German Car Forum

Off to a flying start
Saab began as an aeroplane maker in the 30s but soon - after a brief detour into boat building - diversified into cars.

In the 60 years since its first four-wheeler was unveiled, Saab has been responsible for more innovations, experiments and stylistic brilliance than many a bigger firm. It's also lost a lot of money.

That first car, codenamed 92.001, had a teardrop shape honed in the Linkoping wind tunnel - highly unusual for a production car of that era. With an aerodynamic drag coefficient of just 0.32, it was over 50% more fuel efficient than most cars of its era.

The engineers on the project were also obsessed with safety and incorporated much of their aeronautical experience to produce what Saab claims as the first safety cage seen in a production car. It had a monocoque construction, with the beams all welded together to form a single load-bearing structure. The 18bhp, 592cc two-stroke, water-cooled engine itself was not revolutionary but, along with the gearbox, it was mounted transversely and drove the front wheels - still very rare in the 40s.

The production 92 sold more than 20,000 between 1949 and 1956.



The full Monte
Saab went from its first prototype car to its first rally victory in just five years, with Greta Molander taking the Ladies Prize at the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally.

Saab also enjoyed competition success with the 92's replacement, the 93, which had revised styling by Sixten Sason and a new three-cylinder, 748cc two-stroke engine. The first model officially sold in the US, it scored first, sixth and seventh places in the 1956 Great American Mountain Rally. In 1959, Erik Carlsson won the Midnight Sun Rally and Saab took two 93s to Le Mans (one came in 12th, second in its class). Carlsson also won three RAC Rallies and two Monte Carlo Rallies during 1960-63.

After the two-strokes reached the end of the line, and Saab switched to a four-stroke V4 from Ford, Stig Blomqvist used one to win the 1971 Rally Sweden. And then, in 1979, the 99 was the first turbocharged car to win a world championship rally -Blomqvist again, in Sweden again.

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