SAAB 96

    A little more than ten years after deciding to start making cars, Saab announced its third model - the Saab 96. The familiar lines were retained, as the front of the bodywork was left unchanged. But the rear of the car was completely redesigned and the rear seat was now 25 cm wider. Apart from that, the most visible changes were the big new rear window (117 per cent larger) and the large rear lights. On taking the car out for a test drive, prospective buyers also discovered that the boot was made various and that the facia had been redesigned.
    The Saab 96 quickly gained wide-spread popularity. Production capacity was increased to 50000 cars a year and the new model also opened up many new markets for Saab. Under the bonnet was another explanation for its success: an engine enlarged to 841 cc that developed 38 bhp - and a fourspeed gearbox.
    In 1965, the bonnet line as extended and, with three carburettors, the standard engine developed 40 bhp. But even greater news was just around the corner: the 1967 model of the Saab 96 was equipped with a four-cylinder, four-stroke engine, with the cylinders arranged in a vee configuration. The Saab 96 V4, with 65 bhp under the bonnet, had come to stay up to 1980, when production of the old faithful from Trolhättan finally ceased.