Regular followers of TV presenter and lifelong Saab man Paul Cowland‘s YouTube channel, Cowland Car Collection, will recognize the setting. It was on this same Nottinghamshire property, at the home of his friend and longtime Saab technician Glenn, that SaabPlanet previously covered the recovery of a moss-covered 900i Cabriolet. That car, Cowland notes at the start of this latest video, has since passed its MOT. This time, though, a different garage door is the focus – and behind it sits something considerably rarer: a Saab 900 Turbo 16S, broadly equivalent to the SPG name familiar to many US Saab owners, that has not turned a wheel in roughly two decades.
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A Neighbor’s Garage, A Long-Kept Secret
The car belongs to Joe, Glenn‘s next-door neighbor, who agreed to let Cowland buy it after it spent what the host repeatedly describes as 20 years off the road – tax discs on display are offered as supporting evidence. Elsewhere in the video, however, Cowland mentions the car’s last documented service dates to April 2004, which would put its dormancy closer to 22 years, and the video’s own title states 22 years. SaabPlanet was unable to reconcile the two figures from the footage alone; treat the precise duration as approximate rather than confirmed.
What isn’t in dispute is the car’s condition. Finished in full 16S specification with velour interior, the Saab shows an owner-reported 101,000 miles and, according to Cowland, was serviced in the past at Saab City, a UK Saab specialist – a claim not independently verified by SaabPlanet. Body panels, wheel paint, and trim are described as original throughout, with only minor cosmetic imperfections consistent with two decades of static storage.
Getting It Running Again
Reviving a car after that long asleep is rarely as simple as turning a key, and Glenn had already put in preparatory work before cameras rolled. Stuck fuel injectors were the main obstacle, resolved by swapping in replacements sourced from a parts car. Several tires had been losing air and needed resealing, and the exhaust system required patchwork repairs simply to make the car driveable for a short trip. Glenn is candid that the fix is a stopgap: the car needs proper exhaust work, and Cowland mentions he already has a replacement system sourced through a separate contact.
With fuel added and the preparatory repairs in place, the Turbo S started on the first attempt – a moment Cowland is careful to credit to Glenn‘s groundwork rather than presenting as effortless. Given a two-decade layoff, the engine settled into a smooth idle almost immediately, and Cowland was able to reverse the car out of storage under its own power for what he describes as its first proper outing in 20 years.
A Closer Look – And a Possible Carlsson Connection
Touring the car, Cowland and Glenn work through a list of factory options: rear wash/wipe (linked, per Glenn, to the front washer switch on this car rather than fitted with its own separate button), cruise control, and air conditioning. Cowland says he isn’t certain cruise control was standard for this model year and invites viewers to weigh in – a detail SaabPlanet has not independently confirmed. The air conditioning blows noticeably cold air at first, though the compressor does not engage, suggesting the system will need a refrigerant conversion and a proper regas rather than being genuinely functional after 20 years dormant.
The video’s most intriguing wrinkle involves the car’s APC (Automatic Performance Control) box, which governs turbo boost. Cowland points out that the unit fitted is red rather than the black box that came standard on a T16S, and speculates on camera that this could mean the car is running Carlsson-spec output – around 185 hp rather than the standard 175 hp. Saab did fit red APC boxes to Carlsson editions, Commemorative Edition cars, and the UK-only Ruby to unlock that extra output, but enthusiast reference sources are equally clear that red boxes exist in several variants and that confirming actual output requires checking the box’s serial number rather than its color alone. SaabPlanet treats this as an open question the car’s next service should settle, not as a confirmed specification.
Elsewhere, small time-capsule details reinforce how long the car has sat: a set of spare wiper blades tucked in the boot, a CD changer that still searches for discs on power-up, and a glovebox containing a modest emergency kit – a screwdriver, a jumper wire, a torch, and a bottle of hand lotion whose origin story neither man could quite explain on camera.
The Drive to the MOT
Under UK rules, a car without a current MOT can be driven to a pre-booked test appointment, and that’s exactly how the Saab left Glenn‘s garage – heading for a test booked at Barn Garage. Cowland expected the tired, patched-up exhaust to be flagged, and treated the test primarily as a way to generate an itemized list of what the car needs rather than as a pass/fail formality. Two-decade-old tires, despite their age, are noted as being hard enough to technically meet MOT tread and condition requirements, though Cowland says he has no intention of covering any real distance on them before they’re replaced.
On the short drive itself, Cowland describes the car as remarkably composed for something that spent 20 years standing still – needing, in his assessment, comparatively little beyond the safety-related items already flagged: tires, brakes, and likely calipers, alongside the outstanding exhaust work.
Where This One Fits in a Warming Market
Cowland frames the find against what he sees as a broader resurgence of interest in the Saab 900 Turbo S/SPG and, particularly, the Carlsson editions built around the same red-APC hardware this car may or may not share. In his view, values for these cars are climbing, though he doesn’t expect them to reach the levels commanded by contemporaries like the BMW E30 M3 – a comparison offered as his personal read on the market rather than a sourced valuation.
For now, the Turbo S has an MOT test list to work through and an exhaust to fit. SaabPlanet will be watching for Cowland’s follow-up coverage, in keeping with the running series that began with the 900i Cabriolet recovered from the same property.
You are lucky to have Glenn’s expertise to help you
I just pulled one out of a 21 year hibernation. 1990 turbo 5 speed with 91,000 miles.
lucky boy, low miles is great stuff.