The competition
career of the first, 1956 vintage Saab Sonett ended even
before the car was taken into production, since the competition rules
were changed to allow standard cars to be tuned. A standard car which was
a little livelier in its basic trim stood a better chance in competition
events. And thats the path that Saab took.
The Saab 750
Granturismo - a tuned Saab
93 - was launched in
1958. The car featured a sports steering wheel, rev counter, speed pilot,
provisions compartment, extra lamps and improved front seats -with head
restraint on the co-drivers side. But the car had no back seat in the
true sense. The bench with foam rubber padding fitted instead certainly
made no claims on comfort.
The Saab 750 GT
had the same body as the Saab 96 when it was
launched in 1960. But it was still powered by the old engine, although now driving
through a 4-speed gearbox.
The Saab Sport was launched in 1962. With three carburettors instead of
one, the 841 cc engine was uprated to 52 bhp. It was separately
lubricated with oil from a separate tank, and the Sport used ordinary
petrol (without oil admixture).
In 1965, the engine output was boosted to 55 bhp. One year later, the
model was re-christened the MonteCarlo 850, as an accolade to Erik
Carlssons victories in this rally classic.
The MonteCarlo was taken out of production in 1968. During the previous
year, it had been known as the MonteCarlo V4, and was powered by a
standard V4 engine. But all of the attractive GT equipment remained even
on the very last model.