The Saab 93 (pronounced ''ninety-three'') is the second production

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

that was manufactured by Swedish automaker Saab. Styled by

Sixten Sason Karl-Erik Sixten Sason (born Sixten Andersson; 1912–1967) was a Swedish industrial designer, noted for his work in designing several generations of Saab automobiles. Biographical Sason was born in 1912, the son of a Swedish sculptor. He t ...

, it was first presented on December 1, 1955. The 93 was powered by a longitudinally-mounted three-cylinder 748 cc Saab two-stroke engine giving 33 hp (25 kW). The

gearbox A transmission (also called a gearbox) is a mechanical device invented by Louis Renault (who founded Renault) which uses a gear set—two or more gears working together—to change the speed, direction of rotation, or torque multiplication/r ...

had three gears, the first unsynchronised. In order to overcome the problems of oil starvation on overrun (engine braking) for the two-stroke engine, a

freewheel image:Freewheel en.svg, Freewheel mechanism In mechanical engineering, mechanical or automotive engineering, a freewheel or overrunning clutch is a device in a transmission (mechanics), transmission that disengages the driveshaft from the driv ...

device was fitted. In 1957, two-point seatbelts were introduced as an option. The 93 was the first Saab to be exported from Sweden, with most exports going to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. A Saxomat

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...

and a cabrio coach (large cloth sunroof) were available as options. On September 2, 1957, the 93B was introduced. The original two-piece

windshield The windshield (American English and Canadian English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from t ...

was also replaced with a one-piece windshield. In 1957, Erik Carlsson finished 1st in the Finland Rally in a Saab 93; in 1959, he was 1st in the Swedish Rally, also in a Saab 93. However, Saab was not the first Swedish manufacturer to win the Swedish Rally. Saab's long-standing Swedish rival,

Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...

, had beaten them consecutively in 1957 and 1958 with the PV544. In late 1959, the 93F was introduced, featuring front-hinged doors from the

Saab GT750 The Saab Granturismo (also Monte Carlo and Sport) was a series of up-powered sedans sold by Saab Automobile AB from 1958 to 1968. They were powered by three-cylinder, two-stroke engines until the 1967 model year. Most variants were distinguished ...

. 1960 was the last year of production for the 93. The 93 was replaced by the Saab 96, although the two models were sold side by side for the earlier part of the year. A total of 52,731 Saab 93s were made. The Saab Sonett I roadster shared many of its components with the 93.

Motor sport history

1956

* Wiesbaden Rallye, Germany (June 24, 1956) ** 1st Bengt Jonsson and Kjell Persson * Rally Viking, Norway ** 1st Carl-Magnus Skogh ** 2nd Erik Carlsson ** 4th Ivar Andersson * Rikspokalen, Sweden ** 1st Erik Carlsson * Scandiatrofén, Sweden ** 1st Erik Carlsson and Carl-Magnus Skogh (shared) * Tour d'Europe Continental ** 2nd Rolf Mellde and Sverker Benson * Tulpen Rally, The Netherlands ** 2nd Sture Nottorp and Charlie Lohmander ** 3rd Gunnar Bengtsson and Sven Zetterberg ** 7th Bengt Jonsson and Sölve Relve

1957

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts :it:Franco Mazzotti, Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi. It took place in Italy 24 times f ...

, Turismo Preparato 750 cc, Italy ** 1st Charlie Lohmander and Harald Kronegård * GAMR - Great American Mountain Rallye, US ** 1st Bob Wehman and Louis Braun, US ** 1st Best marque team ** 6th Rolf Mellde and Morrow Mushkin ** 17th Jerry Jankowitz and Doris Jankowitz * 1000 Lakes Rally, Finland ** 1st Erik Carlsson ** 1st Best marque team Erik Carlsson, Carl Otto Bremer, Harald Kronegård ** 1st Finnish champion, Carl Otto Bremer * Rallye Adriatique, Yugoslavia ** 1st R M Hopfen * Lime Rock Rally, US ** 1st Bob Wehman * Rikspokalen, Sweden ** 1st Carl-Magnus Skogh * Finnish Snow Rallye, Finland ** 2nd Erik Carlsson * Acropolis Rally Greece ** 2nd Henri Blanchoud * Rallye Atlas-Oasis, Morocco ** 2nd Harald Kronegård and Leonce Beysson

1959

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

** 2nd in its class and 12th total

1960

* Finnish Snow Rallye, Finland ** 1st Carl Otto Bremer

2008

* 24 hours Le Mans Classic, compensated ** 1st in its class and 2nd overall

2010

* Le Mans Classic, compensated ** 5th

References

External links

Saab 93 at Saabmuseum.com

{{Saab Automobile Front-wheel-drive vehicles 93 Compact cars Coupés Cars introduced in 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars Mille Miglia