It’s been a long time coming. Good news for many of the Saab owners who’d like factory covered tuning options for their new Saab.
The press release from Detroit:
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Saab Cars North America and Hirsch Performance AG Join Forces to Boost Performance of Saab 9-3 and 9-5
DETROIT, Jan. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Saab Cars North America and Hirsch Performance AG of Switzerland announced today that Hirsch Performance aftermarket products will be available for the 2007-11 model year, Saab 9-3 and 2010-11 model year 9-5 cars through select Saab dealers in the US beginning in the spring of 2011.
John Anderson, director of aftermarket sales and new business for Saab Cars North America, said, “Saab has had a long relationship with Hirsch in Europe and now we can offer performance enhancements for Saab customers’ vehicles in the US. The advantage to Hirsch Performance parts is they are installed at authorized Saab dealers, do not affect the warranty or emission system performance of the vehicle and are high quality systems designed especially for Saab cars. Installation of the Hirsch Performance parts within 60 days of sale of the new vehicle will give the consumer the same warranty as a new vehicle, an advantage for our customers.”
Manfred Lenherr, Sales & Marketing Director, Hirsch Performance AG, said, “Hirsch engineers worked hard to put together a performance engine calibration for the Saab 9-3 and 9-5 2.0L and 2.8L engines that provide an additional 30 horsepower for those who desire even more spirited performance from their cars. Hirsch offers a wide range of performance products specific to the 9-3 and 9-5, including wheels, exhaust systems, aero kits and interior appointments to enhance the already pleasurable Saab experience. The other advantage of Hirsch products is they only enhance the vehicle and do not affect sophisticated safety or emission systems.”
Hirsch Performance aftermarket products include engine mapping performance upgrade, +30 hp, performance spring set, dual performance exhaust system, rear deck lid spoiler, carbon fiber aerodynamic ground effects kit (front splitter and diffuser), 4-piece grille set, Aluminum pedals, leather interior set and carbon instrument panel. Some Hirsch components are restricted to specific Saab models.
Pricing information and participating dealers for the Hirsch Performance parts will be available on: http://www.SaabUSA.com and Hirsch-performance.com in the near future.
About Saab Cars North America
Saab, or Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Swedish Aircraft Company), was founded in 1937 as an aircraft manufacturer and revealed its first prototype passenger car 10 years later after the formation of the Saab Car Division. In 1990, Saab Automobile AB was created as a separate company, jointly owned by the Saab Scania Group and General Motors, and became a wholly-owned GM subsidiary in 2000. In February 2010, Spyker Cars N.V. of the Netherlands, acquired the company from GM as an independently-run business.
Saab cars reflect the brand’s unique Scandinavian design ethic, which is fused with its aircraft engineering heritage. The company is a global premium car maker with a distinguished history of innovation. It is recognized for its pioneering role in turbocharging, as well as occupant safety and the introduction of flex-fuel technology through Saab BioPower. Saab Automobile AB currently employs approximately 3,800 staff in Sweden, where it operates world-class production and technical development facilities at its headquarters in Trollhattan, 70 km north of Gothenburg. http://media.saab.com
www.hirsch-performance.ch
I’ve just gotten back from Saab’s event with Hirsch in Detroit. 30 HP each for the 9-3 and 9-5 are available from 2007 models on, each CARB compliant and won’t void the warranty. Of the trim bits available, i LOVED the wheels on both cars, and the leather dash kit for the 9-5, which really dresses up the cabin.
Thanks for checking in, Kevin, esp after what must have been a long day there at Cobo.
Shall I keep an eye out at AutoSavant for images?
Yes- they’ll be posted shortly!
Thanks for sharing!
“and the leather dash kit for the 9-5, which really dresses up the cabin.”
Ha! all you people claiming to be waiting until the interior is upgraded on the 9-5 just lost your excuse not to buy one!!!
This is great news for the US market, hope they get a lot of prominent dealers really promoting and let’s hope the lineup is market competitive.
I wonder if this would have ever happened under GM? Doubtful.
I’ve been writing about the need for Hirsch in the USA for around 5 years now. The word in the GM days was “we continue to look at it”, which is what they said about pretty much anything they weren’t going to do (incl diesel).
This is fantastic news and well done to Manfred and hid great team
Holy Crap!
Swade, it’s finally here! Rejoice! I thought for sure there would be 156 comments already.
I can’t wait to find out the pricing and get my 9-3 a 60k mile treat for being so good to me.
Check with your dealer, but it looks to me like it might only be available for vehicles sold now (or in the last 60 days).
Hopefully they will also offer tuning for older Saabs, but there’s no reference to this in the release.
Will try and check.
That’sprobably why there aren’t 156 comments so far… :).
Seriously, we’ve all posted about this previously and it’s all obviously good news. If I could get upgrades for my TurboX without validating my CPO warranty, I’d almost certainly go for it…
I think what that statement is referring to is Saabs policy to cover accessories installed at the time of new vehicle delivery for the full 4 years/50K miles of the factory warranty. Otherwise it would get the standard 12 months/12K miles parts and labor warranty that all Saab parts and accessories carry.
So – does that mean I’m out of luck with an 2003 9-3 until I upgrade to a newer model? Hmm – shame on that front – but still good news overall.
I’ve sent an email to reps from Hirsch and SaabUSA to find out. I’ll post the response when I get it. Hopefully older cars can get access.
Can you also look in to Canadian availability. I know the whole North America operation is being run by SCNA, but they only give specific mention to USA which is troubling. Thanks.
This is great news, a real boost to my confidence! SAAB is indeed going in the right direction. I choose to support SAAB by purchasing Spyker stock, which was up(9%) again today. As a shareholder, there has been business practices that have raised concerns for me. However, this manangement team appears to be moving forward with a clear purpose.
Spykers stock is moving upwards again. Again up by 10% (or 45 cents). Even trade volume is much higher than usual. I wonder why…
Alright!!! It’s about freakin time!!!
So Far I have been checking everyday on Hirsch’s website and they haven’t updated the list of participating dealers yet. Maybe they will officially on the 11th in the states.
Well, I was so pleased to be informed of this, that I ran twenty red lights in his honor. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Lord.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVEdYYMlOJ4
finally ill hopefully be able to pick up some leather door handles locally.
” Installation of the Hirsch Performance parts within 60 days of sale of the new vehicle will give the consumer the same warranty as a new vehicle, an advantage for our customers.”
Hmmm… so if I bought a car last week, will this be ready in time, I wonder?
Ok. I need to be enlightened. I understand the goodies like leather dashboards and door handles. But’s what with the performance upgrades? As I look at Hirsch’s website, they appear to be software only. Is that so? And in that case, why doesn’t Saab in an attempt to make their cars as performance oriented as possible apply similar fixes to production cars on a routine basis?
Yes, most Hirsch upgrades are software only.
My guess is that Saab has to find a compromise between performance and economics on their models. So they let Hirsch do the higher performance side (including development and testing).
I think that offering these as standard equipment would have an effect on Saab’s EPA/CARB numbers. If I’m not mistaken (and I often am), Hirsch CPU upgrades require premium fuel, which screw-up the EPA “estimated annual fuel cost.”
Offering Hirsch as a factory-approved dealer up-sell makes things simpler all around. That way only the actual paying Hirsch customer gets affected.
To put things another way: roof racks also have a big influence on fuel economy (at highway speeds). If they were standard equipment, the EPA would need to take them into account. As things stand, they are factory-approved dealer options, so only those that buy and use them pay the price.
Hughw
They are not allowed to increase performance on the engines from GM, part of the deal. Or rather they are not allowed to build more powerful versions hence the dealer inststalling Hirsch SW.
It will be interesting to see what Hirsch can do with the 9-4X… 🙂
This announcement has to be 2nd to the takeover by Spyker and of similar impact as the release of the 9-4X. Managed and marketed adequately, being able to offer the Hirsch components across the board in key markets will launch Saab in to another phase/platform never reached before. I’ve written a lot about the Hirsch saga and all the curbing that GM put on to blocking the proliferation of these great kits and components, this is one of the most satisfying reports that has emerged from Swade with whom I shared a lot of the frustrations of not being able to get these products freely. Justice to all !!!!
SAAB, make sure you bring Hirsch with you when you come back to Oz!
Fantastic bit of news for all you US folks. Even though there is no confirmation for Canadian markets, at least the parts will be available and will be sold in the markets via actual Saab dealers. I really hope the pricing would be acceptable and won’t be similar to that of State of Nine’s.
The prices on the Hirsch site are even cheaper than the other guys (SON, elkparts, etc) selling them in the states! Looks like I’ll be getting some interior upgrades soon!!! BIG 🙂
A pity Hirsch has removed most of the upgrades for 9-3 SS/SC MY 2003-2006… Quite a few US owners are missing out on the Hirsch goodies even when they arrive to the US market.