| CAR CLUB 18-30
GOODBYE
SAAB
99
B
switch sited between the
the loud-mouthed Yanks on
Abba were banging out
launched the quick and quirky
sports saloons.
silhouette was an evolution
had both fallen from the pen
of famous industrial designer,
also designed Hasselblad
cameras, Husqvarna
planes, included some clever
safety features such as front
hinged bonnets that went
over the windscreen in a crash
and doors that covered the
sills to avoid dirtying one’s
bell bottoms. Other quirks
included a handbrake which
operated on the front wheels
54 | MotorPunk January 2014
car to come with the option
of heated seats, a rear screen
demister and door handles
that could double as towing
points to haul you sideways
out of a snow drift.
and it needed a bit more
oomph if it were to compete
a 1.8-litre Triumph based
slant-4 powerplant (usually
found in the Dolomite) but the
have the Krona to develop
initially planned, and had to
look elsewhere for a cheaper
alternative that would
also appease California’s
already knew a bit about
turbocharging, thanks to their
aircraft division, and became
one of the earliest pioneers of
forced induction in road cars
when they nailed a small lowcompression turbocharger to a
bored out 2.0-litre four-pot.
instant success and sold
well, especially in North
America. Robustly engineered
to withstand the trials of
followed in the tyre tracks