For quite some time the Hirsch Performance front spoiler and side sills for the second generation 9-5 were not available anymore. Now, encouraged by demand, Hirsch Performance again made a small amount of those parts. No surprise that they were sold out within hours.
Right now they are looking into the possibility of setting up another production round if there is demand. If you are interested please contact Markus Lafrentz of Saab Service Kiel, who initiated this and coordinates the orders. Of course this is not limited to customers from Germany, I am sure he can arrange deliverey to wherever you are.
Quite a while ago I could experience the Hirsch Performance 9-5 in the wilderness and I also drove it up to the SaabsUnited Octoberfest in 2011. Those aerodynamic additions are part of an impressive package. I just spoke to Hirsch and there are also some other parts available like springs for the 2.8T and rear spoilers.
Surely worth a look and a unique chance to make a special car even more individual.
Today Hirsch sent out an offer of performance upgrades for your Saabs.
Starting January 1st, Hirsch Performance offers a 50% special discount on all software performance upgrades for vehicles from model year 2007 and older and a 30% discount on all performance upgrades for vehicles from model year 2008 and 2009.
This special offer makes it possible for owners of older Saab models to upgrade their vehicles at a very attractive price and enjoy the Hirsch Performance driving experience.
The discount price is on the consumer price (excluding VAT) and is valid from January 1, 2013.
Please contact your “Saab Dealer” for a price quote including installation costs.
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!
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.
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 →
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.
I got a few emails from people who wanted this on the front page who originally missed it because I buried it in an article. So here it is, what happens when you add new lower panels to the 9-4X and some Hirsch wheels. Amazing. Imagine what happens when you give the 2.8T the same upgrade as the 9-5 2.8T XWD? 330HP, yes please. Consider it Saab-Prozac to get you through the weekend. Hopefully Hirsch gets to do their own version very soon.
“The current stops in production are likely to have resulted in considerable loss of the goodwill of the company and an impairment of the Saab trademark.”
This couldn’t be more from the truth. The Saab community is one of the most passionate, outspoken, and willing to go to bat for the company they love. The only goodwill that has been lost, in my opinion, is my and countless other observer’s view of how the Swedish government operates. I can honestly say I would avoid doing business in the country after having seen how they treat their industry. I had to get that off my chest, and I’m sure thousands of others would agree with me. We may start a petition to show just how much goodwill still exists for the brand.
Instead of going off on the court here, I channelled my energy into something positive that should help reignite some of the passion we all feel for Saab. It is, after all, about the product.
There’s nothing quite like a good photoshop job to cheer up the community. The beautiful 9-5 Hirsch that Tim posted yesterday got me thinking, it’s about time we explore what the 9-4X might look like. I’ve done a video of it in the past, but I worked on a more detailed front and rear this time. Imagine the goodwill for Saab if these were on the streets? Click past the break to find out. Read the rest of this entry →
TimR’s post yesterday stirred up emotions and reactions, which I think is very good that we have the possibility to discuss here at SU together. One reaction came through an e-mail from Paul, who also sent us this photo to the right of his MY11 9-3 TTiD that just has been on a date with Hirsch, which resulted in this nice interior.
This is what Paul wrote: “When people see Saabs, or have a drive in them, they become totally enamoured, this one is no exception. I picked it up yesterday, and out of the 6 previous Saabs i’ve owned, this is by far the best. Read the rest of this entry →
Last week I posted about Hirsch Performance finally being available in the USA. The discussion that followed in comments was quite emotional and made it clear that a lot of questions are still unanswered. What is needed are reliable info and facts. So I picked up the phone and had a long chat with Erik from Hirsch Performance to get into the details of the processes behind the US launch and to hear about the challenges.
Confused by the Anni and Ay go headline? Well, let me clearify things for you.
Please click on through to see what this post is all about… I´m Back in a 9-5. Read the rest of this entry →
Here is a continuing story from Till and Hirsch, this time it’s all about photos! =)
Update below – added some Info from Hirsch
Last week I gave some insight on the aim Hirsch Performance had in mind when developing the products for the 9-5. Now let’s take a look at the results…
Equipped with the latest prototypes the Hirsch engineers finally went to the wind tunnel to see what the aerodynamic tweaks would mean in numbers. The car they used had the Hirsch lowering kit fitted because it is designed to support aerodynamics, too. I have to admit that I was pretty impressed by what they managed to do with those rather subtle parts. The optimized airflow led to a cd value that dropped by almost five percent to 0,27 compared to the standard 9-5. The lift on the front axle declined by 70%, on the rear axle by 40%. This is extremely healthy if you like to travel fast because you have much better high speed stability.
While the manufacturers started production the test vehicle, equipped with all parts of the 9-5 Hirsch Performance, went to a photo studio to get some nice pics for the upcoming release. Though I know that good photos don’t come easy it’s still fascinating for me how much effort and time it takes to end up with three pics. Sometimes you even wonder why you show up with a complete car as they photograph some parts separately in the perfect light and then put them back together. Here’s a short making-of-photoshoot video that gives a nice glimpse of the car.
The 9-5 aerodynamics package was, like all Hirsch products, developed in close cooperation with Saab. The test day in the wind tunnel for example was attended by Håkan Danielsson from the Saab aerodynamics team to check the results and add his expertise. Sure it sometimes takes a bit longer to work this way but in my opinion the product is worth the wait.
On a personal note I have to admit that I just love that car. It’s still a 9-5 but looks sportier without loosing the understated looks. I have driven the car with the engine upgrade and the tweaked suspension and I’ve enjoyed the exhaust note on a test drive back in March. I’d have a hard time choosing which parts I’d take if I were to buy a 9-5. Most likely I’d take all of them.
As Rune had some specific questions I dug out a bit additional info (thanks to Erik Lundgren from Hirsch):
On the rear spoiler used individually:
“All bits improve stability and lower drag even when used individually. However, when it comes to lift, it is more a question of balance and which configuration you compare with. Adding a rear spoiler reduces lift in the rear but increases it slightly in the front, and the front spoiler reduces lift in the front but increases it slightly in the rear. What we have done is we have made the parts so that they can be used separately without causing critical lift on the other end of the car. To get optimal stability and lift reduction, the complete kit should be installed, together with the sports suspension.”
Front ground clearance/approach angle:
If you look closely, the front spoiler bottom surface extends only one cm downwards, but extends maybe 5 cm forward, which means that the approach angle is hardly affected, yet the front stagnation point for the airflow is significantly lowered.”
And an additional comment on the cd value: “Since the wind tunnel used doesn’t have a moving ground, the Cd values we measured both in standard configuration and with the aerodynamics bits and pieces were all about 5% higher than in a modern wind tunnel. Normally, the car would have 0,27 already standard, and we would improve 5% on that.”
Some of you may remember the 9-5 HP Concept Hirsch Performance showed at the Auto Zürich motor show last year as well as in Detroit early this year as their entry in the US market was announced. It featured a number of products that were planned for the 9-5. In the meantime we have already seen some of them hit the market like the forged 20″ wheels, lowering kit, quad exhaust and of course the 330 hp engine upgrade.
When I first heard about Saab mounting the new DI 2.0T engine from the 9-5 in the 9-3 Griffin, I just thought with a little help from Switzerland, that car could be the perfect Viggen successor. Later I learned that Hirsch was updating that engine to 260hp/400Nm not only in the 9-5 but also in the 9-3. From that day I knew the Saab 9-3 Griffin FWD 2.0T + Hirsch will be the most fun to drive Saab since years.
I still have to drive it, but Till72 had the pleasure last Friday. You can read his thoughts after the jump. Read the rest of this entry →
