Saab History
Svenska Airplane Aktiebolaget, was founded
in 1937. Initially, they manufactured airplanes for Germany.
Saab's first home-grown plane was the B 17,
completed in 1940. The plan to produce cars, was introduced in 1944.
The first "probe" car 92.001, later called, "Ur-Saaben",
was completed in 1946. The decision to begin full-scale production
was decided in 1947. Before the factory began a mass-production of
the new Saab 92, in 1949/50, there were 3 more probe
cars and a total of twenty cars built.
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1937 prototype logo
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prototype - Ur-Saaben
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logo adopted in1949
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The fifties
Throughout the fifties Saab
was improving the Saab 92. In 1953 the first 92B arrived.
The 92B featured a trunk, which the 92 lacked. Before the decade
passed, the 93, 93B, 93F
, and the 95 were born. The Saab 95 was
Saab's first and until 1998, only estate. In addition
, Saab had constructed their first sports-car. The
Saab Sonett or Saab 94 Super Sport was completed
in 1956.
The sixties
Many changes occurred at Saab
in the sixties. The introduction of the Saab 96, a
car which with some small changes, lived until 1980. They also phased-out
the two-stroke engine, which was replaced with a Ford
V4 four-stroke engine in 1966 (the two-stroke-engine
was available for two more years). The development of Saab's
next new model, was decided in 1964. It had been hidden from the
public disguised as a Daihatsu and as a Padda(Toad).
A widened 96 placed on a 99 floorpan was unveiled in 1967.
The car's name was "Saab 99". In the late
sixties, Saab had a new sports-car in production, the Saab
97 Sonett, or Sonett II which it was called,
until the name changed to Sonett V4, after the introduction
of a Ford V4 engine. The company changed its name twice in the sixties,
first in 1965, from Saab to Saab AB and
in 1969 to Saab-SCANIA AB, after the merging with AB
Scania-Vabis.
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Saab 96
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Saab 99
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Saab Sonett II
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The seventies
In the seventies there was a continuos
improvement of the 95, 96 and the 99,
and also a "new " sports-car; The 97 Sonett III. At
first, Saab used a 1.7-litre Triumph-engine in the
99. Then, they developed the Saab
2.0-litre engine, which was standard in all Saab models
until just a few years ago. The new model was available
in 3 and 5-door versions after Saab's introduction
of the Combi Coupè by the fall of 1973.
In the latter half of the seventies, came the Saab 99 Turbo,
it was held to be the worlds first "family turbo". Since then the
word "turbo" has been synonymous with Saab.
At the end of the decade came the successor to the Saab 99,
the Saab 900.
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1977 96
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Saab 99 Turbo
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The eighties
During the seventies Saab established itself among European
names such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Saab
became even more prominent in the eighties. Saab 900 Cabriolet,
Saab 900 Aero, and don't forget the Saab 9000,
which from 1984 became Saabs new "flagship". The Saab
9000 was at first just available as a Combi Coupé (CC),
but later also as a Sedan (CD) from 1988 and as a Combi
Sedan (CS) from 1991. Today's insignia, designed by the artist
Carl Fredik Reuterswärd, was adopted in 1987.The insignia bears
a Gripen. The Saab and Scania names illustrate the merger of the
two Swedish companies. The end of the eighties was an economically
difficult time for Saab, and about 89/90 GM Europe
bought 50% of the stock. in the new company Saab Automobile
AB.
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Saab 900
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Saab 9000
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1987 - present logo
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The nineties
The first new car from Saab
after the change in the ownership came in 1993, and was the first
Saab who also was available with a V6-engine.
In 1994, came the new Saab 900 Cabriolet. As the end
of the nineties was merging, the successor to the Saab 9000,
later called Saab 9-5 was introduced, and in line with
the new naming rules, the Saab 900 switched the name
into Saab 9-3 in 1998.
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Saab 93
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Saab 9-5
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Saab 9-5 waggon
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