SAAB Sport/ MonteCarlo

    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.