On this date in Automotive History: June 10 1947 Saab: From the Air to the Open Road On this day in 1947, Saab introduced its first car, the model 92 prototype. Saab had been primarily a supplier of military aircraft before and during World War II, but with the end of the war, company executives realized the need to diversify the company’s production capabilities. After an exhaustive planning campaign that at one point led to the suggestion that Saab manufacture toasters, company executives decided to start building motor cars. Saab director Sven Otterbeck placed aircraft engineer Gunnar Ljungstrom in charge of creating the company’s first car. Ljungstrom sketched his ideas for an aerodynamic, light-framed, and safe automobile, and then enlisted the skills of noted industrial designer Sixten Sason to translate the sketches into an automobile ready for production. In search of a name for their new car, Saab executives elected to stay with their existing numbering system: Model numbers 1 through 89 were taken up by military aviation projects, and 90 and 91 by commercial aircraft projects, so the first Saab automobile became the "Model 92." The numbering system wasn’t the only idea Saab executives held on to: All Model 92s came in Saab’s standard color, aircraft green. While the prototype Model 92s ran with German-engineered DKW engines, the Saab engine was ready in the summer of 1947. The car received rave reviews from the Swedish press after its unveiling, although the first 92s didn’t hit Swedish showrooms until December of 1949. The Model 92 came equipped with a two-cylinder, two-stroke, twenty-five horsepower engine that propelled the Saab at a top speed of sixty-two miles per hour. After only a month of production Saab began its distinguished history of rally-car racing, entering the 92 in the Monte Carlo Rally. Saab’s durability, handling, and mid-range acceleration lent themselves to the arduous, off-road nature of rally racing, and Saab cars proved to be a force in the world of rally car racing between 1950 and 1980, and again in 1996, after a sixteen-year hiatus from the circuit.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 18:06:56 +0000
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