Sonett

The Sonett was introduced at the Stockholm Motor Show in February 1956, and made quite an impression. It was next shipped to the United States along with 4 model 93s for the introduction of Saab Cars at International Auto Show in April 1956. The cars caused quite a stir - Ralph Millet reportedly received an offer from one gentleman who wanted to purchase the lot, and Saab Motors was firmly established in the United States from that point on.
Test runs throughout the Spring and Summer of '56 were sucessful, and in November '56, Mellde received the company's order for construction of 5 more of the test cars. These were completed by the Spring of '57, and Saab had hoped to begin series production of the cars withn a few months at Jensen in Britain. At the time, Jensen was building the P1800 for Volvo, and it was subsequently brought to Saab management's attention that Americans perceived the quality of British-built sports car to be somewhat less than reliable.This stalled the Sonett project temporarily. But by November, plans had been changed to have the car produced in Sweden, and projections were to have 2000 units produced per year. Unfortunately, international competition rules changed at the same time, permitting the tuning of standard production cars for competition. The 93 was in, and sadly, the Sonett was out.

The Sonett I - the car that almost was.
The Saab Super Sport Sonett, or Sonett I, was a 2-seater, high performance sports car, made as a prototype for competition in international GT and Class H events, but with plans to be produced for the general public as well. Racing rules at the time prevented the Saab 93 from being tuned to a competitive level, and Saab needed a GT car to compete successfully. The 1st prototype was built between 1954 and 1955, through a joint design effort by Rolf Mellde and Sixten Sason. Mellde's 2-seat aluminum chassis used a Saab 93 748cc 2-stroke engine, tuned to develop 57.5hp at 5000 rpm. Sason's body design employed fiberglass - a material that was considered fairly futuristic at the time - and the vehicle ultimately weighed in at only 1100 pounds, making it a bit of a rocket in relative terms. It was unofficially designated the Saab 94.

Legend has it that Sason exclaimed upon seeing the finished product: "Sa natt" ("So nice") - but that's not exactly true. Years earlier, Sason had labeled one of his first sketches of the 92 prototype "SONETT", but the name didn't stick - read: Saab management nixed the idea. Now, a new car evolved to wear that badge. Actually, Saab Management hadn't been too thrilled with the idea of this car either. But as it came into being after countless hours of time volunteered by Mellde, Sason, and numerous others, the company came to embrace the new car, and excitedly planned to introduce it to the press and public.

Those first 6 cars are still alive today. The Saab Museum in Trollhattan has the blue and the white models in its posession - the blue one has always been with Saab in Sweden. The white one, the first Sonett made, came to the Museum when the Phillipsons Museum closed, and set a new Swedish speed record on September 5, 1996, acheiving 159.4 kph! A red model is in the hands of a private collector in Sweden, while Number 4 - the green one - was thought lost or unrepairable, but turns out has been resurrected, and is in private hands in Sweden as well.

For a fascinating update on a recent reunion of all the European Sonett Is, click here (thanks to Bob and Wolfgang).

There are two Sonett Is in the US - an orange-red car belongs to Saab Cars USA, and is meticulously maintained by John Moss, Saab wrench extraordinaire. The other, a white car with blue racing stripe is in private ownership, but typically makes the rounds to nearby Saab events, thanks to its enthusiastic owner.

For additional insight on the Saab Super Sport Sonett, please click any of these links: site 1 site 2 site 3 site 4 site 5 site 6
For a press release on the Saab Super Sport, please click here

Thanks go to TSN, Chris Moberg, Dennis Sweeney, Thor Carlson, and a host of others for the photos. If any of these are copyrighted, and their owners wish them removed, please simply email me and I'll be happy to make the necessary changes.

The Super Sport Sonett at the New York Coliseum in April 1956

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