This is the second novel in Gardner's Bond series in which Bond drives a Saab 900 Turbo; however, this is the first book in which the car's colour is mentioned and it is referred to by its more popular nickname, the Silver Beast.
Robert J. Sinclair, (March 17, 1932 — May 10, 2009) was a United States automotive industry executive who served as Chief executive officer of Saab-Scania of America from May 1979 until September 1991, where he helped improve the popularity of Saab's cars by convincing the parent company to manufacture cars with high-end options such as turbochargers and a convertible version of its Saab 900 that was designed to appeal to American consumers.
Saab Automobile | Saab 340 | Saab 99 | Saab 96 | Saab 9-3 | Saab 900 | Saab 35 Draken | Dassault Falcon 900 | Saab Direct Ignition | Elie Saab | 900 Biscayne Bay | 78 Saab | Valeska Saab | Triumph Thunderbird 900 | The ''Apicius'' manuscript (ca. 900 AD) of the Fulda monastery | Saab Sonett | Saab JAS 39 Gripen | SAAB Automobile | Saab automobile | Saab 90 Scandia | Saab 90 | Saab 21 | Nokia Lumia 900 |
Some 250,000 of the Saab 900 convertible were sold (including the NG900) over the succeeding two decades.
More recently, he has been Clerk of the Course at the Rally Finland, the event he won three times himself, and he has also assisted Saab in two racing events; their Saab 900 Talladega Challenge in Alabama in 1996 where several speed records were set, and the 2000 Pikes Peak race, when Per Eklund won in a race-prepped Saab 9-3 Viggen.
On 6 Sept 2009 the 1988 SAAB 900 Turbo that the Chop Shop team rebuilt into a one-off 'Gangsta Car' for Martin Kemp was demolished by monster truck Podzilla during the VW Action car festival at Santa Pod Raceway, the very same place where the new car first broke down prior to its initial test run.