In February 2010, Saab became an Independent Company. A New Saab 9-3 edition was made to celebrate the first anniversary of its independence from GM, launching the exclusive Independence Edition of the 9-3 Convertible in the February of 2011 was a new beginning.
A Limited run of 366 examples was to be produced, one for each day during the companies first year of ‘Independent’ production and then one extra for the start of their second year, with the company now in the ownership of Dutch Specialist Maker Spyker.
All the cars were finished in an exclusive colour of Amber Orange metallic paint and based on the ultimate Griffin Aero specification. All included a limited edition number etched into the rear panel visible from the side windows.
Here are some rare pictures of original UK / RHD cars going through either the PDI (pre-delivery inspection) or final assembly at the factory…
Either way great historical pictures ©P4 West – Robin Nilsson.
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Another UK car here, This is a local car to me… Know the chap & his car for many years. This is with different options, such as different wheels. A UK RHD, being No35.
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High expectations were hoped for the car, with marketing and hope of a new future for Saab.
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Now the Interesting bit that makes this suitable to howmanymade… due to financial reasons within Saab & Spyker, the expected Limited Number was never achieved and the company subsequently closing down. The buying public had lost confidence in a ‘closing company’ and the final cars weren’t selling and the predicted number was never built. Even the last few cars were virtually pieced together whatever they had left to make them.
In total, just 38 cars were made worldwide. With only a few in each country. Now any 2012 plate Saab is rare, but these go that one further. It’s thought Only 15 RHD cars were produced for the world out of that total number produced.
These were all 1.9TTiD Automatic cars. The first 4 UK cars arrived in April 2011, and the first car of that batch No.8 was registered. A second batch arrived in June 2011. This is where the original figure of 8 UK cars comes about because Saab UK did sort of only sell them 8 and then 7 of the 15 RHD cars were held in insolvency whilst the company went bankrupt, hence the later plate of the last few cars. These were sold by the insolvency company via the remaining dealers in the UK, hence the 2nd batch was mainly registered in 2012. However, a ‘number’ went to other RHD countries. It’s thought one went to Cyprus or possibly Malta, keep your eyes peeled if on holiday!
So far the figures add up as 5 were registered in 2011. In 2012 just 5 were registered… And one registered in 2013.
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Now read below…
No8 is a UK car, which incredibly was exported in 2016 and is now an LHD! Here’s a special picture of the car below, before it left and went to the Netherlands to be converted to LHD.
And here it is today… No 8, a former UK edition RHD that now lives in Holland as a LHD car. this came up for sale in December 2020. From a dealer who’s sold their fair share of the Ind.Ed over the years, including this one originally. They’d also bought a lot of the ‘company clearout’ parts from Saab to be able to do this.
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It’s now known that No.36 is the last LHD-made car living in Sweden…
So to confirm so far… 06 / 08** / 09 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 25 / 30 / 33 / 34 / 35 / 37 – these are all UK cars… Another car is No 24 – this still needs confirming.
** This is now an LHD car.
So a recently discovered UK car is No 09. Been owned for nearly 10 years by an owner that never really knew what a rare car he had! Bought as a dealer trade-in from a Mercedes Dealership in the north.
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To confirm, there were 13 UK registered cars. All official UK cars. Of them, I can confirm 13 with the Edition number matching the plate, And then 3 possible RHD cars that need confirming. It’s possible that 15 were made in RHD for the world.
It’s possible that No.35 is actually the last car ever registered in the UK. It was registered in the latter half of 2013 and maybe the 13 plate one that I have the picture of below. The buyer was told this at the time.
So still searching for confirmation & possible other UK cars and even more accurate details…
Another UK car in its new form. This is No.34. ©ownerscopyright/Saabright.
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This is one of the last ever cars from Saab, sold by the receivers at the Factory in December 2012. This had the optioned cream hood, No.28. At the same time No1, with a black roof also sold, see below. Both cars are LHD.
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Here is No.1… awaiting its new life at the Saab factory in November 2012 before being auctioned off after the demise of the company. ©ownersrights
ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED – Please contact me and add your car.
©howmanymade
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If this has been helpful in some way, then please mention where you got the information with an ” According to http://www.howmanymade.co.uk ” – Would be Greatly Appreciated for all the time I do researching the get correct information – Regards, Mike.
HOW MANY MADE 
feb 2018: No. 6 for sale in France.
http://pros.lacentrale.fr/C018412/annonce/87100967194/
23500km, asking price €49900,-
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Thank you Constant… I’ve added your number & included your advert – thanks, Mike
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Mike, I own the 2012 9-3 Sky Blue Edition 001/001, based on the Independence Edition. I believe my car is number 38 of the Independence version, because I have never found the orange Independence nr. 38.
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Hi – thanks for the reply… I do know of the Blue one… I thought that was going to be an edition in its own right… in European countries, not sure of the connection to the Orange Independence… We still need to search that No38 one!
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The Sky Blue is a one of, only three produced in that color, a sport sedan, a sedan and a convertible. The convertible is exactly the same as the indepence edition, including the orange turbo meter.
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Update nov.12. 2018. No. 8 for Sale in the Netherlands. Diesel version (Garage Venza Almere Haven)
47.100 km. 44.999 Euro
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Hey, thanks for the information – it’s been recorded,
thanks, Mike
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The Saab Independence cab no 2 owns by me, Gudrun Hammarström and the colour is orange
My best car ever!
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Hey, thanks for that… will add it to the list – Much appreciated. Mike
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I have a Dolphin grey convertible made in April 2011 and registered in September 2011 with the features of the independence of SAAB instead of the round bootlid badge the same front grille and Griffin badges on the leather interior and what the supplying dealer referred to as the `12 engine` made by Spyker A website refers to spyker selling a total of 12 cars in 2011 and 2 in 2012 and another claims five Saabs were registered in 2011 and 2 in 2012
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Hi Steve, thanks for getting in touch – I’ve heard of these last editions of the Convertible… didn’t think they were UK cars? Is yours an RHD car? – Mike
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Yes right hand drive from birth Mike is there anything else I should be looking for on or in it ? and do you think the chassis number ending in 39 is relevant ? Regards Steve
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Ok, Steve, I’ve got in touch with you directly – regards, Mike
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Hi Mike
An update on earlier comments.
I took my car No. 30 to the Saab Museum Festival in June where I met the Swedish owner of No. 36. He used to work at the factory and told me that 37 was definitely the total made.
The exact spec of his was different to the plan, probably because it was made from whatever bits were left over.
Since then I went to Saabfest in Bury and met up with three others 17 & 19 who I also met last year and No.33. This still does not answer how many there are in the UK.
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Hi John
Thanks for the update. Yeah, it’s looking like 37 is the definite figure. But I’m sure it’s single figures for the UK though… the search continues
kind regards – Mike
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Hello, Mike, and all other Independence enthusiasts!
I just found this website, and was a bit surprised when I saw this information: “No37 / No36 / No35 / No34 / No 33/ No24 / No19 / No17 are all UK cars…”. I own No36, and it is not a UKcar! It is LHD, and I bought it new and fully equipped in 2012 from a Swedish Saab dealer. I am not sure exactly what John Burrill means when he wrote “The exact spec of his was different to the plan” after we met at the Saab Museum Festival in June this year.
When I bought it, I tried to find information about these rare cars. One dealer told me that there were maybe 5 of them in Sweden. I talked to them who built these last Saab cars left unfinished on the assembly line at the bankruptcy. The information I got, is that the last Independence cars were the last 9-3 Convertibles built. The No37 is the last RHD and the very last Saab 9-3 Convertible built. My No36 is the last LHD and the second last Saab 9-3 Convertible built.
Best regards from Sweden!
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Hi Johnny – thank you so much for the update… I need to look into how the ‘No36 UK car” information was given and will let you know. Thank you for getting in touch and let me know any more information that you get so we can make this a full detailed breakdown – Kind Regards, Mike
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I think there may be a mistake in the way 36 and 37 are described as UK cars, possibly you have added them to the text without altering the end of the sentence. I understood from Johnny Johansson that his no.36 car was V6 petrol and not 1.9Ttid like the rest.
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Thank you for the update, very interesting with your full text that I will save to add later… Maybe there were two sets of numbers for different engines? Not sure about that. I know they were all 1.9tdi in the UK.
I did hear a similar story about them being held by insolvency, I will look into this and see what else I can find. And thanks again – Mike
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V6 petrol engine in my IE No36? That must be a misunderstanding! I think there was different engines available for different markets. Was there only the 1.9 TTiD for the UK market? Or also the V6 petrol?
Here in Sweden we had three alternatives: 180 hp 1.9 TTiD (diesel), 220 hp 2.0T BioPower (petrol/ethanol) and (as in my No36) 220 hp 2.0T (petrol).
My car is year model 2012. If I remember correctly, the cars with 1.9 TTiD was called year model 2011 and the cars with 2.0T was called year model 2012. Maybe it is different in other markets.
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Interesting… lets await some response from fellow owners… Mike
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Hi Johnny.
I must have misunderstood our conversation that yours was a petrol, I jumped to the conclusion that it was a V6.
All of the UK cars are 1.9 TTids and I had originally thought that all other countries were the same until I met you.
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Hi Mike. I am the proud owner of no 37 it is definitely a UK right hand drive in sunset orange with automatic transmission and Diesel engine. It was first registered 01/09/2012
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Nice one Clive, Great to hear from you and thank you for the update – Mike
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Hi Clive
Greetings from no.30. How about taking it to Saabfest this year. Last Saabfest we had four together. I will be there, don’t know about the others yet.
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Hello, Mike, and all other Independence enthusiasts!
I am the proud owner of no. 4. Delivered in Italy and exported to The Netherlands in 2014 by KC Performance, a Saab performance specialist. They tuned the car a bit (https://kcperformance.eu/en/our-projects/article/114-saab-9-3-independence :-).
I bought the car in excellent condition end 2018 as my daily driver and covered some 40.000km with it, bringing the car to a total of 260.000km. Apart from overhauling the automatic transmission this summer, the car is trouble free as you can expect from a well taken care of Saab.
In short, its my fastest, classiest and most beautiful car I ever had! Apart from my car, I believe there are three other Saab Independence Edition in The Netherlands.
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Hi – Great link – it looks fantastic! And that mileage shows what great quality they are. Thank you for getting in touch, I’ll post the link on the website and I’ll make a note of the number. Kind Regards, Mike
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I have white 2012 9-3 g Griffin,diesel, manual, r/h drive engine no ending 869 is a genuine Griffin? . Ian T
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Hi Ian – here’s a great resource of information for that mode lhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/2952717354799749 – 9-3 Griffin group on Facebook – Many thanks, Mike
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Many thanks Mike, will give it a go. Ian T
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Still hunting a Dolphin Grey, Hot convertible in the UK. Never actually seen one, but have been hunting for 2 years. Had most of the Saab range, but always hoped to find a Dolphin Grey. If anyone has any information of RH drive I’d be most grateful.
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