The Rise and Fall of Saab: How a Swedish Plane Company Built the Most Quirky Cars on Earth
Saab had been making planes in Trollhättan, Sweden since the 1930s. But when World War II ended, nobody needed any more planes. So the company did what any self-respecting aeronautical manufacturer would do: they decided to make planes for the road. Cars, in other words.
What followed was one of the strangest, most brilliant, and ultimately most tragic stories in automotive history.
Six Months, One Colour, and a Dirt Bike Engine
Saab’s head designer, Sixten Sason, got to work, and the whole thing was thrown together in only six months. The result was the Saab 92 — an aerodynamic family sedan with a two-stroke engine and suicide doors.
You could get it in any colour you liked, as long as it was green. During the war, the Swedish military had bought a lot of green paint to camouflage their vehicles, but it was the wrong shade. Saab bought the entire batch at a discount and used it on the 92.
A little green aeroplane without wings, powered by what was essentially a dirt bike engine. It sounded insane. But against the odds, Saab had successfully transformed into a real car brand.
The Quirks That Made Saab, Saab
Over the years, Saab updated the 92 to the 93. Then came the Sonett sports car. But it was the release of the Saab 99 in 1968 that launched the company onto the world stage.
The 99 was Sixten Sason’s final project with Saab. He used it to pass the torch to a young designer named Björn Envall. Together, they created a compact sedan that was comfortable, affordable, and dependable — true to its badge, and not without its own quirks.
For one thing, the ignition was moved from the side of the steering wheel down by the handbrake. Why? Because Saab didn’t want you to damage your knee on the key during a crash. It’s a safety consideration that no other car company would even think of.
And then there’s the engine. Saab installed it backwards. This saved room in the cabin because the clutch was now towards the front of the car. It’s something no other car company would even consider — but Saab didn’t think like a car company, because they were a plane company.
The Turbo Revolution
In 1978, Saab made an even better 99, called the 99 Turbo. This was the first time a car company committed to putting a turbocharger in their car as a matter of policy.
Yes, other companies did it first. But for them, it was an experiment. Saab was the first to say: from here on out, we’re putting turbos in our cars.
Today, almost every manufacturer offers a turbocharged model. And it’s all because of Saab.
The 900: An Icon Is Born
In 1979, Saab released their most iconic car of all: the 900. It was a continuation of the 99, but better in every way. The body was restyled to be more aerodynamic. The engine was updated with more power. It had new safety features like a steering column that collapsed in a crash.
And you can’t forget the turbo.
The 900 redefined what an everyman’s car could be. Finally, you could seat five, keep your knees safe from the keys, and have a turbo. The result was a sensation. The Saab 900 went on to become the company’s best-selling car.
The General Motors Era
In 1989, General Motors purchased a fifty-percent share of Saab for six hundred million dollars. Sales of the 900 remained strong, and in 1997, the new Saab 9-5 was presented to the world. The three-millionth Saab was produced that summer.
For a while, things looked good. The 9-5 was listed by three different insurers as the safest car in the world. Saab rolled out the 9-3 in 1998, and it became something of an icon — particularly for Seinfeld fans.
Like the 900 before it, Saab offered an even better version of their new ride. A car so cool it shared a name with a combat jet: the 9-3 Viggen. Swedish for thunderbolt.
With 252 pound-feet of torque and 20 pounds of boost, the Viggen was a front-wheel-drive monster aimed squarely at the BMW M3. It was Saab’s version of the European sport sedan, but it was still uniquely Saab. The ignition was still between the seats, and the dash still looked like it was ripped out of an aeroplane.
The Beginning of the End
Try as they might, Saab could never quite get out from under the shadow of other preferred European cars. So the Swedes were forced to sell the remaining stake in the company to GM.
And with the Americans in full control, the suits in Detroit decided that it was time for the big ideas at Saab to end.
GM shoved Saab’s operation together with Opel, and pretty much everything they put out after that was just a rebadged version of an Opel or a Chevy — and at one point, even a Subaru.
The Saab 9-2X Aero, affectionately known as the Saabaru, was basically a WRX wagon with a different face. Sales fell way off. And GM went into bankruptcy in 2008.
The Final Chapter
GM sold Saab to a new company called National Electric Vehicle Sweden, which hoped to build electric versions of the 9-3 for sale in China. But they wouldn’t be called Saabs. The original aircraft company has reclaimed the rights to that name.
At least for now, we will never see another Saab car again.
What Saab Actually Was
The story of Saab is the story of an independent spirit. A bunch of Swedish aeronautical engineers who decided to make a jet for the road.
There’s no great way to say what makes a Saab great, except that they were Saabs. They were built by people who didn’t think like car people, and that’s exactly why they were special. The ignition between the seats. The engine installed backwards. The turbocharged family sedans. The dashboards that looked like they came out of a cockpit.
Saab didn’t just build cars. They built a philosophy on four wheels. And in a world where every manufacturer now chases the same trends and the same buyers, that’s something worth remembering.
It was the second-best Swedish car company ever. And it built some of the most fascinating machines the industry has ever seen.
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Mike Brown
Mike Brown – One of those authors who helps readers not get lost in today's news flow. He dives into political affairs as well as world events, social trends, and everyday stories that matter to everyone. The main focus of his work is fact-checking, clear language, and the ability to lay out the key points so that the reader gets a comprehensive and reliable picture of the topic in just a few minutes.
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