2007: Celebrating Sixty Years of Independent Thinking

The first Saab car was revealed to the automotive world on 10th June 1947 in a staff canteen at the aircraft company’s Linköping headquarters in Sweden. Such humble beginnings marked the birth of what has become a major international brand. 60 years later, Saab is still recognised as the premium car manufacturer for independent-minded drivers.
In celebration of our upcoming diamond jubilee, we’ve assembled a potpourri of 60 little ‘gems’. It’s intended to express something of the passion and tradition for innovative, independent thinking that continues to inspire the Saab brand and the development of its products today.

Did you know that,,,
James Bond, special agent 007, drove a Saab 900 Turbo? Or that Grand Prix driver Sir Stirling Moss once navigated for Saab rally legend Erik Carlsson, who incidentally, ended up marrying Sir Stirling’s sister Pat? And that Saab not only produced aircraft, but also a series of ultra-light caravans? Or that for optimum roll-over protection, the windscreen pillars and header rail on the current Saab 9-3 Convertible are strong enough to support a total weight of 3.5 tonnes, equivalent to 2.2 times the weight of the car, and that our cars are also designed to help you avoid hitting a wild moose, which is a fairly regular occurrence on Swedish roads?!

To find out more about some of Saab’s design innovations over the last six decades, please click on the attached pdf or word file. Whatever your interest, we hope you’ll find this review of Saab’s first 60 years entertaining, informative, and even a little surprising in places – just as you would expect from the Saab brand.

About Saab
Saab is GM’s European premium brand, reflecting a unique Scandinavian design ethic, fused with a strong aircraft engineering heritage. Saab’s distinctive cars benefit from the best of GM’s worldwide capability, while being engineered and designed to cater for the exacting requirements of the global premium motorist.
Saab was founded in Sweden in 1937 as Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Swedish Aircraft Company), revealing the prototype for its first aircraft-inspired passenger car in 1947. UK sales commenced in 1960.