The Saab Granturismo (also Monte Carlo and Sport) was a series of up-powered

sedans A sedan or saloon (British English) is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with separate compartments for an engine, passengers, and cargo. The first recorded use of the word "sedan" in reference to an automobile body occurred in 19 ...

sold by

Saab Automobile AB Saab Automobile AB () is a defunct 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 1949. In 1968 the pa ...

from 1958 to 1968. They were powered by three-cylinder, two-stroke engines until the 1967 model year. Most variants were distinguished from the standard model by twin metal stripes along the rocker panels.

Saab 93-based variant

The Granturismo 750 was a performance version of the Saab 93, produced between 1958 and 1962. It was introduced at the

New York International Auto Show The New York International Auto Show is an annual auto show that is held in Manhattan in late March or early April. It is held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. It usually opens on or just before Easter weekend and closes on the first Su ...

in 1958 and featured safety belts as standard, which soon became commonplace on most cars. It was was mainly aimed at the US market. It had the same body shell as the 93 but used a different interior and a high-output

Saab two-stroke The Saab two-stroke was a two-stroke cycle, inline, two cylinder, and later three cylinder engine manufactured by Swedish automotive manufacturer Saab that was based on a design by German manufacturer DKW. Two-cylinder The first version was a ...

engine. Rear-hinged doors were offered on the 1958 model year only. It had twin

carburetor A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meteri ...

s and the

two-stroke 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 ...

engine had been tuned to develop 50 hp (37 kW). An optional tuning kit was available to upgrade it to a Granturismo 750R with the engine power boosted to 55 hp (41 kW). The engine gave most power at high revs, 3400 to 5000 rpm. The

gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...

had three gears. In order to overcome the problems of overrun for the two-stroke engine, a

freewheel Freewheel mechanism In mechanical or automotive engineering, a freewheel or overrunning clutch is a device in a transmission that disengages the driveshaft from the driven shaft when the driven shaft rotates faster than the driveshaft. An ov ...

device was fitted. A 1959 review by ''

Road & Track ''Road & Track'' (stylized as ''R&T'') is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. It is owned by Hearst Magazines and is published 6 times per year. The editorial offices are located in New York, New York. History ''Road & Track'' (often ab ...

'' commented that smooth upshifts of the widely spaced 3-speed manual required revving the engine over 5000 rpm or slipping the clutch. Saab provided a retrofit kit which leaned out the fuel mixture in the carburetor, making the car more tractable at low revs but seriously impacting performance. The magazine also tried a modified version with , which improved acceleration to from 15.2 seconds (in the version) to 12 flat. For comparison, an unmodified 93B required 27.2 seconds. ''Road & Track'' praised the car's smooth ride and steering, as well as its high level of equipment. Even a "

Halda Halda Watch Company is a Swedish manufacturer of high-end watches. It was founded in 1887 by Henning Hammarlund in Svängsta. History Halda was founded in 1887 by the factory owner Henning Hammarlund (1857-1922) in order to primarily pro ...

Speedpilot", a mechanical

analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

trip computer A trip computer is a computer fitted to some cars; most modern trip computers record, calculate, and display the distance travelled, the average speed, the average fuel consumption, and real-time fuel consumption. The first, mechanical trip co ...

of the type used for rally racing, was included in the package.

Saab 96-based variants

The Granturismo 750 model name continued in 1960 with the

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-stro ...

body and its 4-speed gearbox, which also had free wheeling. It was succeeded by the Saab Sport in 1962, also based on the Saab 96, with slight modifications and with a different interior configuration and equipment. The engine was upgraded to an 841 cc

three-cylinder engine with one

Solex Solex may refer to: * Solex (musician), Dutch musician * Solex Carburetor, a French manufacturer of carburetors and the powered bicycle VéloSoleX * Solex College, a former private for-profit college in Chicago, Illinois * Solex Unit, a fictiona ...

per cylinder, giving . The engine was lubricated via a separate tank for

two-stroke oil Two-stroke oil (also referred to as two-cycle oil, 2-cycle oil, 2T oil, or 2-stroke oil) is a special type of motor oil intended for use in crankcase compression two-stroke engines, typical of small gasoline-powered engines. Use Unlike a four- ...

, allowing the use of ordinary petrol. The car also used

disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...

s at the front, something that was unusual at the time, and the wheels had four studs instead of the five used on the 96 and were of a stronger build, to withstand the extra workload. * From 1963 on the model for the USA market was named Granturismo 850. * In the 1965 model year power output was raised to . * From model year 1966 all market variants were named Monte Carlo 850 (after the successes in the Monte Carlo Rally). * During model year 1967 the two-stroke models were phased out and replaced with the ''Monte Carlo V4'' (with the

Ford Taunus V4 engine The Ford Taunus V4 engine is a 60° V4 piston engine with one balance shaft, introduced by Ford Motor Company in Germany in 1962. The German V4 was built in the Cologne plant and powered the Ford Taunus and German versions of the Consul, Capri, an ...

). * Production ended in 1968.

Gallery

SMTh 3.jpg, Saab 93-based Granturismo 750 SAAB 96 Sport.jpg, Pre-1965 Saab 96-based Sport with short nose File:SAAB96-1960.jpg, Post-1965 Saab 96-based Sport with long nose

References

External links

Saab Museum: Granturismo 750
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saab Gt750

GT750 The Suzuki GT750 is a water-cooled three-cylinder two-stroke motorcycle made by Suzuki from 1971 to 1977. It is the first Japanese motorcycle with a liquid-cooled engine. The Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan includes the 1971 Suzuki ...

Front-wheel-drive sports cars Grand tourers Cars introduced in 1958

Sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...