Modification- It’s not every day you meet someone that finds their own car fuel for a living but if you live in countries like Sweden or Norway then it would be considerably more likely as the oil and gas industry is big business! Swedish car nut, Andreas (Andy) Gidlund is one such oil and gas prospector and his daily pursuits involving helping to keep Sweden rich by tapping into the countries natural resources. We’d also consider him a homeland hero due to his patriotic choice of cars. Just go to: www.facebook.com/andynordictuning and you will see just how passionate this guy is about Saabs! A few drag races later and you may be feeling patriotic on his behalf.
Now, Andy will probably be the first to admit that as a marque, Saab doesn’t tend to stir up the same excitement that its German or Japanese counterparts might but he is pretty confident that once people see his Nordic-tuned Saab 9-5 in action people may change their perception.
The 26 year-old Swede bought the 9-5 as standard some five years ago. He had never modified a car before but was soon craving a lot more power and fun. This goal was achieved by upgrading the pistons and rods and switching to a 2.3L Head which is ported and has bigger valves. There’s 314 duration and 12, 4 cams among many other tweaks. The intake and exhaust system are both custom made, then there’s the Turbonetics Waste, Precision 6267 turbo Nira i3+ ECU, 1660cc injectors and 3 044 bosch pumps. The transmission has also been upgraded with a full Quaife 6-speed gearbox which is paired to a Quaife differential Sachs performance clutch.
The modification which really gets the octane pumping through his veins is the open waste and launch control which significantly boosts his standing starts on the race track! Andy’s Nordic Tuning Saab 9-5 has recently been dyno tested and the results reveal a staggering 762hp and 820nm at 2,2bar E85!
Handling all this power requires plenty of respect, oh and some D2 racing coilovers also come in handy. Some much needed stopping power is borrowed from Porsche as are the Cup 1 slicks which measure 18-inches. Other than switching the rims and changing the bodywork hue to a rich kind of ebony, the rest of the exterior is standard. There are also very few interior mods and all have a functional purpose; the full roll cage, race chairs and belts are all heavily relied upon whilst out on the circuit!
Apart from a few much needed safety aids, Andy is generally a guy who relies upon his own capabilities, in fact he always encounters obstacles with the attitude that there are never problems just a need for solutions – one to take away with you!
If his oil and gas prospecting leads to a lucky strike soon then Andy may well move on to his dream car which is a highly tuned Nissan GT-R (R35). In the meantime he is pretty content with his Swedish slaughterer, AKA the Nordic Tuning Saab 9-5. Much, respect!