Celebrating 60 years of independent thinking - 4
2007: Saab's 60th anniversary
This is the fourth instalment in the series of 60 little 'gems' paying tribute to the Swedish carmaker's diamond jubilee. These snippets reflect something of the passion and tradition for innovative, independent thinking that continues to inspire the Saab brand and the development of its products today.
31. Erik Carlsson earned his nickname 'On the roof' for early rally exploits in Sweden. It was also inspired by the 'On the roof' Karlsson character in Astrid Lindgren children's books. And he could even have earned it for a novel 'roll-over' technique he developed with co-driver Gunnar Palm to get their car out of the mud on another Safari rally.
32. Sten Wennlo, Saab's managing director in the Seventies, was a key supporter of turbo engine development. After a secret nighttime turbo test drive, he stopped at a hot dog kiosk and phoned the engineering department to give the green light for production. The kiosk owner later became Saab's first turbo customer.
33. In 1957, a press advertising photograph illustrating the versatile 'beddable' attributes of the Saab 93 caused controversy in Sweden. It showed a young couple settling down for the night on flat-folding seats inside the car - but the woman was clearly not wearing a wedding ring. This caused public objections and a ring was hastily drawn in on the woman's finger.
34. In 1986, and again in 1996, a fleet of Saabs stormed the high speed Talladega Speedway in United States, setting a string of speed and endurance records for standard production cars. In 1986, the lead 9000 turbo covered 100,000 km, stopping only for servicing, fuel, tyre and driver changes, at an average speed of 213 km/h. Ten years later, the fastest 900 turbo covered 40,000 km, achieving an average speed of over 226 km/h.
35. '78 Saab' is not another 'missing' Saab model designation, but the name of a popular Australian 'soft rock' band formed in June 2005. The name was adopted because one of the members owned a 1978 Saab when they were thinking of a catchy title for the band.
36. In the early Seventies Saab moved into international sponsorship by backing promising young Swedish athletes, helping to set tennis player Björn Borg and skier Ingemar Stenmark on the road to international stardom. Under the umbrella 'SuperSwedes', these two also helped launch the Saab 99 Turbo.
37. James Bond, special agent 007, drove a Saab 900 Turbo in the first three novels written by James Gardner in 1981-85, following the death of Bond creator Ian Fleming. A 'replica' of 007's so-called 'Silver Beast' was built by Saab for promotional use and is now displayed in the Saab Car Museum. It features developments such as a built-in mobile phone with text messaging and tear gas ducts.
38. Erik Carlsson is the brother-in-law of GP legend Sir Stirling Moss, who was co-driver to Erik on the 1965 Safari Rally. They got lost and had to retire, but it was not Stirling's fault - the navigation equipment was faulty.
39. In 1980, Saab produced an innovative promotional video featuring tennis star Björn Borg and rally ace Stig Blomqvist 'doing each other's jobs'. It showed Borg coaching Blomqvist at tennis and Blomqvist teaching Borg the finer arts of car control.
Afterwards, Björn said it was the most nerve-wracking experience he had ever had. But he was far better at rally driving than Stig was at trying to play tennis.
40. During the Sixties, Saab produced a small caravan - the SAABO - in limited numbers. Light and simple, yet extremely versatile, several of these have survived and are valued among collectors. SAABOs are often seen at classic Saab gatherings, adding to the spirit of camaraderie among owners - and helping them save on hotel bills.
(To be continued)
31. Erik Carlsson earned his nickname 'On the roof' for early rally exploits in Sweden. It was also inspired by the 'On the roof' Karlsson character in Astrid Lindgren children's books. And he could even have earned it for a novel 'roll-over' technique he developed with co-driver Gunnar Palm to get their car out of the mud on another Safari rally.
32. Sten Wennlo, Saab's managing director in the Seventies, was a key supporter of turbo engine development. After a secret nighttime turbo test drive, he stopped at a hot dog kiosk and phoned the engineering department to give the green light for production. The kiosk owner later became Saab's first turbo customer.
33. In 1957, a press advertising photograph illustrating the versatile 'beddable' attributes of the Saab 93 caused controversy in Sweden. It showed a young couple settling down for the night on flat-folding seats inside the car - but the woman was clearly not wearing a wedding ring. This caused public objections and a ring was hastily drawn in on the woman's finger.
34. In 1986, and again in 1996, a fleet of Saabs stormed the high speed Talladega Speedway in United States, setting a string of speed and endurance records for standard production cars. In 1986, the lead 9000 turbo covered 100,000 km, stopping only for servicing, fuel, tyre and driver changes, at an average speed of 213 km/h. Ten years later, the fastest 900 turbo covered 40,000 km, achieving an average speed of over 226 km/h.
35. '78 Saab' is not another 'missing' Saab model designation, but the name of a popular Australian 'soft rock' band formed in June 2005. The name was adopted because one of the members owned a 1978 Saab when they were thinking of a catchy title for the band.
36. In the early Seventies Saab moved into international sponsorship by backing promising young Swedish athletes, helping to set tennis player Björn Borg and skier Ingemar Stenmark on the road to international stardom. Under the umbrella 'SuperSwedes', these two also helped launch the Saab 99 Turbo.
37. James Bond, special agent 007, drove a Saab 900 Turbo in the first three novels written by James Gardner in 1981-85, following the death of Bond creator Ian Fleming. A 'replica' of 007's so-called 'Silver Beast' was built by Saab for promotional use and is now displayed in the Saab Car Museum. It features developments such as a built-in mobile phone with text messaging and tear gas ducts.
38. Erik Carlsson is the brother-in-law of GP legend Sir Stirling Moss, who was co-driver to Erik on the 1965 Safari Rally. They got lost and had to retire, but it was not Stirling's fault - the navigation equipment was faulty.
39. In 1980, Saab produced an innovative promotional video featuring tennis star Björn Borg and rally ace Stig Blomqvist 'doing each other's jobs'. It showed Borg coaching Blomqvist at tennis and Blomqvist teaching Borg the finer arts of car control.
Afterwards, Björn said it was the most nerve-wracking experience he had ever had. But he was far better at rally driving than Stig was at trying to play tennis.
40. During the Sixties, Saab produced a small caravan - the SAABO - in limited numbers. Light and simple, yet extremely versatile, several of these have survived and are valued among collectors. SAABOs are often seen at classic Saab gatherings, adding to the spirit of camaraderie among owners - and helping them save on hotel bills.
(To be continued)