Saab Sonett

The Saab Sonett is an automobile manufactured between 1955 and 1957 and again between 1966 and 1974 by Saab of Sweden. Sonetts shared engines and other components with Saab 96s and 95s of the same era.

The first prototype, now known as the Sonett I, was a two-seat, open-top, lightweight roadster racer which, ten years later, evolved into the commercially distributed Sonett models II, V4, and III.

Sonett I

In the 1950s, Rolf Mellde—a Saab engine developer and race enthusiast—along with Lars Olov Olsson, Olle Linkdvist, and Gotta Svensson, designed a two-seat roadster prototype in a barn in Åsaka, near Trollhättan (the site of the main Saab manufacturing facility). The limited research-and-development project, with a total budget of only 75,000 Swedish kronor, became known as the Sonett, a name derived from the Swedish phrase Så nätt den är ("how neat it is", or more literally "so neat they are").

The Saab Sonett, also called the Super Sport or Saab 94, was introduced on 16 March 1956 at Stockholm's Bilsalong (motor show). Featuring a three-cylinder 748 cc two-stroke engine generating 57.5 horsepower (42.9 kW) and a 70 kilograms (150 lb) aluminium box-style chassis from Swedish designer Sixten Sason, the Sonett I was an advanced low-weight 600 kg (1,323 lb) racer based on aircraft design concepts.

Saab

Saab may refer to:

Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, formerly known as SAAB, and later as Saab AB

Saab Automobile, a Swedish automobile manufacturer, formerly a division of Saab AB

Space: Above and Beyond or S:AAB, an American science fiction television series

Student African American Brotherhood or SAAB

People with the surname

Elie Saab (born 1964), Lebanese fashion designer

Hassan Saab (born 1922), Lebanese diplomat and political scientist

Jocelyne Saab (born 1948), Lebanese filmmaker

Tarek Saab (born 1963), Venezuelan politician

Tarek Saab (born 1978), candidate on The Apprentice

Valeska Saab (born 1984), Ecuadorian beauty queen and politician

Saab Automobile

Saab Automobile AB/ˈsɑːb/ is a currently inactivemanufacturer of automobiles that was founded in Sweden in 1945 when its parent company, SAAB AB (soon to be Saab AB), began a project to design a small automobile. The first production model, the Saab 92, was launched in 1949. In 1968 the parent company merged with Scania-Vabis, and ten years later the Saab 900 was launched, in time becoming Saab's best-selling model. In the mid-1980s the new Saab 9000 model also appeared.

In 1989, the automobile division of Saab-Scania was restructured into an independent company, Saab Automobile AB. The American manufacturer General Motors took 50% ownership with an investment of US$600 million, and then in 2000, exercised its option to acquire the remaining 50% for a further US$125 million; so turning Saab Automobile into a wholly owned GM subsidiary. In 2010 GM sold Saab Automobile AB to the Dutch automobile manufacturer Spyker Cars N.V.

After struggling to avoid insolvency throughout 2011, the company petitioned for bankruptcy following the failure of a Chinese consortium to complete a purchase of the company; the purchase had been blocked by the former owner GM, which opposed the transfer of technology and production rights to a Chinese company. On 13 June 2012, it was announced that a newly formed company called National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) had bought Saab Automobile's bankrupt estate. According to "Saab United", the first Nevs Saab 9-3 drove off its pre-production line on 19 September 2013. Full production restarted on 2 December 2013, initially the same gasoline-powered 9-3 Aero sedans that were built before Saab went bankrupt, and intended to get the automaker’s supply chain reestablished as it attempted development of a new line of NEVS-Saab products. NEVS lost its license to manufacture automobiles under the Saab name in the summer of 2014. Since then, none have been manufactured, using the Saab label.

78 Saab

78 Saab were a rock band from Australia that consisted of Ben Nash (vocals and guitar), Jake Andrews (guitar and vocals), Garth Tregillgas (bass and vocals) and Nicholai Danko (drums and percussion). The band has stated that it was influenced by acts such as the Rolling Stones, R.E.M. and The Church. After forming in Canberra, Australia, during the summer of 1995-6, they relocated to Sydney in February 1997.

Origins

78 Saab formed at the Australian National University, with the original members being Nash, Tregillgas, Darren Smith and Christovac Thompson. For the purpose of attaining live performance experience, they entered the Australian National Campus Band Competition in 1996, with the band name chosen spontaneously in order to complete the entry form. In a 2007 interview, Nash explained the inspiration for the "last minute" title:

At the time, the major sponsor of the competition was Troy Horse, a Sydney based rehearsal studio that also operated a record label. The competition's first prize included an EP to be recorded and released by Troy Horse and a tour of Australian university campuses. 78 Saab won the competition and as a result recorded their debut EP, Eastwards By Removal at Troy Horse's studio in Alexandria, Sydney.