Gunnar Palm is standing beside the century-old Olidan powerplant of Trollhättan, the home of Saab. In front are three 96s: a standard white Sport and two rally cars, from which Palm (85) saw a lot of scenery fly by as co-driver for Erik 'On the Roof' Carlsson.
It's a miracle what we did with those cars,' says Palm. “We had much less power than everyone else, so Erik's motto was to never take his foot off the throttle. Our Saabs were also relatively heavy and they understeered, but the general handling was very good. They were strong and reliable - and the mechanicals were straightforward. In addition, we always made sure that we were prepared to the extreme. As a result, on more than one occasion we were able to outperform the bigger factory teams, which had budgets that were five to 10 times ours.”
Our presence here in Trollhättan began with Dutch collector Michiel Bakker, a great fan of the idiosyncratic Swedish brand. Some time ago Bakker learned that the 96 Sport Carlsson and Palm drove on the 1963 Spa-Sofia-Liège rally was somewhere north of Stockholm in the hands of an enthusiast, and was due to be auctioned. He immediately leapt into action and bought it. “The previous owner had taken over the car from the factory, but without an engine,” Bakker explains. “He managed to get hold of a correct triple-carburettor unit, and restored the car to the way it was when Palm and Carlsson drove it.
Denne historien er fra June 2022-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
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Denne historien er fra June 2022-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A Breath of Fresh Air- Alfa Romeo's exotic, V8-powered Montreal was like nothing the marque had made before, but can it compare with a Porsche masterpiece, the 911S 2.4?
The stereotype of the ItaloGermanic automotive rivalry is that the Latin car will be brilliant to drive, but poorly built and ergonomically flawed, while the Teutonic will be the opposite. Yet these 2+2 sports coupés both ran against orthodoxy. In the Montreal, Alfa Romeo created an outlandish-looking two-door more comfortable, more powerful and more refined than anything it had produced for decades. Meanwhile, Porsche continued to refine its back-to-front, austere and increasingly aged 911. Neither took a traditional development path, but both created thrilling and individual cars that have echoed through the decades.
Daring to be diminutive
AMC's Gremlin and Pacer, and Ford's much-derided Pinto, led America's response to the threat of imported European compacts
THE LONG WAY ROUND
There is a great tradition of overland trips by Land-Rover, but the tale of this 70s Aussie epic and the car itself was discovered by chance
Handsome cab
The Phantom V limousine marked the beginning of the end for coachbuilder James Young, but this Rolls-Royce represents the craft at its very best
DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
Racing for their own F1 teams brought some drivers success and an enduring legacy. For others, it turned into a nightmare
20 30 LITRES CYLINDERS, 400BHP......AND MORE THAN A CENTURY OLD
Thunderous torque, flame-spitting stub-exhausts, white-knuckle thrills - and hopefully no spills - aboard a trio of Edwardian racing titans
ICON.
The three top-selling vehicles in the USA in 2023 were pick-ups, topped by the Ford F-Series. This is the truck that started it all
Blurred Lines
lan 'Del' Lines blended the V8 burble of Triumph's open GT with real practicality in his Stag V8 saloons and estates
Home of the brave
The innovative Silverstone proved a hit with keen amateur drivers. To mark its 75th, Healey's club racer returns to the circuit for which it is named
PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES
Alfa Romeo's wild RZ eschewed the jellymould styling of the period to offer a striking, wedge-shaped take on open-topped performance motoring