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SAAB'S LATEST REAL WORLD SAFETY TEST WAS UNSCHEDULED
Saab driver Herman Rundstrom conducted an unexpected collision test
during a high-speed crash at Talladega Superspeedway
NORCROSS, GA. - In what may have been the world's fastest, longest
durability test, six factory-fresh Saab 900s were driven flat out for eight
days at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. While the event was a successful
affirmation of Saab's rugged nature, it inadvertently put Saab's safety
engineering to the test as well. Halfway into the round-the-clock event, a
severe thunderstorm struck. At 4:14 a.m., Oct. 18, a powerful gust of wind
pushed car No. 2, a Saab 900 Turbo, into the track's wall on a steeply
banked corner. Although the driver had slowed from a top speed of about 150
mph because of the heavy rain, the Saab was still traveling at more than 80
mph when it crashed head first into the concrete barrier. The car spun
around and squarely slammed the back end into the wall also. The impact
caused extensive body damage and both airbags deployed, but the car's
passenger compartment was completely intact. In fact, the structural
integrity of the Saab was so sound that both doors opened and closed
perfectly The driver, Swedish Saab employee Herman Rundstrom, emerged
unscathed and was back on the track later that day after being examined by a
doctor. The car's body structure and safety systems performed exactly as
designed," concluded Christer Nilsson, Saab senior safety engineer, who
showcased the damaged car in a safety seminar held at the track later that
day. At the end of eight days, the remaining Saabs set 40 international
speed/distance records, including one car that set a record for 25,000
continuous miles at an average speed of 140.709 mph.
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