By the winter of
1966 the MFI
13/ Saab 97 project had made such
progress that the new sports car could be put on show earlier than expected - and
on its home ground in Stockholm, not in New York as originally planned.
The show car was a pre-production unit and it had to come no closer to
full-scale production even when the Saab Sonett II made its international
debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966.
The basic shape of the MFI
13 was very much in evidence, only
the front had been slightly lengthened and given a somewhat more agressive look.
The entire front part of the car tilted up to provide access service and
maintenance - a more easily repairable car would be difficult to
find.
The engine was taken from the
Monte Carlo model and
developed 60 bhp, partly due to three carburettors. Production at the ASJ (railway
equipment) workshops in Arlov started late in 1966. Altogether, only 28
Saab Sonett II cars were made that year - three pre-production cars and
25 production models which were also practically hand-built.
Not very many more twostroke Saab Sonetts were made, because when the
Saab 96 was fitted with the V4 engine, the Sonett II was also modified to
accomodate the more potent power unit. The result was a larger bulge in
the bonnet which, while telling all and sundry that this was a Saab
Sonett with the new engine, rather spoilt the lines of the car.