Saab History

In 1964, the United States counterpart of SAAB SWEDEN, SAAB Motors, Inc. while located at 100 Waterfront Street in New Haven, Connecticut, created a promotional piece of literature in print titled “Sven The Saab”.

The idea of Sven The Saab was to apparently portray the aircraft heritage as well the Swedish background of the SAAB at that time in a comical way. It also tells a good story about how the SAAB automobile’s were brought to the United States.

A sincere thank you to both Ray Kopczynski who purchased the item off of an Ebay auction as well as Ted Yurkon for facilitating the scans of the literature from RAY and making them available to Saab History to share with the international Saab community. Enjoy going through the pages in this entire 26-page piece of SAAB history.

In 1961, an author by the name of Keith Ayling published a book called The SAAB Guide which has now been denoted in the Saab Book library for the record that is extremely rare clearly out of print.

In the 127 pages that this book includes, there are numerous vintage photographs as well as other important pieces of information regarding SAAB’s early history, with even a special chapter devoted to SAAB’s history in the United States from between 1956-1961.

There are ten chapters in the book that consist of the following: 1. The Birth of a “Wingless Airplane”, 2. Two Little White SAABS, 3. Roadability and Solid Comfort, 4. Why Front Wheel Drive?, 5. SAAB 95: A “Different” Station Wagon, 6. SAAB Granturismo 750, 7. Your Versatile SAAB, 8. Maintenance, 9. “The Little Sedan That Became a Racer”, 10. Formula Junior.

Thanks to visitor and Saab Enthusiast, Ted Yurkon for contributing an entire electronic version of this book that I will use to slowly dissect that information and convey it here on Saab history in the near future in the best possible way. Thank you Ted for all of your tireless efforts in getting this information out to all of us here.

This is one of the earliest advertisements that I have encounted from 1968 that SAAB Motors, Inc. that was posted in national newspapers which showcases the SAAB international delivery program. If anyone know exactly when the European Delivery program officially began in the United States, I would appreciate hearing about it.

On October 19th, 1965, SAAB Motors, Inc. in the United States held an event called on Banker’s Day where SAAB dealers nationwide were invited to tour the facilities at 100 Waterfront Street in New Haven, Connecticut. This promotional booklet was put together and delivered to SAAB dealerships, with this particular item being delivered to the SAAB dealership, Brookfield Motors in Ohio.

I urge you to look through this booklet as the material is quite facinating. The letter from Tryggve Holm, the President of SAAB Sweden on page 3, to the information on SAAB’s expansion in the United States on page 7 are great reads and very informative about SAAB’s history in the U.S. at that time. I also believe that you will find the advertisements from the companies that work well with SAAB equally interesting. If you would like to see larger photos in which to read the fine print, just click on the underlined photo captions that are associated with the row of thumbnail images.

Here is the first print advertisement I have been able to find from the debut in 1964 of the SAAB Quantum IV Formula S Racer. Enjoy.

Photo Credits: Wendell Francis

As I have recently been organizing the website, I was looking at the Quantum IV section more and more and realized soon enough that the Quantum IV Formula S was a production kit car and certainly not a concept car like all other Quantum models were.

Furthermore, I have recently been provided a writeup on the SAAB Quantum IV from the son of vintage SAAB racer and enthusiast Wendell Francis, Paul. This article is from the April 1990 issue of Victory Lane Magazine in which have also been recently given permission to reprint the article called “Quantum Reflections” that covers in detail, the history of the SAAB Quantum IV Formula S. This is an incredible read, enjoy.

As the Barber SAAB series, the popular training ground for open wheel drivers, moves on to the 1990 season, let us reflect back 25 years to Quantum Formula S, the open wheel SAAB racer of the mid-sixties. In 1964, Hank Rudkin, leader of a group of New England SAAB enthusiasts, concluded if Volkswagen could have their own formula series, then SAAB should too. As a result, the Quantum Motorcar Corporation was established in Seymour, CT to begin production of the Quantum Formula S. Rudkin began lobbying SCCA to establish a separate class with rules similiar to that of FV for his SAAB based racers.

The rugged SAAB three cylinder, two-cycle engine and four speed transaxle, as used in the SAAB 96, was moved to the rear and placed in a semi-monoco-que chassis which relied mainly on twin four-inch diameter tubes and stressed metal bulkheads for strength. These large tubes also served as 3-1/2 gallon tanks. The fully independent suspension used the A arms from the front wheel drive hub carriers to the rear employing in the standard dual wheel cylinder SAAB drum brakes all around. The front arms were ball-jointed to cast alloy uprights with a built-in steering arm connected to a 96 rack and pinion. Coilover type shocks completed the Formula 1 like the suspension set-up. Total weight of the car was 830 pounds. The SAAB 841cc powerplant produced a true 65 horsepower by using a GT crank, racing pistons, cylinder head and distributor along with altered port timing. According to the July 1965 Sports Car Graphic Track Test, “the peak power is at 5600 rpm, the red line at 6500 and nothing much over a gasp below 5000 rpm.”

The 35 pound three piece fiberglass body was constructed of red color impregnated cloth. A wrap around windscreen identical to those used on Lotus Formula Juniors was affixed along with a left-hand gear shifter. The Quantum could be bought in a kit form from the factory or any SAAB dealer (part number 500-700) for $1,347 which included everything except the engine and tires. The tuned motor was another $595. SCCA veteran Jim Haynes raced the factory prototype to a fourth place finish in Formula Junior at the October ‘64 nationals at Lime Rock Park turning laps at 1:07 and 112mph. SAAB displayed a Quantum Formula S on their stand at the New York International Auto Show in 1965.

Unfortunately, a separate class for Formula S never came about and with the demise of the Formula Junior in 1965, the majority of the cars delivered by Rudkin in 1965/1966 were raced in Formula C. Quantum made available 85 horsepower engines as used with H modified racers. Haynes finished fourth in FC at the 1965 ARRC (forerunner of the SCCA runoffs), and Bill Rutan was FC national champ in 1967 in his Quantum. These cars were easy to spot on the track with their stove pipe expansion chamber exhausts, but the pop corn popping sound of the two-stroke motor could be heard long before the cars came into view.
No one knows for sure how many Quantum Formula S racers sold. In mid ‘65, Rudkin had orders for twelve, he had hoped for 200 per year. Rudkin believes about fifty cars were built, many underwent changes to larger engines and disc brakes. Thirteen Quantums are known to exist today including one still unassembled in a basement in Western New York. The author raced a Quantum in the early ’70’s and sold it to SAAB-Scania of America, Inc. in 1988. The car is displayed in SAAB’s Orange, CT corporate lobby. The Vintage SAAB Racing Group pioneered the return of the Quantum Formula S in SVRA and Walter Mitty Challenge races in the SouthEast. At least two Quantums are currently being prepared for West Coast vintage racing. Tom Cox, of Woodstock, MD, owner of two Quantums, maints the Formula S Register.

Source: Victory Lane - April, 1990

Photo Credits: Saab History

This weekend I was passing through Connecticut and managed to stop by SAAB Motors, Inc.’s first official headquarters after moving out of 405 Park Avenue, New York City in late 1960. The 100 Waterfront Street, New Haven Connecticut facility operated between 1961 and 1971 before SAAB Motors, Inc. moved not too far South also off of Interstate-95 to 60 Marsh Hill Road in Orange, Connecticut.

Arriving at 100 Waterfront Street in New Haven this past weekend, I was thoroughly impressed and surprised to see this building still standing strong, a full 36 years after being occupied by SAAB. The condition of the exterior of the building is completely original, although showing signs of normal age from a facility that was built somewhere around the first World War and previously occupied by the New Haven Terminal Company.

During my visit, I had the pleasant opportunity to have had a tour by the current occupants of the facility. This tour included most of the interior and exterior of the building as well as the SAAB lot and the finger pier where the SAAB 95’s & 96’s were originally hoisted off at.

During my visit, there were numerous notables, references and quotes that I am particularly interested in sharing. The first quote came from one of the employees at the facility after I indicated that I was visiting here to gather as much information as possible about SAAB’s history with this particular facility having a lot of historical importance to SAAB’s presence in the United States. The response to this statement that I received was “Will SAAB be coming back to Connecticut? We sure do miss them!”. While I was the not best person to answer a question like that, I think I would be in agreement with many of my peers from a nostalgic standpoint to see a similiar operation again or at least a well-done re-enactment of this facility by a hollywood production company. I am sure that there would be many SAAB 95 & 96 owners in the United States that would be happy to include their vehicle in such a production if it were to happen.

The second individual I met, had actually worked with New Haven Terminal along with SAAB Motors, Inc. in the 1960’s, who just happened to be at the same location at the same time when I was visiting, which is how we ran into one another at the Finger Pier, East of the building. The first piece of information I asked was, “Are there any more SAAB 95’s and 96’s as rumored to be somewhere on the ocean floor still here in the bay that either fell off the pier or from the ship’s crane?”. The response I received was that “This may have been true, but since that time, the bay has been dredged many times and even more recently, so that I am sure of that there are no old SAAB vehicles down there today. However, just South of the parking lot near where the cat tails are today, there were reported to be a number of SAABs in pristine condition to have been found there just after the SAAB facility closed its doors at the end of the decade”. I think that the most memorable quote that I heard from this very helpful man was that “SAAB had one hell of an operation here at that time!”. It is without question that I plan on following up with this individual in the near future in order to find out about any other important material and historical information that should be known about SAAB’s history in this particular area during the 1960’s.

The visit came to an end after returning from the Finger Pier to the front of the facility where I managed to snap some additional photographs before continuing North onto Interstate-91.

Here is a new feature to this website that best captures the photographs that had taken during this recent visit. I plan on utilizing this simple tool for some previous posts as well as all new postings that have more than just a few photographs in order to best capture them and display them in a easy-to-use format. I would be very interested in your comments or questions about any of this facility or SAAB Motors, Inc’s history at this time. If I don’t have the immediate answers to your questions, I will be collectin

I hope you enjoy the summary of the visit and the photographs.

Where: 100 Waterfront Street, New Haven, Connecticut

When: 1961-1971

What: Occupied by SAAB Motors, Inc.

Photo Credit: Google Maps

On Sunday, June 10th, 2007 just after the 9-3 unveiling, attendees at the 60th Anniversary Saab Festival got the opportunity to experience a SAAB SK60 aircraft flyover.

The SK60 also known as the 105, was designed as a reconaissance aircraft by SAAB which saw its first flight in 1963.

Here is a brief clip I managed to take of the SAAB SK60 Aircraft at the Saab Festival.

Photo Credit: Saab History

The Saab Factory in Trollhättan, Sweden began production in December of December of 1949 of the SAAB 92. At that time, the factory still exhibited it’s aircraft heritage with an air traffic control tower and wind sock elements that were built back in 1937 when they were manufacturing airplanes. From 1947 until 1949, SAAB built automobiles such as the 92001 prototype (URSAAB) and the SAAB 92 in Linköping, Sweden.

At the time of completion of the SAAB factory in 1949, the space available for automobile production covered approximately 190,000 square feet (17,700 sq. meters). This space consisted of the press, body and assembly, engine & transmission construction, upholstery and paint shops and lastly final assembly and adjustment areas. The SAABs built per day at the time were three to four which resulted in 1,246 SAAB 92 cars built in the first year, model year 1950.

In the 10 years of airplane production and 57 years of automobile production that have taken place at the SAAB factory in Trollhättan, the classic Saab 900 that began production in 1979 and ended in 1993 and 1994 with the convertible still remains the leader in units producted with nearly 1 million (908, 810)

Today, the Saab Automobile factory has increased dramatically over the years to include a number of enhancements, additions and expansions to the press, body assembly and most recently the paint shop in 2000. The inventory system the factory uses today is referred to as “Just In Time” or JIT where all materials and supplies are made available only for what is being produced at the present time, therefore there will be no overstock or wasted materials.

It is also worth mentioning that all vehicles produced in the Saab Automobile factory in Trollhättan, Sweden are all built on specific demand from Saab Automobile dealerships worldwide.

The Saab Automobile cars that are produced at the factory today include the Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan, Saab 9-3 SportCombi, Saab 9-5 Sedan and the Saab 9-5 SportCombi.

At the recent Saab Festival celebrating 60 years of an automobile manufacturer (3 years in Linköping, and 57 in Trollhättan), I had along with many, the opportunity to tour the factory. Factory tours are available year-round with advanced notice. While there are no opportunities for photos nor videos to be taken during the tours, I have been able to provide you some of the most recent footage of the Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan being manufactured in the factory from the first model year, 2003.

Sources:

* Saab Automobile AB
* Sjogren, Gunnar A. The SAAB Way, the first 35 years of Saab cars, 1949-1984 Nyköping, Sweden Österbergs Tryckeri AB, 1984.

Photo Credit: Saab Automobile

2007-06-01

CONTACTS

Saab 60th Anniversary

Carlsson’s Choice: Erik Selects Six Favorites from Saab’s Hall of Fame

The career of Eric (Mr Saab) Carlsson, international rallying’s first superstar, spans six decades. It has taken him from test driving in Trollhättan, to the top of the podium in Monte Carlo and on to a globe-trotting role as Saab’s international ambassador. Here Erik chooses his six favorite Saabs, one from each decade. His recollections, and the cars themselves, tell the story of how the automotive aspirations of an aircraft manufacturer took wing.

As a young boy, Erik Carlsson used to stand on the perimeter of his local airfield in Trollhättan and admire the aerobatics of Saab aircraft flying overhead. Little did he know that Saab would one day start making cars and that he would play a key role in its growth as an auto maker.

Erik’s legendary exploits at wheel of the ‘little red cars from Sweden’ include two back-to-back victories in the Monte Carlo Rally and a hat-trick of wins in the British RAC Rally. His success in the early Sixties launched Saab as a global car brand and today, at 78 years young, Erik still plays an active part in Saab activities.

Preparing to lead the celebrations for Saab’s 60th Anniversary next week, he is happy to take up the theme by identifying his six favorite Saab cars, one from each decade.

Photo Credit: Saab Automobile

1950s
“I think we all have a special place in our heart for our first car, “ he says. “In my case it was a Saab 92, in green like they all were then, which I bought second-hand from a farmer in Trollhättan. It was 1952, I was 23 and I had started a job at a local garage.

“Saab was the big local company and they had just started making cars. It was an exciting time and the 92 really was something different from other cars, with its streamlined shape and aircraft engineering. Most cars then had a separate body and chassis bolted together, but the 92 had one single body structure, as most cars do these days. It was light but extremely strong, as I found in my rallying.

“It also handled really well with the front wheel drive. It had a small engine but I could go quicker than larger cars that had quite a bit more power.”

Photo Credit: Saab Automobile

1960s
Erik’s success in local rallying events at the wheel of his 92 quickly led to full-time employment with Saab as a test and development and works rally driver. His ‘Saab of the 60s’ is the famous Saab 96 that brought international rally success for him and for the company. More than 500,000 examples were to be sold in a production run spanning almost 20 years.

“The 96 had more power, good suspension, disc brakes and great handling. We didn’t have a roll-over cage, but with the 96 you didn’t need one, as I appreciated a few times. Although I got the nickname ‘Carlsson on the Roof’, I don’t think I rolled all that many times. But I remember one occasion when I rolled over in a ditch and water was coming in. It was like sitting in an aquarium but the roof pillars were extremely strong so we weren’t drowned or hurt much at all.”

The aircraft engineering tradition of combining strength with light weight helped establish the popularity of the Saab 96 and in snowy and icy conditions Erik was able to fully exploit its sure-footed handling. But he also has a soft spot for the sister car of the 96, the Saab 95 wagon.

“Quite a few eyebrows were raised when I did the ’61 Monte Carlo with one. It was unheard of to use a wagon or estate car but the 95 handled and drove every bit as well as the 96. I was fourth that year. We used the wagon, together with its aerofoil on the roof, because it had just come out with a four-speed gearbox, which really helped on the steep alpine passes.”

Photo Credit: Saab Automobile

1970s
Carlsson’s choice as ‘Saab of the 70s’ is the now iconic, black Saab 99 Turbo. “A lot of people at the time said we wouldn’t get turbocharging to work for passenger cars,” says Erik. “ I would say history has proved them wrong.”

These days, the words ‘turbocharging and Saab’ are as closely associated as ‘peaches and cream’ or ‘bacon and eggs’ , but back in 1977, exactly 30 years ago, when the 99 Turbo was unveiled, Saab surprised the automotive world by declaring that it had succeeded in ‘taming the turbo’ .

“The 99 was a great chassis and with the turbo we had real power to exploit its potential,” says Erik, who remembers secret forest test driving and his first experiences of the explosive performance on full boost. “We had to do a lot of work to control the boost, to stop the engine blowing up and to get the power on the ground. But, of course, we showed it could be done and just about everyone now uses turbocharging.”

The logic behind getting ‘big engine power from a small engine’, or ‘right-sizing’ as Saab calls it, is even more attractive these days, with the need to save weight, reduce bulk and improve fuel consumption. “Our top engineer, Pelle Gillbrand, who led the project, used to put it very simply,” says Erik. “He would explain that all engines have a fuel pump, a water pump and an oil pump – so why not an air pump? That’s all a turbo really is and he thought it was strange that all engines didn’t have one.”

With its wraparound, cockpit-inspired windshield, ‘clampshell’ hood and ‘self-repairing’ bumpers, the bold and distinctive looks of the larger Saab 99 took Saab upmarket, a process continued by its evolution into the ‘classic’ Saab 900, of which more than 900,000 were sold.

“The first production cars in jet black and cardinal red had Inca ally wheels, which were intended to symbolize the turbine of turbo, not a cheese-grater, as some people suggested,” laughs Erik. “It was, and still is, a very distinctive car. We had the ignition key between the seats on the floor and people were always surprised by that. But why not? There were valid reasons for it, to do with ergonomics and good crash impact safety. It’s like the throttle controls of an aircraft, between the seats in the cockpit. We still have it today and that’s another feature where I think we have proved the sceptics wrong!”

Photo Credit: Saab Automobile

1980s
Carlsson’s choice for the ‘Saab of the 80s’ – the Saab 900 Convertible – surprised the automotive world when it was revealed as a design study at the Frankfurt Show in the autumn of 1983. “I don’t think anyone was expecting Saab to come up with a convertible,“ says Erik. “After all, it is not the kind of car that that a Scandinavian manufacturer was expected to produce, but it turned out to be an outstanding success.”

Back in the 80s, convertibles were not as popular as they are now and Saab was to play a pioneering role in establishing the attraction of an open-top car as a practical, all-year-round means of transport. “We always had a strong soft-top which was fully automatic, quick and easy to use,” says Erik. “That was an essential requirement and we were able show people this was a car that was good to own and drive in winter as well as summer.”

Initially produced for the US market, the first 900 Convertible soon went into production for global sale. “It was a great looking car, roof up or down, and looked like a completely new car, rather than a version of the 900 three-door model,” says Erik. “I still run a Saab Convertible at different times of the year. Even in winter, when it’s cold, you can have the soft-top down with the heater going and still be very comfortable.”

Over the years, Saab has organized keynote events for the Convertible, such as driving in the Land of the Midnight Sun, a 1,500 kilometer excursion through Sweden into