SAAB to use BMW engines!

[grober]

Yes Saab are to use a BMW petrol engine from 2012. The Turbocharged 1.6-litre units are to be built in the UK and will include stop-start and other fuel-saving measures. Some pundits predict this means the next SAAB will be a smaller car but most manufacturers appear to be downsizing engine size and relying on turbocharging and direct injection boost the power torque of the lower capacity powerplants for their midsize models. BMW to supply engines to Saab - Car and Car-Buying News - What Car?

 

[Alfie]

Yes Saab are to use a BMW petrol engine from 2012. The Turbocharged 1.6-litre units are to be built in the UK and will include stop-start and other fuel-saving measures. Some pundits predict this means the next SAAB will be a smaller car but most manufacturers appear to be downsizing engine size and relying on turbocharging and direct injection boost the power torque of the lower capacity powerplants for their midsize models. BMW to supply engines to Saab - Car and Car-Buying News - What Car?

They have a history of using other manufacturers engines.

Many years ago they used Triumph dolomite engines in the 1850cc Saab 99.

 

[moonloops]

A million times better than the GM / fiat etc engines they have been using to date..

 

[moonloops]

Many years ago they used Triumph dolomite engines in the 1850cc Saab 99.

I never knew that - thanks

 

[kth286]

we are getting to the stage with the prolification of these smaller turbo engines that it is making my E320 car stand out and look as if it has a gigantic engine.

I think I will have to debadge in case I get attacked by the greenpeace movement and convert to friendly gas.

 

[markjay]

They have a history of using other manufacturers engines.

Many years ago they used Triumph dolomite engines in the 1850cc Saab 99.

Some years ago I helped a friend convert his 2L TR7 from the original (unreliable) Triumph engine to a Saab engine. Some bits needed to be fabricated because the Saab engine had all the ancillaries designed for the Saab application while the TR7 was front-engined RWD ('the great pretender' - the TR7 had the look of a mid-engined car - including vents on the boot lid behind the cabin, and sloping front end - but unlike the X1/9 it mimicked the TR7 had a pretty conventional layout), but otherwise the engines were identical apart from the fact that for some reason the Saab branded engine was much better built. Which is strange because I believe that the original 1850 StanPart slant 4 engine was actually developed by Triumph for the Saab 99, so why on earth they could not built it as well as the Swedes?

 

[moonloops]

we are getting to the stage with the prolification of these smaller turbo engines that it is making my E320 car stand out and look as if it has a gigantic engine.

I think I will have to debadge in case I get attacked by the greenpeace movement and convert to friendly gas.

I was looking at a number plate yesterday - "V8 HAH"

 

[moonloops]

the TR7 had the look of a mid-engined car - including vents on the boot lid behind the cabin

Non of my TR7's had vents on/in the boot ?

I converted mine to run V8's - made them quite entertaining. Did the SAAB engine have any more power or was it done just for reliability ?

 

[grober]

Some years ago I helped a friend convert his 2L TR7 from the original (unreliable) Triumph engine to a Saab engine. Some bits needed to be fabricated because the Saab engine had all the ancillaries designed for the Saab application while the TR7 was front-engined RWD ('the great pretender' - the TR7 had the look of a mid-engined car - including vents on the boot lid behind the cabin, and sloping front end - but unlike the X1/9 it mimicked the TR7 had a pretty conventional layout), but otherwise the engines were identical apart from the fact that for some reason the Saab branded engine was much better built. Which is strange because I believe that the original 1850 StanPart slant 4 engine was actually developed by Triumph for the Saab 99, so why on earth they could not built it as well as the Swedes?

Some details here. Saab B engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and here
Saab H engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[markjay]

Non of my TR7's had vents on/in the boot ?

I converted mine to run V8's - made them quite entertaining. Did the SAAB engine have any more power or was it done just for reliability ?

Interesting, either my memory fails me (it was 25 years ago!), or he may have had a custom made glass-fibre bootlid - I do remember we fitted a glass-fibre bonnet with rally-style catches. The car had a fix roof (i.e. not convertible) BTW.

The issue was mainly reliability - the Triumph engine suffered from an array of issues. The engine was indeed modified using two side-draft Weber carbs with K&N filters, tubular exhaust manifold, etc, but this was the plan anyway regardless of the Triumph / Saab issue. Yes we toyed with the idea of a V8 for a while, but never did get around to actually do this.

 

[grober]

One usual aspect of the SAAB engine was its reversed position in the car. In front-wheel drive cars with longitudinally-mounted engines, most often the front of the engine will point towards the front of the car, but some manufacturers (Saab, Citroën, Renault) placed the engine 'backwards', with #1cylinder towards the firewall. This had the effect of reversing the engine rotation relative to the final drive which was in front of the engine IIRC.