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Strange Six-Wheeler: Saab 906 Turbo Concept

Six-wheeled vehicles have taken many forms over the years, from the Formula 1 cars belonging to teams Williams and Tyrell to off-roaders that tout the extra axle as key to extra traction. Whatever the reason for this on-again, off-again fascination, it never truly stuck, at least not firmly enough for it ever to become a serious production-ready vehicle. However, this Saab concept – known as the 906 – is a little known example that suffered an unbecoming fate. Find the store of the 906 here on Car Throttle.

Image courtesy of Pinterest

The Saab 906 was not built by the factory but by an individual known as Leif Mellberg, who held an ongoing fascination with Saab vehicles. The 906 was radically customized, from the obviously stretched wheelbase to a stance that was widened by 18 centimeters. An additional axle was added to support the added length, which extended two feet past the traditional Saab rear end (I say two feet because it’s cited in the article, but it looks way longer than that to me.) Power came from the Saab 900 Turbo’s powerplant, which developed 145 b.h.p.

Not much is known about the intentions behind the car, other than it was as a promotional tool by Mellberg. The car is period-cool in so many ways, from the stripe kit to the gold wheels, as well as a well-appointed interior: 16-speaker sound and video system; built-in radar detection; fridge and freezer; and more. This being the 80s and a custom creation that added more space instead of taking it away, it’s of little surprise that the cabin was gadget-laden.

Unfortunately, this custom Saab met an unfortunate end, last being spotted sandwiched on a junkyard pile with lots of rust and all the windows blown out. The trail runs cold after its creator sold the stretched Saab, and it’s hard to fathom it ending up here given how much the country loves its historic Saab vehicles. It doesn’t look like it was accident-damaged, but perhaps the custom bodywork exposed weaknesses in the design as time and age set in. Have you ever heard of this six-wheeled Saab?

Comments

  1. Avatar Rex Kahrs Member

    Wait, is the gold 906 with maroon stripes the same car as the junked silver 906 with blue stripes? Wait, do I care?

    Like 14
    • Avatar KenB

      You must care if you commented.

      Like 1
  2. Avatar Dennis Marth

    Dual rear axle on a FWD car?

    Like 5
    • Avatar Francisco

      Just like the GMC RV with Tornado engine and drive featured here not too long ago.

      Like 7
      • Avatar KenB

        Toronado

        Like 0
  3. Avatar LARRY

    Ok…why not?? Actually looks kinda good…but what’s with the one that’s sandwiched?

    Like 1
  4. Avatar Ian C

    Normally, you can’t run fast enough to give me a Saab. But I would probably consider this one for a couple seconds.

    Like 3
  5. Avatar ACB

    The six wheel thing is not unknown with FWD. With FWD, they’re used for load bearing rather than traction. Six wheel Citroen CXs were used for high-speed newspaper deliveries in France.

    https://www.drive2.ru/r/citroen/cx/4062246863888322434/

    Like 1
  6. Avatar Ronald

    They made several of these cars . They also made flat bed car transporters . The gold car among others are still around .This is a very old article.

    Like 2
  7. Avatar Classic Steel

    This stepchild was not that pretty to say the least…
    Not a fan but everyone has different taste 👀

    Like 3
  8. Avatar Andrew

    So I guess he made two of them?

    Like 5
    • Avatar Jef Fowler

      Can’t imagine anyone would bother changing brown to blue, so at least 2?

      Like 2
      • Avatar Wishful Thinking

        I agree with Andrew, Jeff Fowler and others who note there must have been at least 2. When you study the gold-brown vs. silver-blue paint schemes, they are 100% the same pattern-design using different colors. Seems likely there were at least 2 of these, if not more. Doubtful the same one car was repainted. Begs the question, where is / are the others? Hard to imagine not one survives — somewhere. While it seems difficult to believe the fate of such specialty cars, the same is true for countless famous film & TV cars that disappear. ie: Miami Vice, 007, Partridge Family bus, Bullitt Mustangs, GM Futurliners, etc. These vehicles end up being sold off and vanishing. Many are just scrapped, disappearing without a trace.

        Like 2
  9. Avatar Little_Cars

    Looks better and more balanced crushed between those two other cars. LOL One of the photos makes it look like it didn’t even have side windows along the cargo bay. Factory mock-up for photo shoot?

    Like 1
  10. Avatar Reese Member

    Victor to Ian: “It’s a Saab cruise liner…”

    Like 1
    • Avatar Sal

      Cue Ian looking at the camera in horror….

      Like 0
  11. Avatar Rodney - GSM

    Three toed sloth, six wheeled Saab…

    Like 2
  12. Avatar Ike Onick

    It’s encouraging to see that Automotive Stupidity is not exclusive to the United States.

    Like 2
  13. Avatar Jack Quantrill

    Six-wheel “Family Truckster”!

    Like 1
  14. Avatar Jon

    Invasion of the body snatchers

    Like 0
  15. Avatar Ike Onick

    uff-da!!!!!!!!!!!

    Like 0
  16. Avatar Little_Cars

    The Bullitt Mustang and multiple GM Futurliners have been found with much press coverage and online presence, especially for the Mustang. No longer missing. Very much in the fore, and probably about to be auctioned once more. I think Leno even owns one Futurliner. Maybe Adam Carolla.

    Like 0
  17. Avatar STEVEN VISEK

    Looks like something Franco Sbarro would have built!

    Like 0
    • Avatar KenB

      That’s exactly what I was thinking!!!

      Like 0
  18. Avatar Comet

    This guy should be the poster child for someone with too much time on his hands. It’s probably ok in a straight line, but every time you turn, it’ll be dragging a set of rear tires sideways. I’m just gonna keep my mouth shut concerning it’s looks.

    Like 0
    • Avatar canadainmarkseh

      Semi trucks scrub there wheels too? But yet some how that seems to work.

      Like 0
  19. Avatar Al

    Looks like another Saab story.

    Like 1
  20. Avatar Paolo

    It’s the same car according to the inked website and is still stacked and waiting for you.

    Like 0

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