CarBrandLogos archive · Saab · 1968

SaabSaab 99

Saab's first clean-sheet design, and the car that made turbocharging usable.

Photo: Liftarn · CC BY-SA 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in Saab history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Saab 99, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Every Saab up to this point traced back to the 92. The 99 of 1968 did not: it was a larger car for a larger class, designed from scratch by Sixten Sason and completed after his death by Bjorn Envall. The engine, a slant-four developed with Triumph and initially built in Coventry before Saab took production in-house, sat longitudinally with the gearbox beneath it, driving the front wheels.

Saab'Daihatsu' · Ballista · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

The detail engineering is what Saab owners remember. The ignition switch sits on the floor between the seats, positioned so a knee cannot strike a protruding key in a collision. There were headlamp washers and wipers, self-repairing impact-absorbing bumpers, heated seats and a heavily reinforced passenger cell, all of which were unusual in 1968. The Combi Coupe of 1974 added a hatchback with a shape that made the 99 look like the car it had been trying to be all along.

Saab 99 EMS 1974 · Ballista · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

Then came the turbo. Saab was not the first to turbocharge a road car, but it was the first to make one work as everyday transport, using a relatively small turbine with a wastegate to give boost from low revs rather than a sudden surge at the top. The 99 Turbo of 1977, with its distinctive alloy wheels, made a mid-sized family saloon quicker than most sports cars and created the market that the rest of Europe followed.

Saab99turbo-green · Mr.C · CC BY-SA 2.5

Legacy

It worked in competition too: Stig Blomqvist won the 1979 Swedish Rally in a 99 Turbo, the first world championship rally victory for a turbocharged car. Production ran to 1984 alongside the 900, which was essentially the same car with a longer nose, and the 99 remains the point where Saab stopped being a regional specialist and became an engineering brand.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1968–1984

Engine

1709&nbsp

Designer

Sixten Sason

Body

2/4-door saloon

Technical specification

The Saab 99, in detail.

Production: 1968–1984
Class: Compact executive car (D)
Body style: 2/4-door saloon; 3/5-door combi coupé
Layout: Longitudinal front-engine, front-wheel drive
Engine: 1709 cc Triumph Slant-4 engine; Slant-4 Straight-four engine; I4 ; 1854 cc Triumph Slant-4 engine; Slant-4 I4 ; 1985 cc Saab B engine; B I4 ; 1985 cc Saab H engine; H I4 (1982–1984)
Transmission: 4/5-speed manual; 3-speed Borg-Warner 35 automatic
Designer: Sixten Sason
Assembly: Sweden: Trollhättan (Trollhättan Assembly); Finland: Uusikaupunki (Valmet Automotive)
Manufacturer: Saab Automobile