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| Saab Sonett Mk1 © Martin Bergstrand |
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On March 16, 1956 the Saab Sonett Super Sport or Saab 94 (later known as Sonett I) was displayed at Stockholms Bilsalong. Only 6 made, the original had a hand crafted body and the other was made in fibreglass using the original as model. It had a three cylinder 748 cc two stroke engine giving 57.5 hp. The body design was advanced for its time and was based on aluminium boxes. However the racing rules were changed and since Saab now was allowed to race using tuned up standard cars only six were produced. In September 1996 car number 1 broke the swedish speed record for cars up to 750 cc with a speed of 159.4 km/h.
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| 1968 Saab Sonett Mk2 V4 © Martin Bergstrand |
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In the 1960s Björn Karlström suggested that SAAB should develop a new two seater sports car with two stroke engine, but this time a coupe and not a cabriolet. Two prototypes were developed, the Saab MFI13 by Malmö Flygindustri and the Saab Catherina by Sixten Sason. The MFI13 was the one selected for production. In 1966 the MFI13 was, after some modifications, put into production at ASJ in Arlöv as "Saab 97". The engine was a three cylinder, two stroke engine giving 60 hp. The Sonett II could do 0-100 km/h in 12.5 seconds and had a top speed of 150 km/h.
When Saab started using the Ford V4 engine in their standard cars they of course also wanted to use it in the Sonett and it was changed to Sonett II V4, with the 1500 Ford V4 engine and a 'bulge' on the hood/bonnet. The bulge was necessary to fit in the larger engine and the new hood was designed by Gunnar A Sjögren. The bulge is slightly to the right so it would not obstruct the view of the driver. The engine produced 65 hp and the Sonett II V4 made 0-100 km/h in 12.5 s and had a top speed of 160 km/h.
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| 1973 Saab Sonett Mk3 © Martin Bergstrand |
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In the 1970s the Sonett design started to feel a bit outdated and for the redesigned Sonett III Saab called in Sergio Coggiola. It was important that the middle section would be unaltered, but Coggiola ignored that and made a significantly wider car, but the design was altered by Gunnar A Sjögren to fit the middle section. Due to demands from the US market the Sonett III had a floor shift instead of the column shift as used in the previous models. It also came with an optional air conditioning, also a request from the US market.
The Sonett III used the same V4 engine, started with 1500 cc from 1972 with 1700 version and the type indicator '97' in the chassis number. The engine gave 65 hp and the Sonett III made 0-100 km/h in 13 s and had a top speed of 165 km/h. Production was ended in 1974 due to stricter exhaust reguations in the US.