SAAB 99

It may be hard to believe but it’s half a century since Saab unveiled its first mainstream car in the shape of the 99.

Of all the defunct car brands littering the history of the European car industry, one of the most disappointing disappearances must be that of Saab. Its history as a car maker was surprisingly short, spanning just 62 years from its first car in 1949 to the halt of mainstream production in 2011, but during its brief existence it taught the world how to make turbocharging work and pioneered some very modern safety systems.

Saab was always noted for ploughing its own furrow and the models produced in the ’50s and ’60s were notable for their quirky styling which reflected the firm’s genesis as a brand created by aeroplane engineers.

The beetle-backed shape was designed to impart strength to the body shell in the style of an aeroplane fuselage’s stressed skin and the two-stroke engine’s simplicity required less maintenance in freezing rural Sweden. Mounting the engine over the driven wheels gave the car good traction in the snow, while front-wheel drive allowed a flat underside which could skate over packed snow.

Despite their suitability for the home market, Saab did gradually give its cars more mainstream appeal as the 92 became the 93 and then the 96, gaining the 95 estate car along the way and the Ford V4 engine in 1967. Despite this, they remained a left-field choice, but that changed with the unveiling of the all-new Saab 99 in 1967.

Drive a 99 today and it seems incredible that the basic design of this very modern-feeling car was first unveiled in an age when you could still buy a Mk2 Jaguar and Volkswagen was still relying on rear-mounted air-cooled power.