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Per Eklund’s 750-HP Saab 9-3: The Pikes Peak Record and 2002 Win

Per Eklund’s Saab 9-3 claimed two Pikes Peak victories: an Open-class record-setting run in 2000 and an Unlimited win in 2002. Saab’s published specification rated the 2002 car at 750 hp.
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Per Eklund’s Saab 9-3 made two notable Pikes Peak runs, but they were different achievements: he won the Open class in 2000, then returned to win Unlimited in 2002. The 850-hp figure in the supplied headline is not supported by Saab’s contemporaneous published specification, which rated the 2002 car at 750 hp.

Which Pikes Peak run set the record?

The record-setting result was Eklund’s 2000 victory in Pikes Peak Open. The official Pikes Peak International Hill Climb historical results list him first in the category in a Saab 9-3, with a time of 11:21.58. Saab’s 2002 pre-race release described that earlier effort as an Open-class record-setting time, but gave it as 11:21.38; the official results list 11:21.58.

Eklund returned in 2002 for his third race on the mountain and won the Unlimited category in 11:13.20, ahead of Stig Blomqvist’s 11:47.40. That was an Unlimited-class win, not the same record claim as his 2000 Open result. The times should not be treated as a direct measure of improvement: the categories and course conditions differed.

Year Category Official time Achievement
2000 Pikes Peak Open 11:21.58 First; the Open-class record-setting run described by Saab
2002 Unlimited 11:13.20 First; Unlimited category victory

Both results and category placements are from the PPIHC historical results PDF. Saab’s pre-race release called Eklund’s 2000 time 11:21.38, a two-tenths difference from the official listing.

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Was the Saab really an 850-hp car?

Saab’s June 2002 release specified 750 hp at 8,000 rpm and 545 lb-ft of torque at 6,500 rpm. Those are the manufacturer’s published figures, not independent measurements. Later online references sometimes give higher horsepower numbers, but the contemporaneous Saab material cited here does not substantiate 850 hp.

How was the 2002 Saab 9-3 Viggen built?

This was a purpose-built hill-climb racer, not a standard road-going 9-3 Viggen. Saab described an all-wheel-drive car built around a tubular frame, with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine retaining the original Saab block and cylinder head. Trollspeed, based in Trollhättan, Sweden, tuned the engine. Saab listed a Garrett turbocharger and intercooler running at 3.0 bar (42.8 psi), along with a six-speed sequential transmission.

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For 2002, Eklund said Unlimited rules permitted more aerodynamic changes. Saab reported spoilers and a smoother underside intended to add downforce, and a larger Garrett turbocharger that increased torque by about five percent. In a contemporaneous practice report, Motorsport.com quoted Eklund saying, “You learn every year,” and describing the car’s feel as “perfect.”

What made Pikes Peak a distinctive test?

Saab’s period description of the 2002 route was 12.4 miles of pavement and gravel, with 156 turns, climbing from 9,402 feet to 14,110 feet. That is the course context for Eklund’s race-day result; it is not the configuration used for today’s climb.

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The PPIHC history page describes the current course as 12.42 miles, fully paved, with 156 turns, starting at 9,390 feet and finishing at 14,115 feet. Its listed automobile course record is Romain Dumas’s 7:57.148 in 2018. That modern record is useful context, not a like-for-like comparison with Eklund’s era: the surface and course conditions changed.

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Why the Saab’s legacy has two dates

The 2000 run is the one to cite when discussing Eklund’s Open-class record-setting achievement; 2002 is the year he won Unlimited with a more developed, aero-focused 9-3. Together, the results capture the car’s unusual transformation from a Saab road-car nameplate into an all-wheel-drive, tubular-frame hill-climb machine.

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