The Saab 96 was produced between 1960 and 1980.
Early cars were powered by a 3 cylinder 2 stroke engine, but from 1967 a ford V4 unit was introduced into a slightly extended bonnet line.
All the cars shared a similar 2 door layout, with a distinctive aerodynamic shape.
Later Saabs were fast luxury saloons with big engines and high top speeds, but in the 1960's & 70's Saab made smaller tough little cars with modest engines, designed to withstand the harsh winters of Scandinavia. The cars were all front wheel drive, a little strange but well thought out and practical.
What the cars lacked in horsepower (the first 2-strokes only had 25bhp), they made up for, by being lightweight, aerodynamic and fast in the corners. They were capable of high average speeds in most conditions.
Important, was their winter driving characteristics; they were front wheel drive and had the weight at the front for good traction. They had narrow tyres, modest power, a free-wheel, good brakes and a good heater. All this made the car a sensible choice for a Scandinavian Winter.
Saab went from 2-stroke engines to 4-stroke in 1967, when the Saab 96 was fitted with a 1500cc Ford V4 unit.
The V4 96 represented the last of the small Saabs after which the company would go on to produce the larger 99, 900 and 9000 models. This final evolution of the original streamlined design pulled together many years of learning. The V4 cars had more torque than the 2-strokes and a 4-speed gearbox and front disc brakes were standard. The new front featured a bonnet line extended by 5" for the larger engine, and rectangular headlights (in Europe). The comfortable front seats featured safety headrests and there were twin speed wipers, headlamp wipers, a heated driver's seat and a heated rear window on some cars.
The same properties that made the Saab 96 a good winter car, helped make it a successful rally car, in fact the shell was so strong that it could be rallied without additional roll over protection. The shell was also incredibly stiff, which helped give the cars their legendary road holding. Specifically, the Saab torsional stiffness was 11,000lb feet per degree of twist (lbf/°); other cars at the time were more like 2,500lbf/° and even today most are only 6000lbf/°.
Erik Carlsson was Saab's number 1 driver and he drove to many rally victories in a 96. The cars being short on power, struggled on tarmac stages like Monte-Carlo where Mercedes and Porsche had an advantage; but on the special stages through forests and on loose surfaces, the Saabs could maintain higher top speeds.
".......it had road holding far ahead of any other car. With a small engine and heavy body it shouldn't have won, but it had good road holding and good brakes. It didn't matter what condition the road was snow, ice, gravel; if you were stupid enough to keep your foot down - nothing could follow you."
Erik Carlsson, discussing a 1962 2-stroke Saab 96.
Saab rallied the 96 into the late 70's. The final V4 cars had up to 175bhp and although this was significantly less than ford with their 240bhp cars, Saab was still seen as a serious contender and one of the teams to beat. Saab demonstrated that power wasn't all that was required to win a rally - you needed reliability, dedicated drivers and good road holding to be successful.
Other drivers that drove a Saab 96 to victory were, Stig Blomqvist, Pat Moss-Carlsson, Carl-Magnus Skogh, Rolf Mellde, Per Eklund, Simo Lampinen and Arne Hertz.
Notable victories were Erik Carlsson and Stuart Turner on the RAC victory in 1962, in which they won with zero penalty points.
In 1968 Simo Lampinen and John Davenport won the RAC rally in a Saab V4. Carl Orrenius and Gustaf Schröderheim were second in another 96, and the nearest rival was Jim Bullough and Don Barrow in a Ford Escort twin cam, but they were more than 1 hour behind the Saabs.
This 96 was purchased in 2004, a standard saloon model in Toreador red. After a few everyday upgrades including an electric fan and contactless points, it provided years of trouble free motoring. The only time it broke down was after a service when the rotor arm had been replaced. The arm was later found to be faulty and putting the old one it, got it home.
Over the years it was used for winter commuting, as a wedding car, it did navigational rallies, day trips and a lap of Silverstone. It took rubbish to the tip, the family on holiday and always did the annual Christmas tree hunt. Anytime a car was needed with a decent load capacity or roof bars, the Saab fired up willingly and for a winter journey it was the car of choice. Always comfortable and warm in the cabin, the column gear change was light, controls well placed and handling impeccable.
By 2024 the car had become quite rusty. A combination of years of hard work and a lack of love left it looking sorry on the driveway. The cabin leaked in the rain, the paint was flat, the interior tatty and lenses faded. Despite this, everything with the exception of the boot light still worked. It started well, ran well and stopped very well; and whenever it was needed it stepped up.
To the modern motorist in the city traffic, it now looked old, tired, tatty and out of date. Other drivers could rip away from the traffic-lights leaving the Saab behind, sat in their plush cabins with complicated electronics and nonsense gadgets, although their pleasure would often diminish as the Saab caught up on the corners. Despite it's condition, from time to time I would find myself alone on the ring road late at night and able to set a preferred pace. The Saab was swift, enjoyable, totally predictable, and would carry speed through the sweeping curves and roundabouts. It would eat up the miles, the blazing spotlights lighting the road ahead and the eager V4 engine working its heart out. Parking up, the car would gently tick as it cooled, the disc brakes glowing dull red in the night air and in the house the greeting would be "you're home early."
The Saab 96 deserves a place in history as a motoring icon, a small car from an aircraft manufacturer, which did things differently. A company which took a fresh look at car design and focused on the important aspects of aerodynamics, safety and ergonomics. The small Saabs showed the world what could be done with a front wheel drive, long before it became commonplace.
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