Saab: The Early Years
Details surrounding the numerous unsuccessful rescue plans for Saab have been well documented. On 13 June 2012, the maker of quirky Swedish sedans that once dazzled car enthusiasts worldwide, was declared bankrupt.
Rewind to 1937 – World War II was nearing and Sweden was desperate to protect its neutrality. Svenska Aeroplan AB (Swedish Aeroplane Limited) was created with the sole purpose to build and supply aircraft to the Swedish Air Force. Years later, as the War drew to a close and the demand for fighter planes dwindled, the company started looking for new markets in which to diversify.
In 1945 a new in-house project began – a senior aircraft engineer was appointed to lead a team of 20 – their brief was to design and develop a small, strong and reliable car that people could afford to buy. You would be forgiven wondering how a small group of aeronautical engineers could successfully build a car. However, a fresh approach without being inhibited by conventional auto design, an appreciation of the importance of low drag, stability and light weight is how Saab quickly developed a reputation for streamlined styling as well as innovation.
By 1946, the Ursaab (‘Ur’ meaning ‘original’ in Swedish) was unveiled. The design was very aerodynamic for its time, with a drag coefficient of 0.30 (same as a Porsche 996 and better than the Ferrari F40). The entire body was stamped out of one piece of sheet metal and then cut to accommodate doors and windows. The adoption of front-wheel drive for sure-footed road holding and efficient space utilization was also unconventional – a decade before the layout was popularized by the MINI. A water-cooled two-cylinder, two-stroke 764 cc engine offering 19 kW and a top speed of 105 kph was mated to a three cog transmission.
With safety being an essential requirement of good aircraft design, for Saab it was only natural that it should be given the same priority in the engineering of cars. This was reflected, for example, in the use of the windshield pillars and body panels for crash impact protection, another uncommon feature at the time in the automotive industry.
The Ursaab immediately went into road testing phase, two more cars were built and together the three clocked up over 530,000 km in road testing – equivalent to 13 trips around the world. Finally, in 1949, Ursaab’s journey from drawing board to commercial reality was complete when assembly began.
Here are a few of the pioneering efforts made by Saab to the auto industry:
1958: The GT 750 is the first car fitted with seatbelts as standard.
1963: Saab becomes the first volume maker to offer diagonally split dual brake circuits.
1969: Saab creates an ignition system near the gearlever – instead of behind the steering wheel like most cars – in an attempt to reduce the very common serious and permanent knee injuries during collisions, caused by the knee impacting the key.
1970: Saab introduces a world-first – headlamp wipers and washers.
1971: Heated front seats are introduced, the first time in the world they are fitted as standard.
1971: Saab develops the impact-absorbing, self-repairing bumper
1976: Saab was the first manufacturer to produce a turbo engine with wastegate to control boost.
1978: Saab introduces another ‘world-first,’ the passenger compartment air filter (pollen filter).
1981: Saab introduces the split-field side mirror. This reduces the driver’s blind spot.
1985: Saab pioneers direct ignition, eliminating the distributor and spark plug wires.
1991: Saab is the first manufacturer to offer CFC-free air-conditioning.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Peel P50: The World’s Smallest Production Car
Top speed, quickest to 100, most kW’s – these are records which are
constantly being broken, and you can bet it’s probably by a supercar of
Italian or Germanic origin. The Guiness Book of Records says that on
the complete other side of that scale, the smallest car ever produced,
hails from the Isle of Man and has held that title since it was
introduced in 1962.The Peel P50 is a three-wheeled microcar, 1 372mm long, 1 041mm wide with an unladen weight of 59kg. It retailed at £199 when new and was marketed as "almost cheaper than walking" and as capable of seating "one adult and a shopping bag." The vehicle's only door was on its left side and equipment included a single windscreen wiper and one central headlight. Standard colors were Daytona White, Dragon Red and Dark Blue.
The P50 used a 49 cc DKW engine which gave it a top speed of approximately 61 kilometres per hour and a claimed fuel consumption of 2.8 l/100km. The car was equipped with a three-speed manual transmission that had no reverse gear, so any turning in confined areas meant you needed to get out of your car and physically push or lift the car around using the handle provided on the rear.
The Peel Engineering Company (which is still in existence today) also produced the similarly sized and powered Trident which featured a clear bubble top and either two seats or one seat with a detachable shopping basket. The Peel P50 and Trident was and still is road-legal in the UK, classified under the "three-wheeler" category. Cars were also exported to other countries, sometimes being classed as a moped.
Although only 50 were made in 1962 and 1965, production was restarted in 2010, now in an electric version with a top speed of 16 km/h.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
90’s Coupe: Volkswagen Corrado
_ret2.jpg)
This
beefy coupe is one of the cars that spurred my interest in all things auto. The
Corrado was never offered for sale in South Africa, so laying my teenage eyes
on this unknown slinky two door led me to the library to find whatever
information I could about this car. Yes, these were the pre-Google days. What I did learn was that the Corrado was
initially imagined as replacement for the Porsche 944, which of course added to
the allure. I’ve always been a VW fan, I learned to drive in a sunshine yellow ‘73 Bug which went on to be my first car. Later I progressed to a MK1 GTi, which I still regret selling to this day. Back in the early nineties, the Corrado was a bit of a sportscar, and it still is. To me, the Corrado was a stylish, fast-looking, 2+2 coupe in a sea of boxy hatches and sedans. I remember that my BMX ride to school and back took on a new purpose when I discovered that a driveway not far from were I lived was home to a gleaming red Corrado. This was like discovering a treasure chest and led to many stolen study breaks.
Just under 10,000 were designed and built by Karmann Coachworks in Germany
between 1988 and 1995. Volkswagen followed its tradition of naming cars after winds,
by naming the Corrado after the Spanish for 'wind current' or 'Jet Stream'.
'Corrado' is derived from the Spanish verb 'Correr', which means to Run or to
Sprint . Sitting on the front
wheel driveGolf/Jetta MK2 base, it was launched with a 1.8 16v motor. Later there was a supercharged G60 version
and the base 1.8 16v was replaced with a 2 liter 16v unit. But what you really wanted was the meaty 2.8
VR6, which, unfortunately, was only introduced in its final year of
production.
Auto Express magazine described the Corrado by saying it was "Regarded
as one of VW’s best-ever drivers’ cars". The VR6 model was listed as one
of the "25 Cars You Must Drive Before You Die" by the British
magazine, Car and 'By far the most desirable version of the Corrado' by Auto
Express. In MSN Autos 'Cool Cars We
Miss' feature they listed the Corrado among its top eight "Gone but not
forgotten: a short list of cars once loved, still missed".
Friday, February 3, 2012
The XJ220 turns 20!
The wide and low slung Ferrari Testarossa was truly beautiful to me. It looked fast and very powerful - which it was. The side slats were of constant intrigue to me, as was the name of the car, which means "red head" in Italian and comes from the red-painted cam covers on the flat-12 engine.
Also on my wall was the sharply angled, wedge shaped Lamborghini Countach. I just loved this car’s striking design, it’s trademark scissor doors which lifted up and tilted forwards and those NACA ducts. It’s name also has a fitting story attached to it, the word ‘countach’ being an exclamation of astonishment in the local Piedmontese language — generally used by men on seeing an extremely beautiful woman.
My favourite of the three was by far the
Jaguar XJ220. The fastest car of it’s time, the name "XJ220" was a
reference to the top speed of 220 mph (350 km/h). I’d never seen
anything like it before - slippery, long and flat. Designed by a South
African, Keith Helfet, this was the first roadcar to use under-body
airflow and venturi to generate downforce. It was powered by a
3.5-litre, twin turbo V6 and despite it’s size – the car weighed only
1,470 kg due to it’s advanced aluminium honeycomb construction.
It was intended to be a concept only but
following its unveiling at the British Motor Show in 1988, demand was
enough for Jaguar to undertake a feasibility study. The first customer
car was sold in June 1992, retailing at £470,000. Production ceased in
1994, by which time only 275 cars had been built.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
A day at the track...
I was very, very lucky to have recently undertaken the 'ultimate driving experience' with Fantastic Racing.
With the promise of learning to drive and handle a Reynard single-seater race car, I definitely had a case of nerves mixed in with all the excitement. Thank goodness there is an extensive training session beforehand. You basically need to forget everything you had learnt for your K53 test, and start again. It's all about braking at the correct spot on a corner, minor steering wheel inputs, changing gears with your right hand, knowing the track and trying to keep alive.
The Reynard really is a true race car,
and although originally manufactured in the UK, it was designed for
the high speed race oval tracks of the USA, hence the emphasis on
speed and stability. Racing legend Juan Pablo Montoya won the USA
Barber Dodge race series in a Reynard...
Here are the specs:
Top Speed: 240 kmph
Engine: 3.5 litre V6 Dodge
Power/weight: 450 bhp per tonne
Transmission: Hewland 6 speed sequential gear box Engine: 3.5 litre V6 Dodge
Power/weight: 450 bhp per tonne
Negotiating the the 3.2km Killarney
Circuit is pretty much sensory overload - you feel every single bump,
vibration, every sound is louder, and every movement seems laboured.
But it's great to be racing on the same track that hosted Stirling Moss in the early 1960's for the F1 Cape Grand Prix.
But it's great to be racing on the same track that hosted Stirling Moss in the early 1960's for the F1 Cape Grand Prix.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Formerly the property of Elvis Presley...
This is the 1955 Cadillac Series 75 Fleetwood limousine that Elvis Presley used to transport his band to shows.
With a wheelbase of over 3,8m and a 201kW V8 engine with dual-four carburettors, this luxurious eight-passenger sedan is typical of the 1,075 built in 1955. However, this one was originally light blue. Elvis insisted on it being repainted black when he bought it in 1956.
Elvis may have died a very rich man, but
back in '56 he still needed his father to co-sign on the car.
Paperwork proving this is resulted in the car reaching US$172,000 on auction recently. Without a celebrity owner, it would have struggled to sell for US$20,000.
