Gallery: Börn from Jets: The Five Most Awesome Saabs Ever
01saab-92
*By Sam Smith, Jalopnik* The marque once known as Svenska Aeroplan AB is dead. After 64 years, [Saab hit the end of the road](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/autopia/2011/12/saab-hits-the-end-of-the-road/) on Monday. Its parent company declared bankruptcy and said it would liquidate the company, which was founded by aircraft engineers after World War II. The company’s fate was all but sealed in 2009 when [General Motors](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/autopia/tag/general-motors/) unloaded the iconic brand — entrepreneur Viktor Muller always faced long odds of turning things around — but it’s still a sad day. Saab was an innovative company known for quirky cars that inspired fierce loyalty from a small but passionate band of enthusiasts. Saab, we're gonna miss ya. Rest in peace as we remember five cars that made you so awesome, and long live the freewheeling clutch. __Above__: The company’s first car, the Saab 92, at an auto show in the 1950s. My how times have changed. *Photo: Saab*
02saab-92-unveiling
Saab 92 ------- __Production Years__: 1949 – 1956 __Basic Specs__: The 92 came with a 764cc two-cylinder engine good for 25 to 28 hp. The engine drove the front wheels. __Why It Was Great__: This was the first Saab, designed by a bunch of underemployed aeronautical engineers in the years following World War II. It featured a two-stroke, two-cylinder engine mounted between the front wheels. As odd as that sounds, it set the template for several decades of rally racing success. __How It Drives__: Saab 92s are rarer than hen's teeth, and we don't know anyone who's driven one. By all accounts, however, they're slow but handle well. Build quality reportedly is impressive. __Quirky Swedish Quirk__: Before 1953, you couldn't buy a 92 in any color but green. Also, the spare tire on early cars was stored in an externally accessible floor compartment that could be locked from the interior. This compartment was not the trunk. The early 92 had no trunk. *Photo: The Saab 92 is presented to the press in Stockholm on June 10, 1947. / Saab*
03saab-96-swedish-rally-1969
Saab 96 ------- __Production Years__: 1960 – 1980 __Basic Specs__: Over the years you could get your 96 with a 750 or 841cc three-cylinder engine good for 38 to 57 horsepower or a 1.5- or 1.7-liter V4 that made 55 to 65. Of course they all had front-wheel drive. __Why It Was Great__: The 96 was little more than an updated 93, which was essentially a much-updated, three-cylinder version of the 92 (a V4 from Ford replaced the three-banger in 1967). It offered more trunk space, more glass and a few technological advancements over its predecessors. Swedish rally star Erik Carlsson — aka "Mr. Saab" — got his start in a 93, but he used a 96 to string up a seemingly endless series of wins in the early 1960s. These wins put Saab on the map. __How It Drives__: It is a weirder, sportier, more charming Volkswagen Beetle. (Obscure and Tangential Reference Dept.: We've been told this is what a lot of DKWs feel like.) The V4 models are rougher than the two-stroke models and nowhere near as goofy. The lack of engine braking (see below) can be spooky at first. __Quirky Swedish Quirk__: Like every Saab before it, the 96 had a column-shifted manual with a freewheeling clutch; when you let off the throttle, the engine was disconnected from the wheels. In 1949, this was a little odd. In 1980, it was very cool. *Photo: A Saab 96 blasts through the snow during the Swedish Rally 1969. / Saab*
04saab-sonett-ii-1970
Saab 97, aka Sonett II/Sonett V4/Sonett III ------------------------------------------- __Production Years__: 1966 – 1974 __Basic Specs__: A 841cc three-cylinder made 60 ponies; later cars had a 1.5- or 1.7-liter V4 good for 55 to 65. Why yes, it was front-wheel drive. __Why It Was Great__: The Sonett was Saab's one and only foray into purpose-built sports cars. Three variations were built, with the Sonett I being a hand-built, mid-engine prototype. The rest were mass-produced, two-door coupes. They all had a fiberglass body and steel frame. Early cars used the company's two-stroke three-cylinder, but post-'67 models got the 95/96's V4. The Sonett proved Saab's engineers, though wacky, were versatile. __How It Drives__: We've never had the pleasure (?) of climbing behind the wheel of a Sonett II, but [the Sonett III is ... interesting](http://jalopnik.com/5442284/saab-on-the-brink-mr-smith-sonett-goes-to-washington-motown). The V4 is torquey but coarse, and the entire package reeks of kit car. Still, there's no denying the appeal — the III is nimble, has gobs of traction, and essentially ends two inches behind your ass. If that experience is anything to go by, the earlier, lighter Sonetts are probably a riot. __Quirky Swedish Quirk__: Sonett IIs had a column-mounted shift lever. Really. *Photo: The Saab Sonett II V4 of 1970. So hot. / Saab*
05saab-99-rally-car-1980
Saab 99 ------- __Production Years__: 1968 – 1984 __Basic Specs__: The three-cylinders were long gone by now. The 99 came with inline fours displacing 1.75 or 2.0 liters. You got 86 to 135 horsepower. Don’t even ask: Of course they were front-wheel drive. __Why It Was Great__: The 99 was the first Saab to be offered in turbocharged form, not to mention one of the first practical uses of such technology in an automobile. It was also the last car designed by Sixten Sason, the Swedish engineer responsible for most of Saab's postwar output and, by the way, the first Hasselblad camera. A 99 was the first turbocharged car to win a WRC event; fittingly, it was also the last Saab the factory took rallying. __How It Drives__: The 99 is the love child of a Volkswagen Rabbit and a Volvo 142. In other words, it is funky, stout and ridiculously fun to flog. It will take much more abuse than you think. __Quirky Swedish Quirk__: Locking the floor-mounted ignition switch on a manual-transmission 99 also locked the shift lever in place. *Photo: Saab’s last rally car, the 1980 Saab 99. / Saab*
06saab-900-turbo-1981
Saab 900 -------- __Production Years__: 1978 – 1993 __Basic Specs__: The four-banger grew to 2.0 or 2.1 liters, with power in the 99 to 185 horsepower range. Yes, it was front-wheel drive. __Why It Was Great__: The first-generation 900 cemented Saab's reputation for solid, quick and relatively entertaining cars. It was so likable that it gave the marque what was often claimed to be two decades' worth of brand equity and unkillable public goodwill. (You'll note that we are approaching the 20th anniversary of the end of 900 production. Thanks, GM.) __How It Drives__: The 900 drives like a small roadgoing Cessna, or perhaps a BMW 3-series extruded through a jar of lingonberries. Base models amble down the road in a distinct, and not entirely unpleasant, trundle. Turbocharged SPG/Aero models go like the devil's polite cousin. __Quirky Swedish Quirk__: The 900 isn't a paragon of reliability, but you can change the clutch in less time than it takes to change the water pump, and get less dirty in the process. How's that for logic? *Photo: The 1981 Saab 99 Turbo. Can you say, “Wheeeeee”? / Saab* This post was originally published by Jalopnik.
