch panel, centre stack and and gear lever cover.

I am a huge fan of the leather interior parts Hirsch offers. I installed them on both 9-3s we have and they make such a huge difference. The parts for the 9-5 are no exception – I’ve followed the development process a bit and got to see the final parts on my last visit to St Gallen a few weeks ago. One of the most astonoshing things to me is that they manage to upholster the parts with carbon leather without distorting the structure. A really fine piece of craftsmanship.

While the leather interior parts for the 9-3 replace the standard parts, the covers for the 9-5 are affixed on the original panels using a special heavy duty adhesive tape. Other car manufacturers for example use that tape to mount spoiler parts. The reason for that approach lies in the fact that all switches in the centre console are screwed. So it would take a huge amount of working time to loose and tighten that screws when replacing, let alone getting all switches back to the right position.
Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , 52 Comments »

Avatar of ValS

by ValS

SAAB of the week – Moscow Edition

November 27, 2011 in Hirsch

It is quite a long time since a SAAB of the week of presented here on SU.  Please welcome Sergei and his 9-5 Aero fully loaded by Hirsch – 280+HPs, 19”rims, exterior/interior, everything!

Now Sergei is casting different spells on the engine – new custom made intercooler, blow-off already installed and more to come!

Enjoy the pictures!

More after jump! Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , 22 Comments »

Avatar of RobinM

by RobinM

A Special Poster Framed

November 21, 2011 in Hirsch, News

We received a nice email from Brad this morning that I wanted to share with you all.

I received my SU/Hirsch posters about a week ago, very pleased with those as well. Just got one of them back from the local frame shop and it looks fantastic! Attached is the finised product on display in my living room. Thanks for everything you guys do. Brad.

Tags: , , 5 Comments »

Avatar of till72

by till72

Hirsch Performance Pics

November 18, 2011 in Hirsch

At the end of the week that featured a lot of business stuff here’s something easier to start off the weekend. This picture above was featured in the Hirsch Performance newsletter that most likely has hit the inboxes of those who signed up recently. I wanted to bring two pics up here as they were not in all language versions. The first one above shows a 9-4x, that has be photochopped with the superb 19″ wheels from the 9-5. While this one is a slight outlook to what could be the next pic shows the 9-5 SC Hirsch Performance that could be ordered like that as soon as production starts: Read the rest of this entry →

8 Comments »

Avatar of JasonPowell

by JasonPowell

Hirsch, The Dealer and Saab

November 10, 2011 in Editorial, Hirsch, News, USA

I will do my best to have a flow to this post as there is a lot going through my head. I will start with Hirsch and what this means to the dealer body and what some dealers have already started doing. Hirsch offers dealers something very attractive that not all major car manufacturers offer or at least not to this extent. With Hirsch, we have the opportunity to sell something other than just the car. We can sell dash kits, performance exhaust systems, body kits, wheels and performance upgrades that increase horsepower by 30 hp. This can all be done in house without having to send a customer elsewhere and provides the dealer with a great opportunity to make a little money but more importantly, satisfy that customer want or need for something different. When I posted about Hirsch finally being available for the Canadian market, people again voiced there concerns about price differences between USA and Canada and I do believe from the performance side of things that our pricing is the same or very close. When you take a new or pre-owned Saab and add even $2000 worth of Hirsch product, you really don’t affect a finance payment by much. It may be a total of $40 per month on a 60 month term. Watch out, here comes the salesman side of me. You can break that down and it’s a little more than $1 per day to have some style and horsepower.
Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , 8 Comments »

Avatar of JasonPowell

by JasonPowell

Canada, The Wait Is Over-Hirsch Is Here

November 5, 2011 in Hirsch, News

Well, Saab Cars North America rolled out the Hirsch Performance Upgrade to the US dealer body September 1, 2011. Now it’s our turn.

With this one line sent to Canadian dealers this week, I am pleased to say that Hirsch is on its way to Canada. All Canadian dealers have received pricing sheets that cover off all upgrades for performance and accessories. The performance upgrades will take a little longer to be available as dealers just now are starting to put together orders for the iPro tool needed to perform the upgrades. That being said, all accessories are available now to order from Hirsch. A bonus that I wasn’t aware of is that even if your Saab dealer is not an authorized Hirsch dealer for the performance side of things, you can still get all other accessories from your dealer that Hirsch is offering to the Canadian market. If your dealer is not a performance dealer yet, go and talk to them about doing a performance upgrade because as with anything, if you show interest they may just decide to sign up because they would now see the potential because you are asking for it. Hirsch offers a lot of accessories, from a complete carbon fiber body kit with grill and diffuser for a price of just over $6000 plus install to the simplest of things, a Hirsch Performance badge for only $21.54.

Saab 9-5 Hirsch Performance

Saab 9-5 Hirsch Performance

 

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , 44 Comments »

Avatar of Trued

by Trued

Trued´s NG 9-5 Aero – First impressions & THN views

October 6, 2011 in Hirsch, Rally Team, Technical

Well it was bound to happen a NG 9-5. First time I saw one was after having led one of the convoys to Trollhättan one wintry day at the SaveSaab happening in 2010.

Still remember how graceful I thought the body was. So more or less I started to plan for the TurboX SC replacement. Earlier in the spring of this year I had a tentative order of an AERO. But due to circumstances that order was postponed. The idea was to have NG 9-5 with the SUHRT events in the summertime eg. The Midnaight Sun Historic Rally. But because of the temporarily shutdown of the factory the planned cars would not have had been delivered.

So I regained faith in Saab and having driven all engine alternatives I was ready to take the step to the best car Saab ever has made. First I started to look into the Saab Sweden “warehouse” zero milage cars that Saab has in Trollhättan and at dealers around Sweden. I had fallen for the Carbongrey metallic paintwork and Aero line of course. So I started to search the web in my quest for a suitable Saab 9-5 Sedan, I have never owned a Saab sedan. Just “practical” cars. Last sedan was a Lancia Prisma 1600 -1986. Knowing that I occasionally haul 99 B-engines in the cavernous TurboX could this be an issue??? But I guess a 9-5 sedan will take care of 98% of my transport needs ant that is in grand style.
Read the rest of this entry →

27 Comments »

Avatar of TimR

by TimR

Hirsch has arrived in Sweden

September 30, 2011 in Hirsch

Last night this photo popped up on Facebook. It is the 9-5 Aero with all the Hirsch goodies you can find, and it has arrived in Sweden. The photo taken by Till72 onboard the ferry to Sweden form Germany.

16 Comments »

Avatar of TimR

by TimR

ANA, Hirsch special bodykit offer

September 14, 2011 in Hirsch

ANA in Trollhättan together with Hirsch has created a special offer on 9-5 SportsCombi (2002-2005) bodykit. Original price is 21’075 SEK (€2295), the discount price (~30%) now is 14’990 SEK (€1633). But there are only three of them available. They are available from today!

The bodykit contains the front bumper, rear lower spoiler, rear wing, side spoilers but only for the 9-5 SportsCombi. There are only a very few of these left worldwide! These can be bought either directly from ANA or via e-mail contact with Stefan Danielsson at ANA: stefan.danielsson@anatrollhattan.com

Read the rest of this entry →

8 Comments »