History repeated: Saab for Mille Miglia
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30th April, 2010
Italian hillsides are about to reverberate again to
the distinctive crackle of a Saab two-stroke engine. Providing the soundtrack will be Saab Automobile
CEO Jan Åke Jonsson and Saab Automobile Chairman and Spyker Cars CEO Victor Muller, who will each
drive a 1957-vintage Saab 93 at this year’s historic Mille Miglia road race.
The two executives are celebrating the 93’s class win on this unique event 53 years ago with cars
prepared by the Saab Car Museum in Sweden. Jonsson and Muller will be following, at a more leisurely
pace, in the wheel tracks of the 1957 class winner crewed by Charlie Lohmander and co-driver Harald
Kronegård. Today’s annual classic revival of the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) Brescia-Rome-Brescia route is
held over three days on open roads and decided on punctuality between check-points. Jonsson and
Muller will be co-driven by their sons, Christian, 38, and Olivier, 18, respectively.
Powered by a 45 hp, 748 cc, three-cylinder engine, but weighing only 810 kilogrammes, the Saab
93’s agile handling and good aerodynamics enabled it to embarrass far more powerful, larger cars.
“Saab’s early success on this event is part of our rich heritage,” said Jan Åke Jonsson.
“We’re looking forward to competing once again with the Saab 93, although we won’t be driving it
quite so fast.”
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This year’s event, from 6th – 8th May, is Victor Muller’s tenth Mille Miglia. “The 93 is unlike
any other car I’ve entered, which is hardly surprising as it’s a Saab,” he said. “Jan Åke and
I will enjoy the event and we’re looking forward to a little friendly rivalry between team-mates. It
certainly won’t be as intense as the competition between Eklund and Blomqvist when they were rallying
with Saabs in the late 70s.”
Saab’s 1957 Mille Miglia success was followed by Erik ‘Mr Saab’ Carlsson’s overall victory on the
Finnish 1000 Lakes Rally later the same year, both results bringing early international recognition
for the Saab brand. Carlsson would go on to achieve back-to-back Monte Carlo wins and a hat-trick of
RAC Rally victories in the early 1960s.
Between 1955 and 1960, 52,731 Saab 93s were built at Trollhättan, where Saabs are still produced
today. Its frontal styling introduced a new face for Saab, carried forward by the 96 saloon and 95
station wagon which stayed in production until 1980.
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