Concept Car Of The Day: 1956 Saab 94 Sonett Super Sport - AllCarIndex

Concept Car Of The Day: 1956 Saab 94 Sonett Super Sport

Aug 07, 2024

The Saab Sonett was unofficially known as the Saab 94, even though this number had already been assigned to an aircraft project. Only six Sonetts were built, with the cars intended as either experimental or competition cars.

The story of the Saab 94 or Saab Sonett Super Sport began in 1954 when Rolf Mellde started sketching a sports two-seater. Saab management initially showed little interest, so work began in people's spare time at a barn in Asaka, located about 60km from Trollhättan.

Rolf Mellde designed a special stressed-skin light metal box for the Sonett, which weighed less than 70kg. Sixten Sason created a model from which a glass-fibre reinforced plastic body was molded. Glass-fibre was a futuristic material in the 1950s, and Saab had no prior experience with it, but assistance came from SOAB (Svenska Oljeslageri Aktiebolaget) of Gothenburg.

On October 14, 1955, the Sonett was completed and ready to go, with only the chassis having been on trial runs until then. Saab Management felt that the Sonett would be a sensation at the upcoming Stockholm Motor Show in February 1956, and it did indeed impress with its light-metal chassis, plastic bodywork, and a two-stroke engine producing 57.5hp and reaching a top speed of 210 km/h.

Four engineers were involved in the Sonett project, with Sixten Sason styling the open-top Saab. Test runs with the Sonett began in Spring 1956, with the car covering over 5,000km by the autumn. Saab management officially designated the Sonett the Saab 94, and it was shipped to the United States for its introduction in April 1956.

In November 1956, it was decided that another five test cars should be built, and construction was sub-contracted due to outgrowing the initial barn. The Sonetts 2 to 6 were completed in Spring 1957, with plans to begin series production at Jensen in Britain. However, production never commenced as competition rules were revised in 1958, and Saab no longer required a specific sports model.

The Saab Sonett Super Sport featured an all-steel box frame, with the initial car having an aluminum frame. The Saab 93 748cc three-cylinder two-stroke engine was tuned to 57.5hp through a three-speed gearbox. The Sonett weighed only 500kg in full road trim.

Overall, the Saab Sonett Super Sport was a pioneering sports car that showcased innovative design and engineering, even though it never went into full production.