Born: 1969 Died: 1984This was to replace the two-stroke 96, which also had the oddity of a freewheel.
It was to be both a larger family car and a rally machine to continue the brand's successes in this motorsport which had been established by the 96, notably through the exploits of Erik Carlsson. The body design was sleek and aerodynamic for its time, and wind-tunnel results put it ahead of anything else in its class when it was first rolled out. The format was front-drive, and the wide track helped to provide very good handling characteristics.
The designers looked to Triumph in England for a power unit, as that company was already working on a number of powerplants for its FWD small cars and a related V8 for its Stag. This was a 1.5-litre slant-four initially, but would become a 1.7.
When the 99 was introduced in late 1968, it was in two-door form only. Another bodyshell innovation was the front hingeing of the bonnet. A quirk was the parking brake system, which operated on the front wheels, but had its own separate drums while the main brakes were discs. The 99 at this stage also retained the freewheel mechanism which had long been touted as a fuel-saving device on the predecessor car.
Two years after its introduction, a number of changes were made to upgrade the car, including a better interior finish and a new dashboard design. An aluminium exhaust system was provided. In the spring of 1970, an automatic 99 was produced, using the 1.7 engine. It had a 95bhp output, and came with electronic fuel injection.
In 1971, a new engine of 1.8 litres capacity and with 86bhp from its carburetted version was introduced. A fuel injected version had nine more hosepower. This was in anticipation of the coming demise of the Triumph 1.7 which had become the base engine. The following year, when that happened, the 1.8 was uprated to 88bhp and 97bhp in its two forms. A 2.0-litre version was added to the range as an upper option, and in a car designated as EMS it had stronger suspension and a power output of 110bhp made it a two-door sporty saloon that commanded respect.
Saab needed an entry-level car at this stage, and produced the 99L, which had the 1.9-litre engine and stripped down specification, and without the self-fixing bumpers. An LE variant had electronic fuel injection and 110bhp.
The next significant changes came in 1974, when a slightly longer version, the three-door Combi Coupé was introduced. A year later, the 1.9 engine was dropped and just the 2-litre engine powered all 99s, with a brace of power outputs. A four-door sedan introduced in 1976, with power steering and automatic transmission: the flagship of the nameplate, it was also finished in a more luxurious specification.
In 1978, after the company built a small number of the cars with the V8 version of the Triumph engine, the 99 set a benchmark when it became the first family car with a turbocharged petrol engine, which gave the 2.0-litre four about 25 per cent more power than in standard. Initially only in Combi Coupé form, the four-door and two-door coupé variants were launched the following year. The four-speed manual transmissions from these cars were subsequently installed in all the other 99s. The Turbo lasted through 1980, and was rallied quite successfully by Stig Blomqvist, who piloted the car to become the first turbocharged winner of a World Rally Championship rally in 1979 when he won the Swedish Rally. Saab, however, decided it couldn't afford to go further in motorsport and subsequently dropped its competition department.
But on the turn of the decade, the 99's years were numbered. With little enough changing, apart from a new low-octane capable engine, the 99 of 1984 was the last of the model. The subsequent 90 was essentially the same car with a new rear adapted from the larger and more modern 900.
- BRIAN BYRNE