Erik Carlsson
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Erik Hilding Carlsson (5 March 1929 – 27 May 2015) was a Swedish
rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sport ...
driver 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 ...
. He was nicknamed "''Carlsson på taket''" ("Carlsson on the roof" in reference to
Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on- ...
's children's book character) as well as ''Mr. Saab'' (due to his
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
work for the company).


Early life

Carlsson was born in
Trollhättan Trollhättan () is the 23rd-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Trollhättan Municipality, Västra Götaland County. It is situated by Göta älv, near the lake Vänern, and has a population of approximately 50,000 in the city proper. It is locate ...
. Erik Carlsson married
Pat Moss Patricia Ann Moss-Carlsson (''née'' Moss; 27 December 1934 – 14 October 2008) was one of the most successful female auto rally drivers of all time, achieving three outright wins and seven podium finishes in international rallies. She was cro ...
on 9 July 1963 in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. Pat was also a famous rally driver and younger sister of
Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...
. On 1 December 1969 they had a daughter, Susie Carlsson, who was later to become successful in
show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...
.


Saab car history

Because the early Saabs in which he competed were seriously underpowered and with the tuned two-strokers it was necessary to keep the revs up, he had to maintain a high speed while cornering and practiced
left-foot braking Left-foot braking is the technique of using the left foot to operate the brake pedal in an automobile, leaving the right foot dedicated to the throttle pedal. It contrasts with the practice of using the left foot to operate the clutch pedal, leavi ...
to perfection.


Rally career

In 1965 Pat Moss and Erik Carlsson wrote a book: ''The Art and Technique of Driving'' (published by
Heinemann Heinemann may refer to: * Heinemann (surname) * Heinemann (publisher), a publishing company * Heinemann Park, a.k.a. Pelican Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States See also * Heineman * Jamie Hyneman James Franklin Hyneman (born Se ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, selling for 25
shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...
s). This book was translated into
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
,
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
and
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
. The expression "Carlsson on the roof" originated from the children's story '' Karlsson på taket'' by
Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on- ...
, in which a ''Karlsson'' character lived on the roof of an apartment building. The name was given to Carlsson as a result of his habit of occasionally rolling a rally car onto its roof. In the
Safari Rally The Safari Rally is a rally held in Kenya. It was first held in 1953 as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The event was part of the World Rally Championship from 1973 until 2002, before returning in 2021. It is historically r ...
, he even rolled the car intentionally, to escape from a mud pool. When
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
s later doubted his story, he proved it by rolling the car again. The Ford factory team then tried the same stunt with their
Ford Cortina The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s. The Cortina was produced in fi ...
, causing more damage to the car than had occurred during the entire rally. Carlsson has done a number of unusual things during his rally career. During one rally in the United Kingdom, he needed a spare part and happened to find a brand new Saab 96 on a parking lot. He and the mechanic quickly started disassembling the car when the rather upset owner discovered them. The co-driver managed to defuse the situation by explaining that Carlsson was a factory driver for Saab and the owner would be given a new car. In the end Carlsson could keep driving and they remained friends and still exchange Christmas cards. At the time, rally regulations often stipulated penalties for damage to the car at the finish. Towards the end of the rally, Carlsson's car had acquired dents to both the front fender and one door, so to avoid the penalty points they stopped and switched the door and bumper with the support car. Then it looked a bit suspicious to have a clean door and fender while the rest of the car was covered in mud and dust. As they had no water they used the spare gasoline to wash off the car. Reporters covering the event were impressed that they had had the time to wash the car before arriving at the rally finish. After the finishing festivities, Carlsson looked out the window from his hotel room and saw the support car parked outside: clean, but with a dirty door and fender, still with the starting number visible in the dust. Carlsson started the 1959
Rally of Portugal The Rally de Portugal (formerly: Rallye de Portugal) is a rally competition held in Portugal. First held in 1967, the seventh running of the race, the 7º TAP Rallye de Portugal was the third event in the inaugural FIA World Rally Champi ...
leading the European championship. His closest competitor was Paul Coltelloni, a works
Citroën Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...
team driver, but to prevent Carlsson from winning, Citroën had bought Coltelloni an
Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
. As the event passed through Spain, the blue Saab Carlsson was sharing with British Rally Champion John Sprinzel began suffering from a grabbing front brake. Cresting the brow of a hill in the gathering dusk at over , the crew spotted a closed railway level crossing only yards in front of them. Heavy braking caused the car to spin and roll over into the barrier, where they narrowly avoided being hit by the passing train. Despite this incident, and the subsequent electrical problems it caused, they finished third and it was enough to finish fourth for Carlsson to win the championship. However, shortly before the prize ceremony, they were told they would be given a 25-point penalty for their car having white competition numbers on a black background, instead of the other way around. Still, 25 penalty points only pushed them down to 4th place, so the European championship would be safe. It was only at the prize ceremony itself that they discovered that they had been given an additional 25-point penalty, putting them in eighth position. When they asked why, they were told they had been given 25 penalty points ''per door''. In the 1966 ''
Coupe des Alpes The Alpine Rally, also known by its official name Coupe des Alpes, was a rally competition based in Marseille and held from 1932 to 1971. In the 1950s and the 1960s, it was among the most prestigious rallies in the world and featured an internat ...
'' Carlsson drove an almost-competitive car, a Saab Sonett II. The
two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...
had been bored to 940 cc compared to the 841 of the standard model and it gave at most . The final drive was geared down so the top speed was only , but could be reached from standstill in eight seconds. The car was capable of holding station with the
Porsche 904 The Porsche 904 is an automobile which was produced by Porsche in Germany in 1964 and 1965. It was officially called Porsche Carrera GTS due to the same naming rights problem that required renaming the Porsche 901 to Porsche 911. History After ...
. But they ran into problems with the
spark plug A spark plug (sometimes, in British English, a sparking plug, and, colloquially, a plug) is a device for delivering electric current from an ignition system to the combustion chamber of a spark-ignition engine to ignite the compressed fuel/air ...
s. Frequent spark plug changes were not unusual for tuned two-stroke engines, but it used up spark plugs at an unusual rate and soon they had run out of spare spark plugs and had to give up.
Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...
was suspected and the
gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
was sent to Saab for analysis, where they found that it had been contaminated with a foreign substance. In the 1961 German Rally the
DKW DKW (''Dampf-Kraft-Wagen'', en, "steam-powered car", also ''Deutsche Kinder-Wagen'' en, "German children's car". ''Das-Kleine-Wunder'', en, "the little wonder" or ''Des-Knaben-Wunsch'', en, "the boy's wish"- from when the company built to ...
team started a rumour that he was using an illicit four-speed gearbox in his Saab 96 (the standard car only had three gears). They disassembled the gearbox, but found no fourth gear. It turned out that Carlsson had fooled them by dipping the clutch in third gear to make it sound like a four speed. In 2010, Carlsson was among the first four inductees into the
Rally Hall of Fame The Rally Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for famous rally drivers and other persons who have had a great influence on rallying. The exhibition is part of the automobile and road museum Mobilia located at Kangasala, near the city of Tampere, in cent ...
, along with
Rauno Aaltonen Rauno August Aaltonen (born 7 January 1938), also known as "The Rally Professor", is a Finnish former professional rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1970s. Career Before WRC was established Aaltonen compe ...
,
Paddy Hopkirk Patrick Barron Hopkirk (14 April 1933 – 21 July 2022) was a rally driver from Northern Ireland. Hopkirk was appointed MBE in the 2016 New Year Honours list. In early 2016, Hopkirk became the IAM RoadSmart Mature Drivers Ambassador. Early ...
and
Timo Mäkinen Timo Mäkinen (18 March 1938 in Helsinki, Finland – 4 May 2017) was one of the original " Flying Finns" of motor rallying. He is best remembered for his hat-trick of wins in the RAC Rally and the 1000 Lakes Rally. Career Mäkinen's start in ...
. Carlsson died on 27 May 2015 after battling a short illness.


Victories

* 1955 1st in the ''
Rikspokalen The ''Rikspokalen'' is a motor rally that takes place in Örebro, Sweden. In the past, it was considered to be one of Europe's toughest rallies. It was one of the first rallies held when sport continued after World War Two with an event held in 19 ...
'' in a
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 ...
* 1957 1st in the 1000 Lakes Rally in a
Saab 93 The Saab 93 (pronounced ''ninety-three'') is the second production automobile that was manufactured by Saab. Styled by Sixten Sason, it was first presented on December 1, 1955. The 93 was powered by a longitudinally-mounted three-cylinder 748&nbs ...
* 1959 1st in the
Swedish Rally The Rally Sweden ( sv, Svenska rallyt), formerly the International Swedish Rally, and later the Uddeholm Swedish Rally, is an automobile rally competition held in February in Värmland, Sweden and relocated to Umeå in 2022. First held in 1950, ...
in a Saab 93 * 1959 1st in the ''
Rallye Deutschland The ADAC Rallye Deutschland is a rally event held in Germany. The event was first held in 1982 and originally hosted by e.g. Frankfurt, Mainz and Koblenz. In 2000, the rally was relocated to the region around Trier. Previously part of the Europ ...
'' in a Saab 93 * 1960, 1961, 1962 1st in the
RAC Rally Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calen ...
in a
Saab 96 The Saab 96 is an automobile manufactured and marketed by Saab from 1960 to January 1980, replacing the 93. The 96 featured aerodynamic two-door bodywork, four-passenger seating and at first a two-stroke, three-cylinder engine, later a four-strok ...
* 1960 2nd in the Akropolis Rally in a Saab 96 *1961 17th in Canadian Winter Rally in a Saab 96 * 1961 4th in the
Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeast ...
in a
Saab 95 The Saab 95 is a seven-seater, two-door station wagon which was produced by Saab from 1959 to 1978. Initially it was based on the Saab 93 sedan, but the model's development throughout the years followed closely that of the Saab 96 after the 93 ...
* 1961 1st in the Akropolis Rally in a Saab 96 * 1962, 1963, 1st in the Monte Carlo Rally in a Saab 96. * 1962, 7th in
East African Safari Rally The Safari Rally is a rally held in Kenya. It was first held in 1953 as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The event was part of the World Rally Championship from 1973 until 2002, before returning in 2021. It is historically ...
in a Saab 96 * 1963 2nd in the '' Liège-Sofia-Liège Rally'' in a Saab 96 * 1964 1st in the
San Remo Rally Rallye Sanremo is a rally competition held in Sanremo, Italy. Except for the 1995 event, the event was part of the FIA World Rally Championship schedule from the 1973 season to the 2003 season. Currently, it is a round of the Intercontinental Rall ...
(Rally dei Fiori) in a Saab 96 Sport * 1964 2nd in the ''Liège-Sofia-Liège Rally'' in a Saab 96 * 1964 2nd in the East African Safari Rally in a Saab 96 * 1965 2nd in the BP Australian Rally in a Saab 96 Sport * 1965 2nd in the Akropolis Rally in a Saab 96 Sport * 1967 1st in the Czech Rally in a Saab 96 V4 * 1969, 3rd in ''
Baja 1000 The Baja 1000 is an annual Mexican off-road motorsport race held on the Baja California Peninsula. It is one of the most prestigious off-road races in the world, having attracted competitors from six continents. The race was founded by Ed Pearl ...
'' in a Saab 96 V4 * 1970, 5th in ''Baja 1000'' in a Saab 96 V4


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlsson, Erik 1929 births 2015 deaths Off-road racing drivers Saab Swedish rally drivers People from Trollhättan Sportspeople from Västra Götaland County