By Gavin Ward

February 2003

• Rating:

We don't tend to feature modified cars as a rule. There are a great deal of cowboys and bodgers out there, and it's all too easy to find a machine which feels fast today but is back in the garage tomorrow with the engine blown.

However, we like the way Abbott has fettled Saabs in the past. The tuning firm used to look after the manufacturer's race teams, and even helped to develop some of its performance road cars. So we were keen to see what it could do with the all-new 9-3.

Saabs have always been the preferred choice of the eccentric, but the 9-3 was a step towards the mainstream as bosses in Sweden sought greater sales success. Nevertheless, swift turbocharged versions of the mid-sized Saab still have a cult following - and the 210bhp flagship 9-3 Aero remains a couple of months away.

Performance car buyers don't like to hang around, though, which is why Abbott Racing introduced this R3 - a tuned version of the 185bhp 9-3 Vector already on sale in the UK.

Thanks to an engine management upgrade, a new air intake system and tuned exhaust, the R3 boasts a useful 220bhp, giving it a 10bhp advantage over the forthcoming Aero. The newcomer's additional 35bhp means there is a usable improvement in performance against the stopwatch.

Impressive
Sprinting from a standstill to 60mph takes 7.2 seconds - that's 1.3 seconds faster than the standard model. But with 310Nm of torque available from 2,000rpm, the car's mid-range acceleration is even more impressive as the turbo kicks in and keeps on coming to the 6,300rpm red line.

Generally, machines with 200bhp or more going through the front wheels are plagued by torque steer, but Abbott's engineers have kept this to a minimum. It's only when you experiment by switching off the ESP that things can become slightly untidy, with the R3's front end twisting and flinching when the power is applied.

It's not only the electronics which keep the car under control, though - Abbott's sports suspension package also plays its part. Revised dampers and springs mean that the R3 is stiff enough for good cornering and roadholding, while also providing reasonable comfort and refinement when driven on bumpy road surfaces.

Even with our car's optional 18-inch Speedline Corse magnesium wheels, the suspension coped admirably and provided a jar-free ride. The modified geometry beefs up the steering nicely as well, adding greater feel when pushing the Saab through bends. The only complaints we have concern the interior, which hasn't been altered from that of the standard car. Some drivers might find the steering wheel too large, while the plastics on show feel a little on the cheap side.

Which brings us neatly to the cost. Our car's modifications add ΂£4,319 to the ΂£21,316 price of a standard 9-3 Vector - which is the same level as an Audi A4 3.0-litre, but cheaper than a similarly powered BMW 330i. As with all tuning outfits, development never stops, and for fans of performance Saabs there's more good news to come. Because of the firm's link with GM, many of the power boosts used in the 2.2-litre Vauxhall Vectra could be adopted by the 9-3. According to Abbott Racing, this would make it easier to borrow mechanicals and herald a future variant of the R3 offering 260bhp.

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