Dutch boutique supercar company Spyker says it is talking to undisclosed automakers about sharing technology and a platform — engineering and chassis components for the lay people out there — for a car inspired by the Saab 92. The Swedes built the teardrop-shaped little car from 1949 until 1956.
The 92 was a slick piece of work with sleek, futuristic styling. It was highly aerodynamic for its day, with a drag coefficient of 0.30. That’s the same as modern cars like the Acura NSX and Koenigsegg CCX. It wasn’t fast, but then you don’t get much from a 764-cc two-stroke two-cylinder engine. With just 25 ponies under the hood, the 92 topped out at 65 mph. Still, Saab took the little car rallying and placed second in its class in its first race.
Updating the car makes sense. It’s small, it’s retro and it probably would be a lot of fun with a turbocharged direct injection four-cylinder. Similar recipes have yielded good results for the Mini, the Fiat 500 and, of course, the Volkswagen Beetle.
Now if we could get Spyker to update the Saab Sonett, we’d be all set.
