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Saab didn’t invent the turbo. Saab tamed it. Other companies had tried and failed to successfully install a turbo in a production vehicle. Saab was the first car manufacturer to develop a turbo engine with the reliability and durability required for everyday use. With the Saab turbo effect, the driver enjoyed enhanced overtaking power without having to change to a lower gear. Saab unveiled the Saab Turbo in 1976 and introduced it on production cars in 1977.
The turbo allows greater power and fuel efficiency with a smaller engine. The basic principle is simple. Hot exhaust gases are rerouted through a turbine. Kinetic- and heat energy from the exhaust gases will set the turbine wheel in rotation. The turbine wheel is welded to a shaft with the compressor wheel in the other end. The compressor wheel forces more air into the engine cylinders. More air means you can add more fuel and get more power from each explosion in each cylinder. The result? You boost an engine’s power without significantly increasing its weight. The problem that Saab overcame was the sudden surges of power that made cars hard to control. Against all odds, Saab engineer Per Gillbrand developed a unique valve that released excess power when it wasn’t needed. This meant Saab could offer a light, four-cylinder engine with the punch of a much larger engine, due to its efficiency. Equipped with a turbo, Saab engines offer superb mid-range torque and outstanding acceleration when overtaking.
Saab’s expertise in turbo technology has reaped other benefits. Our current range of turbocharged engines, combined with our Trionic engine management system, make Saab cars particularly responsive to more environmentally friendly, high-octane ethanol-based fuels, and the resulting boost in performance is now available in our complete range of Saab BioPower models.
To read more about the turbo, and to see a demonstration of how it works, please enter our
60th anniversary site and browse to 1977.
 Visit the Anniversary website
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