Saab Spyker Automobiles NV will launch an all-new 9-3 in 2012.


On January 26^th, General Motors announced that Spyker Cars had agreed to buy the Saab brand.

Saab Spyker will pitch itself as an "independent, performance-orientated niche car company with an industry-leading environmental strategy." It intends to remain a direct rival to BMW and Audi.

GM will continue to provide support to Saab Spyker with funds and supplies, although the company intends to rely less and less on this support in the future. Saab and Spyker cars will share components in future models.

Saab Spyker will investigate the possibility of launching an entry-level, "9-1" model, although this would require additional funding to the $1 billion currently set aside.

Saab Spyker will also make a 9-5X, in addition to sedan and estate models.

The 9-4X will be added to the range early in 2011.

Spyker cars will be sold throughout Saab's 1,100-strong worldwide dealer network, and the two will also share marketing, sponsorship, promotion, and sales activities. They will, however, be run as separate brands.

Saab Spyker intends to return to profit by 2012. It has managed to secure a 400 million euro European Investment Bank loan, which has been guaranteed by the Swedish government.


Saab in 2003 was the fastest-growing European nameplate in the U.S. market, its sales having increased by 45%, year-over-year. Touting its form-follows-function approach and, less convincingly, the aircraft heritage from whence it sprung, Saab was set to double its product range.

Yet Saab is a tricky brand; just ask General Motors, which has owned (first piecemeal, then whole) the Swedish automaker since the late-80s, and which has yet to realize a return on its investment. The Swedish brand's sales climb in 2003 followed a $551.5 million loss in 2002, its Trollhattan plant operating at a mere 59% capacity.

Saab shifters tend to be rubbery; its cars' refinement tends to be supplanted by "character" as they are pushed. Moreover, it is impossible to make a business case out of mere eccentricity. Brand consultant Bil Murray likes to note in his presentations that, in a class where Mercedes-Benz stands out as an investment; BMW, as sporty; Lexus, as refined; and Volvo, as safe - Saab's eccentricity is hardly an equally marketable, profitable point.

On the other hand, there's an aura of originality about Saab, certainly a likeable brand, even as it lacks the prestige and performance of BMW or Audi.

For the accustomed, Saab's cockpit-style ergonomics are second to none. Placing the ignition switch between the seats, enabling starting and starting off in a single sweep, is but one instance. A Saab's seats are the best in the business; controls are blatantly framed in relevant groups, and little touches - such as placing the trunk release on the front door (where a driver getting out of the car might find it) abound.

Saab also has a remarkable list of safety innovations to its name, as the aforementioned Bil Murray is fond of pointing out.

Saab must prove its worth; its must once again demonstrate its uncanny ability to refine others' ideas in unforseen ways. This has become all the more important in recent years. As Interim President of GM Europe, facing a $116 million loss in the first quarter of 2004, GM's Bob Lutz moves to integrate Saab and Opel/ Vauxhall within one central headquarters in his native Switzerland.

The loss of Design Head Michael Mauer, to Porsche, in 2004 was a blow to Saab. The former Mercedes-Benz designer, who drew up the first Saab concept in fifteen years, jumped ship to replace the retiring Harm Lagaay.

So it was a surprise when, at Geneva 2006, a Saab concept car - only the fifth in its history - stole the show.


When was the last time you saw a Saab on the cover of a monthly publication? CAR, April 2006, featured the Saab Aero X Sport coupé Concept on its cover. Autoweek in March did the same, screaming "how Swede it is!"

When was the last time a Saab led a readers' poll (unscientific or otherwise?) At AutoWeek.com, the Saab Aero X beat the Ferrari 599 GTB in a readers' choice survey of Geneva's offerings.

Saab's core brand values, according to Executive Director of Global Brand and Sales Operations Knut Simonsson, are progressive design; sporty driving, and surprising functionality. No Saab has ever expressed these three values more clearly than Aero X Concept.

Indeed, Saab rediscovers its brand equity with the Aero X - and, in doing so, finds that this equity extends to a rather larger audience than anyone might have dared believe. Saab often talks about "enabling individuality" - and considering the chatter surrounding Aero X Concept, it seems that quite a few individuals want its brand of "emotional functionality."

Penned by Director of Advanced Design for GM Europe Anthony Lo; Alex Daniel (exterior), and Erik Rokke (interior), woking under Executive Director of GM Europe Design Bryan Nesbitt, the Aero X is the most jet-like looking vehicle since flamboyant American concepts of the '50s. Aero X Concept lends substance to Saab's Born from Jets campaign; entices people to take a closer look at the refreshed 9³ and 9⁵ (which feature vaguely similar snouts), and gives credence to the idea that General Motors is committed to making the Swedish brand work.

Pleased with the reaction of an enthused, surprised audience, Aero X Concept's designers talk of having been inspired by the Saab brand. "A dream to work for," says Anthony Lo of Saab, citing the brand as being "rich with elements that a designer can grab-on to.

"The aircraft heritage is pretty unique to Saab" ('X-Actly,' Autoweek, February 27^th, 2006).

"Jets are so different-looking than cars... (yet) this could just as easily have been a fighter jet as a car!

"The future is about looking back, as well as forward, so we can interpret the special qualities that go into making up what a brand stands for. However, in giving products a clear identity, we should not feel restricted by previous design concentions, and the Aero X explores new ways of expressing what Saab stands for."

Architectural intricacy in form was vital. Yet Alex Daniel mandated that aviation cues would be subtle, "without using showy gimmicks, which would not be the Saab way." A clean body - fuselage - was the goal. The eye could not be attracted to any particular point, save for perhaps small aluminum sections, intended to evoke winglets, under the door mirrors. All inlets are functional. No A-pillars are in evidence, reminiscent of both fighter jets, and of Saab's longtime focus on aerodynamics and visibility. Alloy wheels are of a turbofan design. All exterior and interior lighting is by LED, faster in its actuation; more striking in its appearance, and more compact in its packaging. Single LEDs in the headlamps take care of both full and dipped beam, while LEDs in the rear's slim, opaque white bar are diffused to disguise the pinpoint light source.

In a rare bout of whimsy, the entire cockpit opens; slides forward, and flips up. That one-piece housing - a canopy, Saab calls it - consists of wrap-around screen; glass roof; side windows, and side body panels. It all swings open, extruding from the carbon fiber bodywork, revealing entry and egress favoring Saab's traditionally ergonomic, functional focus. This, Saab implores, is its aircraft for the road. Jets do not have doors!

Inside, conventional dials and buttons have ben eliminated, in favor of reflection and refraction techniques derived from Swedish glass and precision instrument manufacture. Data is displayed on glass-like, acryclic clear zones in 3-dimensional images. Saab's traditional green illumination, ergonomically among the best color choices, remains, as do buttons rather than, perhaps, a touch screen. "We wanted to preserve the positive, tactile feel of using a button," explains Rokke.

"In a sporty car such as this, the driver should have direct interaction with the controls... there should appear to be some kind of mechanical action or correction, even though we are using electronics."

With a touch of 9-X Concept in its front end, and a dash of old Sonett at the rear, Aero X Concept prominently features turbocharging and Biopower, both of which are important Saab technologies. Saab remains tight lipped about Aero X's production possibilities. The official line is that Aero X's "innovative features preview an enhanced design langage that will inspire future Saab products."


Saab owners tend to be intensely loyal, but Saab has consistently had trouble attracting buyers outside this niche.

Two more notorious recent attempts - the 9^2X wagon and 9^7X SUV - were both based on existing models within the GM portfolio: the 9^2X, on the Subaru Impreza, and the 9^7X, on the GMT360 Buick Rainier/ Chevrolet Trailblazer/ GMC Envoy/ Oldsmobile Bravada II.

To generate much needed cash for a company which had never produced more than 100,000 cars in one year, General Motors chose the two segments expected to explode most: premium compacts, and premium SUVs. Saab in 2004 predicted that the former would triple in size from 45,000 to 150,000, in the American market, by 2006, and that the latter would encompass 470,000 units.


"Saab's new hieroglypic pair heretical only if history is ignored," ran the headline of an article which appeared on this site on July 8^th, 2004. We noted that Saab's idiosyncrasy had ever been peripherally applied. After all, the very definition of idiosyncrasy suggests a bucking of trends set by others.

By and large, Saab made its name through the ingenious, unique tweaking of borrowed pieces.

Moreover, the 9^2X and 9^7X were hardly the most cynical Saabs ever. Back in 1975, Saab took Autobianchi's A112 back to Sweden, marketing and selling it within its own stable. Some years later, the 1979 Lancia Delta was badged a Saab - the Saab Lancia 600 GLS - without a single change save for badging.

Although neither 9^2X nor 9^7X set the sales charts afire, the 9^2X was perhaps the most well-rounded Subaru ever produced, thanks to the efforts of Saab engineers to smooth its design; ride quality, and interior (all traditional Subaru Achilles Heels). For GM, teaming Saab with fellow rally-bred; forced-aspiration; first-rate safety record; willfully form-over-function Subaru was a natural move.

Judging by pundit reactions to GM's plans for Saab, one might be forgiven for thinking that Saab had been enslaved into mortality against its will. Saab Cars USA is relocating its home office from Norcross, Georgia, to Detroit... Saab is using others' platforms... Saab is using others' engines...

Even BMW Group CEO Helmut Panke went on record, in 2003, as saying that the 9^2X and 9^7X were "decisions Saab and General Motors are making for financial reasons because they feel they have no options, with Saab's profits nonexistent.

"What will the Saab brand stand for ten years from now with products that don't match the brand?" (Driven, David Kiley, John Wiley & Sons, 2004)

Such comments are neither alien to Saab, nor specific to the era of GM control. Saab's dependence has been a preexisting and self-imposed situation; and its idiosyncrasy, while a welcome dash of color and often authentically different, has been peripherally applied since time immemorial.

Saab enthusiasts have long been able to ignore the intrinsic parts-sharing in their vehicles, provided that certain basic Saabisms are maintained. In 2001, Saab Design Head Michael Mauer defined those aspects as wraparound windshields; three-hole grilles; driver-oriented aeronatic cockpit interiors; turbocharging, and "a heritage of solving the contradiction between the pure joy of motoring and practicality." As an example of the latter, Mauer cited the 9⁵'s cupholders, which elegantly fold out of the dashboard and flip open.

The Saab U.S. importer's headquarters was in Georgia for only a decade before it moved. While 9³ models have shared a platform with Opel/ Vauxhall's Vectra, the 9000 before them was based on a platform co-developed with the Fiat Group and PSA Peugeot/ Citroen. Saab's line-up in the U.S., pre-GM, contained engines sourced from Ford of Germany, and from Triumph, all the way through 1975. While Saab's persistence with turbocharging is commendable, its turbos were - as were several other manufacturers' at the turn of the '80s - sourced from Garrett. Packaged engines and transmissions have been delivered to Trollhattan from Germany since 1993, when GM owned just 50% of Saab Automobile AB.

Recalls Automobile, "it's easy to forget that many Saab loyalists - American consumers and Swedish insiders alike - despised the company's first mainstream open-air car.

"The funky 900 that showed up at the Frankfurt show in 1983 with its roof lopped off by (of all people) the American Sunroof Company was jeered by many as a woeful admission that iconoclastic Saab was in the car business to make money - just like everybody else" (Automobile, September 2003).

Indeed, those against Saabs which are not built in Trollhattan might note that the 9³ convertible, surely an iconic car for Saab, is today built in Austria, and was previously built in Finland.

When Saab under General Motors launches the 9³ in 2003, Saabists are not altogether happy. It cannot, they say, be a true successor to the 900; there is no hatchback model. A quarter century earlier, Saab saw a similar reaction when it produced a 900 sedan for 1981. Car and Driver spoke of heresy, suggesting that the form follows function ethos of Saab had been compromised.

Already, the writing was on the wall for Saab's "independence." Wrote Car and Driver, "the carmaking arm of Saab-Scania AB - which also manufactures such things as jet fighters and long-haul tractor trailers - is so tiny (it sold only 75,000 cars worldwide in 1980) that it can't possibly finance the development of a new model... so the next generation of Saabs, due in the mid-80s, will be designed jointly with Lancia" (Car and Driver, January 1981).

The 9000 emerges in 1986 as, indeed, a joint prodject with Lancia (as well as Fiat and PSA/ Peugeot-Citroen).

In 1990, GM finds a company in dire need of new product. Saab has just two model lines - the 900 and 9000 - and the 900 has been running since 1979, its 2-liter engine used since 1973, bolstered by continued refinement in turbocharging and fuel injection.

One Saab takes 110 hours to build. GM sets about shortening this to 30 hours.

GM's extensive resources enable Saab to launch a new 900 for 1994. The public loves it; the car is back-ordered by 3,000 units at launch. Next is a new 9000 - the 9⁵ - for 1998.


"The very soul of Saab is that of independence," figures CNNMoney.com staff writer Peter Valdes-Dapena.

"Saab is a counter-culture product... you buy it because you want to be unique" ('GM's plan to outmaneuver Toyota,' CNNMoney.com, October 7^th, 2007).

Indeed, Saab is positioning itself as a niche brand, targeting what it describes as individualistic persons who reject mainstream trends. "Our vision is to be the most desirable expression of individuality in the premium car segment," says Saab.

The target group is described as "drivers who are looking for an alternative to mainstream mass-market brands"; as a "mixture of the modern luxury and post-modern exclusivity class."

In 2000, the Swedish automaker targets just 10 million potential buyers, worldwide, over a three-year period. It posts 5% global sales growth in 2006, selling 133,000 vehicles (90,000 in Europe). In 2007, it makes roughly the same number, selling 84,100 in Europe (a 6.6% decline).

So far, parent General Motors, which acquired a 50% stake in Saab Automobile AB in 1989 and took full ownership in 2000, seems to think that Saab is worth the hassle.

Saab in late 2007 talks of scaling back its operations and sales targets to meet or exceed 150,000 units sold per year, 100,000 units less than its previous target. Saab CEO Jan-Ake Jonsson, speaking at Frankfurt 2007, emphasizes that "Saab should offer models that are distinct from its much larger rivals... we will no longer strive to become a better BMW than BMW."


GM's commitment to Saab has often been questioned, but the fact remains that Saab is GM's European premium brand in a segment that is growing. Saab is sometimes referred to as upper-liberal; marketers who label it as such may dub Cadillac, upper-conservative. The Saab brand brings a different set of buyers to GM, people who might not otherwise buy a GM vehicle. Through tough times for GM in 2005, GM Europe Chairman Carl-Peter Forster emphasizes that Saab has enough value for the cash-strapped American giant to try to rebuild it.

Saab has a history of sporting yet functional cars packed with personality and charisma. Versus even luxury competitors in Europe, Saab can boast some particularly affluent and well-educated buyers. They're often described as being iconoclastic; not easily swayed.

In 1998, the New York Times reports that 85% of Saab buyers are college graduates, and that more than half have post-graduate degrees. Speaking in September 2002, Dan Chasins, President and COO of Saab USA, notes that the brand has "the highest percentage of college and post-graduate degrees in our population, of any brand in the U.S. market... (that population) also tends to be fairly high in household income, well over $100,000 median income."

Asks GM Europe Chairman Carl-Peter Forster, "why would we want to give up on those buyers?"

"We like the brand, we like its customers," echoes GM Vice Chairman for Product Development Robert A. Lutz, who at Geneva 2006 reports that Saab is showing enough promise to have convinced Tracinda's Jerry York - GM's newest board member - to recant his suggestion that GM cut the brand loose.

Writes BBC Top Gear presenter and columnist Jeremy Clarkson, "you could have a dinner party for Saab drivers, and it would be brilliant... they'd be opinionated; interesting, and well-read" (Born to be Riled, 1999).

Saab's three key markets are the U.S.; the U.K., and Sweden. Together, these markets account for two-thirds of Saab sales.


Respect for the environment, says Saab, is a Scandinavian tradition. Saab is among the first to sell E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) cars in Europe, while showing turbocharged, E100 (100% ethanol) concepts. Saabspeak for its use of GM's Flexfuel technology is Biopower, an extension of what the Swedish brand feels is its reputation for social responsibility.

Saab's signature turbocharging process is so adept at accepting E85 that use of the fuel boosts power by as much as 25 to 30 hp.

"Turbocharging and bioethanol make excellent partners," smiles Kjell ac Bergstrom, Executiv Director of Saab Automobile Powertrain AB.

"In developing the BioPower V6 engine for the Aero Concept X, we have been able to take the next step by using E100 fuel, pure 100% bioethanol. That means there are zero fossil CO₂ emissions because we are not using any gasoline at all.

"Although the engine is optimized for E100, the engine management system will still make adjustments for any bioethanol/ gasoline blend in the tank. So, if there is no bioethanol available, the customer can still use gasoline at any time."

A 12:1 compression ratio is exceptionally high for a turbocharged engine, is it not? Yet pure bioethanol (E100) has an octane rating of 106 RON, versus gasoline's 95 RON. By combining bioethanol with turbocharging, Saab's BioPower technology exploits the high octane performance of this fuel.

The author of the excellent Trollhattan Saab blog recalls the days when the entire Saab lin-up was turbocharged, and ponders whether Saab could be the first manufacturer to offer a full line-up of Tri-Fuel - gasoline; ethanol, and diesel - vehicles.


In 1977, the 99 Turbo was nothing short of a revelation. Its forced induction allowed the car to use a 4-cylinder engine, balancing period government demands for fuel economy and clean air with customer demands for performance and affordability.

Several years later, the 1985 Saab EV-1 Concept featured a glasshouse which drew light for solar cells to power its ventilation system.

Today, Saab is contemplating its first hybrid model, which may use the parallel hybrid technology debuted in Saturn's 2^nd-generation, front-wheel-drive Vue crossover.


Saab likes to recall that a safety cage was designed into its very first car, more than a half-century ago. The company began fitting seat belts in 1962, and was the first to fit headlamp washers (1970) and side-impact door beams (1972).

The 1985 EV-1, Saab's first and only concept (discounting the 1947 Ursaab 92.001) until the 2001 9-X, had a pronounced glass house; Aramid-reinforced fiberglass body panels that could resume their shape after a minor impact, and much-touted extra-bright headlamps.

In 1988, the Saab 9000 features standard anti-lock brakes (ABS). The 900 follows for 1990.

The 1991 9000 CS offers, Saab says, one of the strongest side-impact protection systems in existence. Insurance statistics tend to support this claim.

By 1993, the 2^nd-generation Saab 900 features a rear seat with load-retention beam for better rear side-impact protection, and three rear 3-point seat belts.

The Saab 9⁵ of 1997 features the world's first Active Head Restraint system. In 1998, the 9³ debuts dual-stage side airbags.

Then, there is the location of that ignition, placed next to the floor-mounted shifter on most Saabs. Writes Saab enthusiast Alison Beaton of Brookline, New Hampshire, "what may appear to most as an automotive eccentricity is actually a carefully engineered safety innovation.

"Do we Saabists whine endlessly about binding up our ignition switches with dirt and debris? Absolutely. But that's a minor annoyance compared with surgery to remove a key ring from a knee after a collision" (Motor Trend, July 2004).

The current 9³ convertible has a DynaCage rollover-protection feature, with pop-up rollbars hidden behind the rear-seat headrests.

Jeremy Clarkson ventures that Saab's approach to ergonomics and safety has an impact on one's driving style. Unscientifically, of course. "Has a Saab ever jumped a red light or tailgated you on the motorway?" Clarkson asks.

"Have you ever seen a Saab being driven in anything other than a considerate and stealthy fashion?

"No... neither have I.

"This is because the sort of people who are drawn to this image-free environment are the sort of people who don't use their subconscious to drive. They know that to do it properly, they have to concentrate - absolutely - on the job at hand. So they do. And that's why they never carve us up" (Born to be Riled, BBC, 1999).

In 1990, the Saab Car division is restructured as an independent company. General Motors buys 50% of Saab Automobile AB for $500 million. At the turn of the Millennium, GM purchases the company outright.


Saab enters the premium segment in 1984, with the 9000 Turbo, co-designed with the Fiat Group. Though the 9000 Turbo's dimensions are not far removed from a Saab 900's, its generous interior space qualifies it as a large car by U.S. EPA standards.

In 1986, the Saab 900 Convertible is introduced. It proves tremendously popular, and becomes a key image car for the company.


1956 sees the debut of the Sonett Super Sport, Saab's first sports car. With 47.5 brake horsepower (@ 5,000 rpm) from its 3-cylinder, two-stroke engine, and weighing 500 kilograms, Sonett boasts a top speed of 160 km/h. Yet it is solely an experiment; just six are built.

Meanwhile, Saab focuses on producing its first wagon (the 95 of 1959). It enters the '60s with the Saab 96, a car that will become its most successful to date, selling almost 550,000 copies during a 20-year run.

Enthusiasm returns as the Saab 96 wins the Monte Carlo Rally twice - in 1962 and 1963 - in the hands of Erik Carlsson. One man has won the event twice in a row for the first time since the '30s. To capitalize, Saab produces a production version of Carlsson's car - the 52-horsepower Saab Sport, with front disc brakes - and a second sports car, the Sonett II (Saab 97). With a fiberglass-reinforced plastic body, Sonett II delivers adequate performance from even a two-stroke engine, but it - like all Saabs by 1967 - is soon equipped with a V4 from Ford of Germany.

The Saab 99 of 1967, effectively a revamped 96, takes the company into the '70s. Originally a sedan, the 99 evolves into the 1973 Combi coupé, a hatchback which defines the basic shape of Saabs to come for the next twenty years. The Saab 99 is the first automobile to offer headlap washers (1970); 5-mph impact bumpers (1971); heated seats (1971), and side-impact door beams (1972).

Despite these innovations, the Saab is nonetheless perceived as somewhat staid; an icon of front-driven respectability.

More horsepower would help, but a six-cylinder engine is too expensive. The 99 uses a 1.7-liter engine sourced from Triumph. In 1972, Saab begins building the engine itself and, the following year, boosts its displacement to 1,985cc. The engine will serve Saab for almost thirty years hence.

Then, at Frankfurt 1977, the Swedes fight back with a middleweight executive turbo express.

Unlike Porsche's turbocharged 911 of 1974, and BMW's 2002 Turbo of 1973-74, the 99 Turbo brings forced induction to the mainstream. For the first time, a turbocharged engine with everyday affordability and reliability has been created. "So unpredictably thrrilling that the adrenaline started to course again, even in our hardened arteries," writes Autocar of the 99 Turbo in 1978.

Meanwhile, Stig Blomqvist wins the Swedish Rally ouright in his Saab 99 Turbo in 1979, marking the first time that a turbocharged car has won a World Championship rally.

99 Turbo is succeeded by the 900 Turbo of 1980. Further mainstreaming forced-induction technology, Saab introduces its APC system, which adjusts the engine to run on varying fuel grades by raising or lowering turbo boost.

In 1983, the Saab 900 Turbo 16S - also known as the Aero - becomes the world's first car with a turbocharged 16-valve engine.

Turbocharging gave Saab a much needed, fundamental mechanical difference for a while. By 1980, however, the technology had attracted industry-wide attention. Saab bought its T3-model turbochargers from AiResearch, but so too did Buick; Ford; Pontiac; International Harvester, and Mercedes-Benz. A division of the Garrett Corporation, AiResearch had been experimenting with turbos since 1955. Such was the concern about the changing market environment that, as Don Sherman wrote for Car and Driver, "most of the world's car manufacturers are tooling up new, small-displacement 4- and 6-cylinder engines so they can retire their old gas guzzlers" (Car and Driver, April 1980).

Yet Saab's claim to fame, turbocharging, would become fascinating in its persistence. It is Saab's most inherent idiosyncrasy, flying in the face of the American market's consistent desire for engines with more than four cylinders.

At Geneva 2000, Saab premieres new technology dubbed Saab Variable Compression, working in conjunction with supercharging. Saab has succeded in varying the compression ratio between 8:1 and 14:1 by adjusting the slope of the (separate) monohead in relation to the block, based on instructions from its Trionic engine management. The system is more efficient than is a fixed compression ratio; offers better resistance to knocking, and accepts both gas and diesel fuels.

The caveat? It works best on inline engines. With GM equipping the Saab 9^7X with its excellent inline-6, incorporating SVC would have given Saab something inherently unique to talk about.


In 1969, Saab AB and Swedish truck manufacturer Scania-Vabis AB merge under the name Saab-Scania AB.


Saab stands for Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, founded in 1937 as a national manufacturer of military aircraft, in the hope of protecting Sweden's neutrality during World War II. Following the war, Saab presents its 92.001 prototype at a press conference in 1947. The car has a transverse two-stroke engine; a safety cage, and a wing-shaped profile. Though the design carries a certain rear-biased visual weight, Saab has become among the first to realize the advantages of front-wheel drive.

Unbelievably, too, the 92.001 - Ursaab - boasts a 0.32 coefficient of drag.

Thanks in large part to former Rover and Standard engineer Gunnar Ljungstrom, prototype 92.001 becomes the 92, Saab's first car, with production beginning in 1949.

Over 20,000 Saab 92 models are built until production ceases in 1956.

From 1950 through 1965, all Saab models will use a two-stroke engine heavily inspired by pre-war DKW models, albeit with Saab's own roller main bearings and ball bearings. Saab adds a cylinder in 1955, creating the 38-horsepower, 3-cylinder 748cc 93, with a new transmission and tubeless tires.

The original 92.001 prototype, used for road testing, is today on display in unrestored, original condition at the Saab Museum in Trollhattan.