Cars and the Motor Sport

At the end of 1949, production began and, at the same time, SAAB wrote the first page of its thirty-year history in rallying.

The debut took place at the Östergötland Runt, less than a month after production started, and the driver K. G. Svedberg won the overall event.
From that moment on, SAAB drivers achieved many victories.

New car brands appeared in the world of rallying, only to disappear a few years later.
No other manufacturer remained active in rallying as long as SAAB, which saw rallying as a tool to accelerate technical development.
For this reason, the rally cars were always kept as close as possible to the production models.

Svedberg’s first victory convinced the Norwegian rally star, Greta Molander, to drive a SAAB 92 in her tenth Monte Carlo Rally.
Greta finished 55th overall, eighth in her category, and second in the women’s ranking, while the newcomers Svedberg and Mellde placed sixth.
Although SAAB didn’t win every rally it entered, drivers such as Mellde, Svedberg, Molander, and Nyström proved that the 92 was a tough and reliable car.

Since Mellde was in charge of development, any shortcomings revealed during competitions were quickly addressed, and the production cars were accordingly improved.
This fast transfer of technical data from the competition world to the production line was a philosophy SAAB consistently followed, convinced that racing improved the final product.

Numerous were the victories achieved by drivers such as Greta Molander, Rolf Mellde, K.G. Svedberg, Erik Carlsson, Carl-Magnus Skogh, and Stig Blomqvist, to name just a few.

Summary of Rally Results

At the end of 1980, Saab decided to shut down its racing department and officially end the factory’s active participation in international rallies and similar events.
In 1980, the focus had shifted to other priorities.
Saab was establishing itself among the world’s most prestigious car manufacturers and was competing primarily in the upper market segment.