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This Saab 96 with Factory Two-Stroke Race Engine is a Silly Swede
Saabs were always a little bit out of the ordinary. Can you even think of a boring one? The first Saabs of the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s, however, were truly unlike anything else on the road. And not just because of how they looked, but because of how they were designed and what made them move. One such Saab—a 1964 96—is up for auction in its native Sweden, via Bilweb Auctions. It’s a special one. Owned by a family of Saab engineers, the car has a special version of the 96’s famous two-stroke engine, built by Saab’s racing division.
From the bulbous-but-aerodynamic bodywork to the front-wheel drive configuration, two-stroke power, and column-shifted manual gearbox, there is nothing conventional about the Saab 96, which replaced the Saab 93 in 1960. Early versions (pre-1965) even placed the radiator behind the engine on the firewall (which doesn’t seem like such a bad idea when you think about a Scandinavian winter). The car’s slippery shape, and the giant plane motif on its grille, were also big hints at Saab’s aircraft chops.
Alas, the 96 didn’t exactly fly. The model lasted all the way until 1980, and later ones were motivated by a V-4 borrowed from the Ford Taunus. However, the 96 spent its first few years with Saab’s own 841-cc, three-cylinder two-stroke engine that initially offered 38 hp. The output figure soon rose up above 40, and a special “Monte Carlo” version offered a whopping 60 hp. While not powerful, the 96 was a stout little car that quickly made a name for itself rallying. A 96 won the 1960, 1961, and 1962 RAC Rallies, and Saabs won the 1962 and 1963 Monte Carlo Rallies, as well. The 96 was a competitive rally car well into the ’70s, as the V-4 version won the Swedish Rally in 1972, 1973, and 1976.
The car up for auction addresses the 96’s power deficit with a special version of the two-stroke, factory-built by Saab’s racing division, according to the listing. Distinguishing features include a special carburetor setup, separate oil pump, and race exhaust. All together it is said to put out north of 85 horsepower—more than twice what the two-stroke triple would have come with from the factory.
According to Bilweb, the owner’s father was a “leading engineer heavily involved in design and development” at Saab back in the 1960s, and the second-generation Saab man renovated the car in the late 1990s. The car has also reportedly been rallied, raced at the Nürburgring, and took part in protests against Saab’s GM rule before the company’s eventual bankruptcy.
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The car is located near Saab’s hometown of Trollhättan, Sweden, and has an estimate of 120,000-140,000 Swedish Krona. Translated to USD, that’s roughly $11,200-$13,100 and right in between the 96’s condition #3 (“good”) value of $9300 and its #2 (“excellent”) value of $20,200 in the Hagerty Price Guide.
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A kid I went to school with had three of these. They all look in good shape. He had a thing about them and kept them going.