CarBrandLogos archive · Saab · 1960

SaabSaab 96

Erik Carlsson won the toughest rallies in Europe in a two-stroke Swedish saloon.

Photo: Vauxford · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Saab history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Saab 96, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The 96 arrived in 1960 as a heavily revised 93, with a much larger rear window, a longer tail and an 841cc three-cylinder two-stroke driving the front wheels. It looked like nothing else on sale and behaved like nothing else either, with a freewheel device that let the engine idle on the overrun, a column gearchange and enough traction on snow to make it the default car in northern Sweden.

1961 Saab 96 rear · TTTNIS · CC0

Design and engineering

Its reputation was made in competition. Erik Carlsson won the RAC Rally three years running from 1960 and the Monte Carlo Rally in 1962 and 1963, driving a small, underpowered saloon against far bigger machinery, and doing it by carrying speed where others could not. The image of a 96 on its roof and then driven away afterwards did the rest.

In production

In 1967 the two-stroke gave way to a 1.5-litre Ford Taunus V4, later enlarged to 1.7, which was a compact enough package to fit the existing nose and finally gave the car an engine that did not require oil in the fuel. The V4 cars sold in far greater numbers.

Legacy

Production continued at Trollhattan and, from the early 1970s, at Valmet in Finland, which built the last of them in 1980, twenty years after launch and long after the 99 had replaced it in the range. Its longevity in Scandinavia had less to do with sentiment than with the fact that it kept working.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1960–1980

Engine

795 cc Saab two-stroke

Designer

Sixten Sason

Body

2-door sedan

Technical specification

The Saab 96, in detail.

Production: 1960–1980
Class: Compact
Body style: 2-door sedan
Layout: Longitudinal front-engine, front-wheel drive
Engine: 795 cc Saab two-stroke; Saab 2-stroke I3 engine; I3 (US, 1968) ; 841 cc Saab two-stroke; Saab 2-stroke I3 ; 1,498 cc Ford Taunus V4 engine#1.5; Taunus V4 engine; V4 ; 1,698 cc Ford Taunus V4 engine#1.7; Taunus V4
Transmission: 3-speed manual; 4-speed manual; 3-speed Saxomat
Designer: Sixten Sason
Assembly: Sweden: Trollhättan (Trollhättan Assembly); Finland: Uusikaupunki (Valmet Automotive; Saab-Valmet); Belgium: Antwerp
Manufacturer: Saab Automobile