The Saab 9-3 Viggen is one of those iconic, flawed Saabs that’s loved by everyone who’s ever owned one. The car was absolutely bonkers and quite capable of killing its owner under the right wrong circumstances. But it was so beautifully made inside and out, and it was so out there, that it still draws plenty of oohs and aahs whenever it’s seen.
I’ve owned a Viggen (that’s my old one, above) and over the years I’ve had a lot of email from other Viggen owners asking if I knew how many of them were made and imported into their particular market.
I’m pleased to be able to pass on the following, which should satisfy most of you detail-oriented statisticians. The only thing we haven’t been able to get are the distinct numbers for 3-door and 5-door models.
Note: these are production numbers and there may be some difference between when a car was produced and when it was sold. Your car might have been first sold in 2002, but been produced as a 2001 model and sat on a dealership forecourt for some time.
——
UNITED STATES
| Year/Color | Black | Laser Red | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow | Silver | Steel Grey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Hardtop | 2 | 420 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1999 Convertible | ||||||
| 2000 Hardtop | 229 | 47 | 48 | 240 | ||
| 2000 Convertible | 94 | 40 | 18 | 97 | ||
| 2001 Hardtop | 151 | 62 | 207 | |||
| 2001 Convertible | 280 | 97 | 365 | |||
| 2002 Hardtop | 68 | 18 | 50 | 95 | ||
| 2002 Convertible | 106 | 29 | 71 | 116 | ||
| Total per color | 930 | 206 | 507 | 68 | 460 | 783 |
——
GREAT BRITAIN
| Year/Color | Black | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Hardtop | 16 | 95 | 11 | 30 |
| 1999 Convertible | 10 | 50 | 9 | 18 |
| 2000 Hardtop | 6 | 24 | 2 | 7 |
| 2000 Convertible | 20 | 55 | 9 | 32 |
| Total per color | 52 | 224 | 31 | 87 |
——
Lots more markets below: Germany, Canada, Vehicles used internally (press, etc), Sweden, Australia, and many many more……
——
GERMANY
| Year/Color | Black | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Hardtop | 1 | 51 | ||
| 1999 Convertible | 58 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2000 Hardtop | 13 | 14 | 2 | 2 |
| 2000 Convertible | 35 | 9 | 1 | 6 |
| Total per color | 107 | 76 | 5 | 8 |
——
CANADA
| Year/Color | Black | Laser Red | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow | Silver | Steel Grey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Hardtop | 26 | 28 | 6 | 28 | ||
| 2000 Convertible | 11 | 9 | 14 | |||
| 2001 Hardtop | 3 | 1 | 8 | |||
| 2001 Convertible | 1 | 5 | ||||
| Total per color | 41 | 1 | 37 | 6 | 42 | 13 |
——
INTERNAL USE
I haven’t included them in the table, simply for the reason of maintaining the correct formatting, but…… there were 5 hardtops and 2 convertibles in 1999 painted in Cayenne Red.
| Year/Color | Black | Laser Red | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow | Silver | Steel Grey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Hardtop | 11 | 18 | 12 | 7 | ||
| 1999 Convertible | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2000 Hardtop | 2 | 13 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 2000 Convertible | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 2001 Hardtop | 3 | 2 | 6 | 5 | ||
| 2001 Convertible | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 2002 Hardtop | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2002 Convertible | 1 | |||||
| Total per color | 23 | 5 | 45 | 24 | 19 | 10 |
——
SWEDEN
| Year/Color | Black | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Hardtop | 2 | 72 | 9 | 3 |
| 1999 Convertible | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2000 Hardtop | 2 | 7 | 1 | 3 |
| 2000 Convertible | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2001 Hardtop | 1 | |||
| Total per color | 6 | 83 | 12 | 7 |
——
AUSTRALIA
| Year/Color | Black | Lightning Blue |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 Hardtop | 18 | |
| 1999 Convertible | 18 | |
| 2000 Hardtop | 23 | 22 |
| 2000 Convertible | 3 | 6 |
| Total Per Color | 26 | 64 |
——
SWITZERLAND
| Year/Color | Black | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Hardtop | 8 | 20 | 2 | 3 |
| 1999 Convertible | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2000 Hardtop | 5 | 13 | 2 | 3 |
| 2000 Convertible | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Total per color | 21 | 36 | 4 | 9 |
——
FRANCE
| Year/Color | Black | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Hardtop | 11 | 15 | 9 | |
| 1999 Convertible | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2000 Hardtop | 5 | 7 | 6 | |
| 2000 Convertible | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Total per color | 21 | 27 | 1 | 19 |
——
INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC (IDS)
| Year/Color | Black | Laser Red | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow | Silver | Steel Grey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Hardtop | 4 | 10 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2000 Convertible | 2 | 9 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2001 Hardtop | 2 | 1 | 6 | |||
| 2001 Convertible | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 2002 Hardtop | 1 | 3 | ||||
| 2002 Convertible | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Total per color | 11 | 5 | 19 | 2 | 14 | 10 |
——
NETHERLANDS
| Year/Color | Black | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Hardtop | 1 | |||
| 1999 Convertible | 1 | |||
| 2000 Hardtop | 8 | 14 | 1 | 3 |
| 2000 Convertible | 4 | 3 | 5 | |
| Total per color | 19 | 23 | 1 | 7 |
——
BELGIUM
| Year/Color | Black | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Hardtop | 5 | 13 | 3 | 2 |
| 2000 Convertible | 4 | 3 | 5 | |
| Total per color | 9 | 16 | 3 | 7 |
——
SOUTH AFRICA
| Year/Color | Black | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Hardtop | 2 | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| 2000 Convertible | 2 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| Total per color | 4 | 11 | 4 | 8 |
——
ITALY
Two different importers were used in Italy. I’ve combined both figures below.
| Year/Color | Black | Lightning Blue | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Hardtop | 5 | 7 | 11 |
| 1999 Convertible | |||
| 2000 Hardtop | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| 2000 Convertible | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Total per color | 11 | 11 | 23 |
——
SPAIN
| Year/Color | Black | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Hardtop | 8 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| 2000 Convertible | 1 | 1 | ||
| Total per color | 9 | 7 | 3 | 4 |
——
JAPAN
| Year/Color | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Hardtop | 16 | 5 | 1 |
| 2000 Convertible | - | - | - |
| Total per color | 16 | 5 | 1 |
——
NORWAY
| Year/Color | Black | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Hardtop | 3 | 9 | 1 |
| 2000 Convertible | 5 | 1 | |
| Total per color | 8 | 10 | 1 |
——
HUNGARY
| Year/Color | Black | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Convertible | 1 | |||
| 2000 Hardtop | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| Total per color | 1 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
——
FINLAND
| Year/Color | Lightning Blue | MC Yellow |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 Hardtop | 3 | |
| 2000 Hardtop | 1 | 2 |
| Total per color | 4 | 2 |
——
GREECE
| Year/Color | Black | Silver |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 Hardtop | 1 | 2 |
| 2000 Convertible | 1 | |
| Total per color | 1 | 3 |
——
AUSTRIA
| Year/Color | Lightning Blue |
|---|---|
| 1999 Hardtop | 2 |
| 2000 Hardtop | 1 |
| Total | 3 |
——
I will do the rest of them without the use of tables as they’re all reasonably small…..
——
IRELAND
Viggen produced only for MY2000 and only in hardtop form.
Black – 1
Lightning Blue – 4
Silver – 1
——
TURKEY
Viggen produced only for MY2000 and only in hardtop form.
Lightning Blue – 3
——
PORTUGAL
Viggen produced only for MY2000 and only in hardtop form.
Black – 1
Lightning Blue – 1
Silver – 1
——
RUSSIA
Viggen produced only in hardtop form. Figures are for three different importers.
1999 – Lightning Blue – 1
2000 – Silver – 1
2000 – Lightning Blue – 2
——
POLAND
Viggen produced only for MY2000 in hardtop form
Black – 1
Lightning Blue – 1
——
CZECH REPUBLIC
Viggen produced only for MY2000 in hardtop form.
Lightning Blue – 1
——
HONG KONG
Viggen produced only for MY 2000
Lightning Blue Hardtop – 1
Lightning Blue Convertible – 1
——
SAAB OPEL FINANCE
Viggen produced only for MY2000 in hardtop form.
Black – 1
——
LITHUANIA
Viggen produced only for MY2000
Lightning Blue Hardtop – 1
Lightning Blue Convertible – 1
–
Thats some work!
Thanks Swade. I often wonder why we didn’t get a Monte Carlo Yellow colour option down here in Oz? Perhaps buyer reaction to the 9-3SE HOT Monte Carlo special edition that preceded the Viggen, wasn’t favourable? I’d still love a yellow Viggen, but I’m happy with my 9-3 Monte none the less.
Great Stuff! It appears that Laser Red was only for the USA and a handful for internal and diplomats. My Red Viggen turns heads everywhere, like an exotic. The way that the colors are listed does not mention 5 or 3 -door but I have never seen a red convertible or a 5-door. I heard that as a sub-category there are only 12 red 2-doors in the USA.
Mine is the only red in Wisconsin and sat on the lot for 10 months before I walked into the Orphanage to take it home! Later a friend of mine bought another red one after he asked me to teach him how to drive with a clutch. He later traded the Viggen for a red SAAB 9-2 and his Viggen ended up in California.
The reason I have the factory wheels black-powder-coated (many of you have seen this car at the conventions) is that a few years ago some benevolent person in Chicago with these wheels on a blue Viggen was trading to a BMW and posted them as a “Free Giveaway.” So I called my son and he arrived there first, so have never looked back. In fact I liked them so much on that car that I had my own silver wheels also black-coated for spares.
I now have a full spare in the trunk with the donut replaced by a spare DI Cassette and other unmentionables, including an aluminum low-racing-jack. At this year’s convention I picked up a free set of the heavier duty Viggen convertible, rear springs. They are being installed on Monday.
do you have any pictures posted anywhere of your viggen?
Peter Gilbert FLIKR
I’m the proud owner of a 02 Laser Red Viggen 5-door… and I’ve never seen another one in person in all my driving around the country for work. Plenty of silver and blue but never a red.
1 of the 3 Viggens had a major accident and its literallt gone…
The Viggen is a rocket , change the oil often , do proper care and you’ll get miles of smiles
I own a Viggen three doors Monte Carlo
From Northen Sweden.
EXCELLENT!
The statistics that a generation of fanatics have been waiting for… finally revealed!
Nice to know there are another 22 Black Viggens somewhere in Oz in case I need some spare parts
Oh… and just for the sake of 100% absolute indisputable confirmation, what is the grand total of Viggens ever produced, and does that include the 7 in Cayenne Red?
Thanks for the Viggen number Swade. This list is much more detailed than the one I already had. Now what would be really interesting is to figure out how many Viggens have survived. This wasn’t exactly the best car for the ‘un-initiated’ so many must have been totaled over the years. Of course this only adds to the collectors value. Maybe a poll of who still owns one would be in place?
Lightning Blue ’99 here in Texas!
’99 LB in Massachusetts
Forgot to answer my own question!
2002 Steel Gray 5-door on Long Island.
1999 Lightning Blue in Ohio
2001 Laser Red in Ohio. Love it to death… even though it almost killed me once.
I’m one of those 116 that own a 2002 steel gray Viggen convertible.
Here she is taking one of several first place podiums at South Florida autocross competitions, courtesy of Saabsunited
http://www.saabsunited.com/2010/03/saab-9-3-viggen-at-autocross-its-not-a-bmw.html
What have you done to your Vig Jose?
Hi Ray. It has the BSR upgrade, however the Viggen has been owning his racing category before and after the upgrade. My only complaint is the exhaust. While it still sounds nice, it is nothing compared to the deep gargle of the OEM Viggen exhaust.
I have A BSR from Genuine SAAB. It is stainless Steel with a 3″ down pipe Sounds even better than OEM and Smooth! The end looks beautifully tapered. see it on their site.
That’s an epic photo, Swade, beautiful!
i have one of them in Turkey.:)
I think this demonstrates the disire for performance in the US market. Nothing since has filled the Viggen void.
Thanks for this. It was an amazing car. I think the Lightning Blue was the most beautiful and I beleive it was the nicest.
Great stuff to read, Thank you.
I knew the numbers for Viggen’s was Low…I just didn’t know HOW LOWWWW
Mine was a dealer demo for a year and mine since May 2002 when I returned from my deployment
Awesome pic! Would love it as my wallpaper. I am the proud owner of a 1st year issue black Viggen ‘vert. I may look for a coupe next. Thanks for the story!
Thanks for making my day with this post … Someone needs to start a Viggen registry website!
’01 Steel Gray convertible. I’ve had lots of Saabs, but on a sunny day, this is the best.
Terrific stuff Swade…many thanks! I’ve always wondered how many Lightning Blue Viggens made it to Canada, and now I know that I have one of the 28. Of course, it would be really nice to know how many were 3-door models like mine — I’m sure it wasn’t a 50/50 (or should that be 14/14?) split.
I bought mine new in January 2000 right in the middle of the Canadian winter — and promptly put it into storage until the Spring. Then went to to the Viggen Flight Academy in the October. And mildly upgraded the handling with the Abbot Viggen Rescue Kit. Even after 11 years I still get a massive smile from ear-to-ear when driving it. This one is a keeper!
And I’ve just acquired a Turbo X SportCombi with manual transmission in exceptional condition to replace my ’99 9-5 wagon (also manual) as my car of choice for the Canadian winters. Since I hear there were only 125 Turbo X models brought to Canada I’d love to see a breakdown between SportSedan/SportCombi and Auto/Manual. Perhaps you can dig out numbers for the Turbo X sometime in the future?
Best regards from Ottawa (sadly now without a Saab dealer…but hopefully not for too long).
I’ve got one of the 24 MY2000 230BHP Lightning BlueHardtop’s in the UK
I also have a CD full of Viggen pictures from launch. This now explains the picture I have of a Cayenne Red Viggen on the production line. And very strangely it and the Lightning Blue car infront of it does not have the 5-Spoke Viggen alloys but alloys from the 900 SVO Concept.
2 Viggen sold in austria (1 1999 2door coupe blue, 1 1999 5door blue with sunroof) both are still running (at the moment approx. 170.000 km)
Hi All, in the UK there are approx 236 left according to http://howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/saab_9-3_viggen_turbo
On my travels I have photos of one in Germany, Switzerland and Australia
1999 Viggen Lightening Blue Prestine Condition, California
I now own a hardtop blue Viggen in HK. This is my 4th Saab and still loving it. According to my information, there was 2 blue Viggen in HK 1 hardtop, 1 convertible. Recently I see a silver Viggen convertible in HK. If my information is correct, the blue Viggen conv got shipped to UK. I guest the count for HK would be 1 hardtop blue and 1 silver conv as of Oct 2011.
My first experience Viggen in the US in 1999, I test drove it and the dealer said 99 had only blue since it was a special edition. They came out with other colors in 2000 model.
Eric
Neo
I have a 2001 black viggen. Does anyone know why the number one piston blows up? I’m going on my 3rd. engine now. I love the car but don’t know what to do.
Not something I’ve heard of as being commonplace at all. 3rd engine? Same problem each time? Sounds like the piston is the symptom of something being wrong elsewhere (but I’m no diagnostician)
Thank you, I’m lost now.
’99 blue coupe… Los Angeles. Still alive!
These figures amount to: 645 Lightning Blue Coupes WORLDWIDE for the 1999 Model Year. Nice! I love mine.
Thank you for the information.
The blue convertible that have been just on picture from Saab is alive and is in good condition.
I have also one blue 5 door from 2000. Lovely cars.
http://117.53.175.169/CarPhotos/factory/photos/ADH01A.jpg
I own a Saab Viggen Steel Grey Convertible 2002 with 75,000 mile, running great