Björn
Karlström, draughtsman, stylist and designer, was full of
ideas about manufacturing cars in Sweden in the 1950s. he succeeded in
getting a manufacturer enthusiastic about sports car project based on
standard Saab components. The manufacturer was Malmö Flygindustri,
MFI, and the code name was MFI 13 (which was impossible to use for an
aircraft - pilots are too supertitious).
Work on the MFI 13 began in 1964 with the knowledge and approval of Saab.
There was some hope that a development grant for manufacture in southern
Norrland county might be forthcoming, and when Heinels coachbuilding
works in Malmö produced the first body of sheet steel, great care
was taken to ensure that the panels could be used as moulds for future
production of plastic bodies.
But the Norrland grant did not materialise and Saab stepped into the
picture. The MFI turned out to be a better car than Sixten Sasons
Catherina. It
was therefore the car Saab chose as
the Sonett
II. The MFI 13 was renamed the Saab 97 and the car was ready for production within
six months.
It was altogether the same as the prototype, but its basic lines are
retained to a surprising degree. The only prototype had a tuned engine
with three carburettors and an exhaust whose noise defies desciption. It
is reasonable fast with a top speed of 150 km/h and quite lively - from
rest to 100 km/h in 13.7 seconds, which was as good or better than the
competition at that time could manage.