Björn Envall (born 1942), is a Swedish retired

automobile design Automotive design is the process of developing the appearance (and to some extent the ergonomics) of motor vehicles - including automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans. The functional design and development of a modern mot ...

er. He was head of the design department at

Saab Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, formerly known as SAAB, and later as Saab AB ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab AB * Saab Automobile, a fo ...

. He started his career in the 1960s at Saab as an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

under

Sixten Sason Sixten Sason (born Sixten Andersson; 1912–1967) was a Swedish industrial designer, noted for his work in designing several generations of Saab automobiles. Biographical Sason was born in 1912, the son of a Swedish sculptor. He trained in Pa ...

, especially helping with the design of the

Saab 99 The Saab 99 is a car which was produced by Saab from 1968 to 1984; their first foray into a larger class than the 96. While considered a large family car in Scandinavia, it was marketed as a niche compact executive car in most other markets. It ...

and the ill-fated Saab Catherina sports car. In fact, after the failure of that design to be accepted by Saab, he designed (on paper only) a further and progressive two-seater, which was never built. After a two years spell at

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...

he took over Sason's work at Saab, in 1969, following Sason's death. He held this position until 1992. Among his designs there was the

Saab EV-1 The Saab EV-1, or Saab 900 Turbo EV-1, was developed by Saab in 1985 as a fully functional and roadworthy future concept car, EV-1 stands for ´Experimental Vehicle One´. It was a wedge shaped 2 + 2 sports coupé body style based on the Saab 90 ...

Saab 98 The Saab 98 was an automobile built by Saab in 1974 which never reached full production. Originally it was called X14, designed by Björn Envall as a combi coupé based on the Saab 95 and using its floorpan. The prototype was assembled by Sergio ...

, the Saab 99

Combi Coupé Combi coupé is a marketing term used by Saab to describe cars with a sloping coupé-like rear hatchback. The term joins the European term "combi" (for an estate car / station wagon) with coupé. The design combines the functionality of a hatchb ...

, the

Saab 900 The Saab 900 is a mid-sized automobile which was produced by Saab from 1978 until 1998 in two generations; the first from 1978 to 1993, and the second from 1994 to 1998. The first-generation car was based on the Saab 99 chassis, though with a ...

and the Saab 900 convertible. He also guided the co-operation project with

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

, that led to the

Saab 9000 The Saab 9000 is an automobile produced by the Swedish company Saab from 1984 to 1998. Representing the company's foray into the executive car scene, it was developed as a result of the successes of the turbocharged 99 and 900 models. The 9000 re ...

. He made the original drawings of the 'new generation'

, in 1988, before the involvement of

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

in the company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Envall, Bjorn Swedish automobile designers Saab 1942 births Living people