UPDATE below
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OK, this is a little reckless and stupid. It’s a mission to nowhere, but I can’t help but think it’s a good idea.
Bob Lutz – the guy who pretty much single-handedly killed Saab’s product range at the start of this decade – got on his high horse about the Cadillac CTS-V and dared anyone to come race him. He’d be at the wheel of the Caddy and his carefully selected opponents would run what they brung.
Jalopnik are one of those carefully selected opponents and they were scheduled to show up in a Jaguar XFR, but the people at Jaguar have orchestrated a public relations disaster by pulling the big cat out of the event.
Jalopnik are now looking for a new car to take out Maximum Bob and I reckon SaabUSA should call in one of the unsold Turbo X’s and hand it over. If Jalopnik can’t get a factory car from someone then they’ll probably just run the Mitsubishi Evo that they’ll drive to the event in.
The CTS-V has a stonking big LSV supercharged V8 putting out 566hp and the Saab Turbo X puts out 280hp from it’s V6. I reckon Bob’s ego would allow for Saab to throw in a Hirsch tune for the Turbo-X, which would lift its performance a little bit higher (albeit without the needed hardware) to 300hp and 430Nm.
Now those cars would still be a long way apart on paper, but if the track and more importantly, the weather, suited the Saab then it could be closer than you think. If the track had enough corners to suit the XWD system and was at least mildly moist then I think Saab would get maximum props just for turning up when others feared to walk through the door to face Maximum Putz.
This is basically a big show of bravado on Bob’s part. The Saab wouldn’t win and wouldn’t be expected to win but even if the X managed to stay on the track and be mildly competitive then it’d be backslaps all round.
For those who think it’d be an absolute slaughter, I’d like to remind you of the track session SaabUSA held a few years ago, pitting the Turbo X against an Audi S4, a BMW 335xi, a WRX STi and BMW M3.
The Saab was 4 seconds behind the M3 and the STi in the dry, but was bested only by the STi and only by one-tenth of a second when the track was dampened.
What have they got to lose?
The event is only 2 days away now, so it’s probably not even a remote possibility. But I would really love to see Saab step up to that plate and just be part of it. They’ve got a habit of being able to do things people think they shouldn’t be able to do.
Shoving one of his own discarded cars up Bob Lutz’s clacker fits the bill if you ask me.
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UPDATE
Here’s a format I’d like to see…..
Saab could bring a Hirsched Turbo X to the party but the party is now held over two stages to see which car is more versatile.
5 laps on the track, as they’re doing now.
PLUS
5 laps on a dirt rally circuit.
Aggregate time wins.
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UPDATE II
Seth Hosko explains my thoughts better than I do in this video on his branding blog.
Good stuff.
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