A superb and rare photo of the Saab
96 during the extraordinary heavy Monte Carlo Rally in 1963 with
Erik Carlsson and Gunnar Palm.
The Saab
96 is an automobile made by Swedish car manufacturer Saab. It was
introduced in 1960 and was produced until January 1980, a run of 20 years.
Like the 93 it replaced, the 96 was a development from the old Saab 92 chassis
and, on account of its improvements and modernization, it opened new markets
for the company. It was the car for which the marquee Saab became
internationally known, not least because of its safety innovations and its
motor sport successes. It was the first Saab model officially imported to the UK. The front
suspension used independent wishbones and coil springs, while the rear
suspension was a trailing U-beam axle with coil springs. Telescopic dampers
were used for all four wheels. Earlier models had drum brakes all around. Later
models were fitted with front disc brakes. Alloy wheels became standard on the
last models & are now available again from Compomotive. The bodywork
differed little from that of the Saab 93, but the rear had undergone
improvements in 1960, providing more trunk space, a larger trunk opening, and a
much larger rear window with better visibility. The original 'bull-nose' front
section of the 96 was lengthened for 1965 models, in preparation for a new
engine, and the radiator was placed ahead of the engine, rather than above and
behind, a leftover from the thermosiphon cooling days. Both front and rear
windows were again enlarged slightly for 1968 models. In 1969, the Saab 99
appeared, which was a much more modern concept that was designed to replace the
96. However, the latter continued until 1980, by which time the new, longer 900
had appeared in 1979, which eventually replaced the 99 in 1984. Saab's
still-larger car, the 9000 appeared in 1985. As first designed, the 96 had a
750 cc, 38 hp (28 kW) three-cylinder Saab two-stroke engine. By 1963 this
was increased to 841 cc, 40 hp (30 kW). An optional 57 hp
(43 kW) version of the engine, with triple carburetors and oil injection,
was used in the Sport and Monte Carlo
models. In 1967 the 96V4 appeared, with the Ford Taunus V4 engine, a
four-stroke 1498 cc V4 engine, originally developed for the 1962 Ford
Taunus 12M. Saab's project to source a four-stroke engine was dubbed 'Operation
Kajsa'. The first V4 engines produced 55 hp (48 kW) and 65 hp
(48 kW) from 1977-1980). The car made 0-100 km/h in 16 seconds.
The two-stroke option continued into 1968. In the USA, the two-stroke engine was
called the 'Shrike' at that time. Its displacement was reduced slightly, to
819 cc to avoid emission regulations which exempted engines under
50 c.i. Throughout its life span, the Saab 96 and its station wagon
sibling, the Saab 95, had the gear lever mounted on the steering column. This
became an increasing rarity in the auto industry during the 1960s and '70s, but
was an appreciated feature among rally drivers who could change gears faster
than with a floor-mounted lever. The gearbox originally had three gears, the
first unsynchronized. Later, a four-speed option was offered and the
three-speed was phased out. In order to overcome the problems of overrun for
the two-stroke engine, a freewheel device was fitted. This was retained in the
four-stroke variant, until the end of production. The Saab 96 was also
available as an station wagon (estate) version, sold as the Saab 95 (not to be
confused with the later Saab 9-5). The Saab 96 was driven most famously by Erik
Carlsson, in many international rallies. His most famous successes were first
in the 1960, 1961 and 1962 RAC
Rallies and first in the 1962 and 1963 Monte Carlo Rallies. It was these
successive, top-level victories that put the Saab 96 'on the map' and
established its reputation for reliability and toughness. Carlsson also
competed in the East African Safari rally. Famous rallying names such as Simo
Lampinen, Per Eklund, Pat Moss-Carlsson, Tom Trana, Stig Blomqvist and Carl
Orrenius have also been connected with the Saab 96. The last production date
for the Saab 96 was January
11, 1980 (VIN 96806002814), the last VIN (96806002820) was produced
on January 3, 1980.
These cars were built by Valmet in Uusikaupunki,
Finland. The
Saab 96 was outlived by the Saab 99 and ultimately replaced by the Saab 900,
introduced the previous year. A total of 547,221 were made.
This is a very
nice and very rare non period photo
that reflects a wonderful era of Saab ‘s and the Swedish Rally ’s automotive
history in a wonderful way. This is your
rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large
format of ca. 8" x 11" (ca. 20 x 28 cm). It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.
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more SAAB and Swedish Rally and other automotive photos.