Sixten Sason (born Sixten Andersson; 1912–1967) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

industrial designer Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactur ...

, noted for his work in designing several generations of

Saab automobile Saab Automobile AB () is a defunct automotive industry, car manufacturer that was founded in Sweden in 1945 when its parent company, Saab AB, began a project to design a small automobile. The first production model, the Saab 92, was launched in ...

Biographical

Sason was born in 1912, the son of a Swedish sculptor. He trained in Paris as an artist and later as an industrial designer. He had a stint in the

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...

until an injury disqualified him for flight. In the 1930s he became noted for his "x-ray" renderings of industrial products.

Career with Saab

Sason started working for

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 ...

, designing aircraft throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1946, he was asked to contribute to Project 92, the result of which would be the first

, the

Saab 92 The Saab 92 was the first production car from Saab Automobile, Saab. The design was very aerodynamic for its time, with a drag coefficient (''cx'' or ''cw'') of 0.30. The entire body was stamped out of one piece of sheet metal and then cut to ac ...

which began production in 1949. Sason remained with Saab, designing the 93, 95, 96, and 99, as well as the first

Sonett A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention ...

. Following his death in 1967, Sason was succeeded by his colleague and one-time student,

Björn Envall Björn Envall (born 1942), is a Swedish retired automobile designer. He was head of the design department at Saab. He started his career in the 1960s at Saab as an apprentice under Sixten Sason, especially helping with the design of the Saab 99 an ...

. Many of the design elements that Sason implemented in the 99 continued as elements of Saab design into the 1990s.

Other industrial designs

In addition to Saab, Sason designed consumer products for

Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool. Electrolux products sell under a variety ...

(most notably the Z 70 vacuum cleaner in 1957),

Hasselblad Victor Hasselblad AB is a Swedish manufacturer of medium format cameras, photographic equipment and image scanners based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company originally became known for its classic analog medium-format cameras that used a waist- ...

, where he designed their first camera model in 1949, and Husqvarna, designing such motorcycles as the

Silverpilen ''The Silver Arrow'' (Swedish: "''Silverpilen''") is the nickname of a Stockholm Metro train which features in several urban legends alleging sightings of the train's ghost. Production and history The train is usually referred to as being co ...

('' Swedish WP article''), a high performance lightweight 175cc sold 1955–1965.

Gallery of Sason designs

File:MHV Saab 93 01.jpg, Saab 93 (ca. 1959) File:SAAB 95 De Luxe 1961.jpg, 1961 Saab 95 File:SAAB 96 De Luxe 1961.jpg, 1961 Saab 96 File:1969-SAAB99.jpg, 1969 Saab 99 File:SAAB94.jpg, Saab Sonett I (ca. 1955) File:Hasselblad_1600F.jpg, Hasselblad 1600F File:Husqvarna_Silverpilen.jpg, Husqvarna Silverpilen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sason, Sixten 1912 births 1967 deaths Swedish automobile designers Saab Swedish industrial designers Swedish founders of automobile manufacturers