Saab was founded in 1937 to build combat aircraft, and its first car only reached production in 1949. That aircraft heritage stayed in the name: Saab stands for Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget.
- Country
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Sweden - Active
- 1937 to 2011
Aircraft first, cars later
Saab was never meant to build cars. The company was founded on 2 April 1937 to develop and manufacture combat aircraft, and its name says so: Saab is an acronym of Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, the Swedish Aeroplane Company.
Then the war ended. In 1945 Saab expected demand for military aircraft to drop sharply and started looking for new products. A car was one of them. The first prototype was ready in the summer of 1946, built partly with engine and mechanical parts from scrapyards, and in June 1947 the Saab 92 was unveiled in Linköping. Series production started in Trollhättan in mid-December 1949, at a pace of three or four cars a day.
Saab calls engineer Gunnar Ljungström the father of the Saab car. The shape came from designer Sixten Sason. In 1965 the company itself changed its name to Saab Aktiebolag.
Wings, then a little aeroplane
Before there were cars, there was an aircraft symbol: a front view of a twin-engine propeller plane with the letters S-A-A-B beneath it. When car production began in 1949, the cars got their own badge, the SAAB name on a pair of chrome wings against a blue background. According to the Saab Car Museum, this wing logo was used until 1962, in blue or silver, on the 92, 93, 95, 96 and the Sonett Super Sport.
In 1963 the aircraft moved onto the cars. A stylised aeroplane with SAAB across the top appeared in the grille of the 1963 Saab 96, and from 1964 it was on the boot lid too. A simpler Saab emblem followed in 1974.
How a griffin landed on the bonnet
The red griffin wasn’t Saab’s to begin with. It came with the truck maker Scania-Vabis, which merged with Saab in 1969 to form Saab-Scania. Saab describes the griffin as a mythological animal linked to the Scania and Vabis heritage and to the county of Skåne. The Saab Car Museum notes that the Scania-Vabis griffin crest never appeared on a Saab car itself.
That changed in May 1984, when the group adopted a new symbol built around the griffin. It was designed by the Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd and first appeared on 1985 models. Reuterswärd said the idea was that Saab and Scania should be “seen as a unit”. The roundel was modified in 1990 and 1992, and in 1995 Scania adopted its own version.
The last big change came on 14 August 2000, months after General Motors took full control of the car company. The new symbol was a red griffin head wearing a gold crown, with SAAB in silver beneath it, all on a navy blue round plate. It went on every 2001 Saab. According to the Saab Car Museum, the griffin comes from the coats of arms of Skåne and Östergötland and stands for vigilance. Saab also tied it to the city of Linköping and to the JAS 39 Gripen fighter.
Navy, red and a lot of bottle green
The final badge used three colours: a navy blue plate, a red griffin with a gold crown, and silver lettering. But the colour most people remember on early Saabs is green. Saab tells the story itself. The armed forces had bought large quantities of green camouflage paint that didn’t suit the terrain, so Saab bought the whole consignment. Both the aircraft and the first cars ended up bottle green, and the shade became a Saab trademark.
From the little green car to the Turbo
Saab built cars for a little over six decades, and the aircraft thinking never quite left them.
Landmark Saabs, decade by decade
- 1949: Saab 92. Saab’s first production car, with front-wheel drive and a top speed of 100 km/h.
- 1955: Saab 93. Unveiled on 1 December 1955 with a more powerful three-cylinder engine.
- 1960: Saab 96. In 1963 it became the first car to carry the stylised aeroplane in its grille.
- 1967: Saab 99. The project started on 2 April 1965 under the code name Gudmund.
- 1976: Saab Turbo. Launched in the autumn of 1976.
- 1992: Saab 9000 Griffin. A model that took its name from the creature on the badge.
The car business was split off from Saab-Scania as Saab Automobile at the turn of the 1990s, with General Motors owning half, and in 2000 GM took full ownership. That made Saab a sister of brands like Opel, Vauxhall and Cadillac. In 2010 GM sold Saab Automobile to the Dutch carmaker Spyker, but the change of owner couldn’t stop the decline, and the company filed for bankruptcy in December 2011. National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) bought most of its assets in 2012, but later lost the rights to the Saab name and logo, which belong to the defence company Saab AB. For other marques that live on in memory, see our classic car logos.
Saab questions, answered
What does the Saab logo mean?
The last Saab logo showed a red griffin head with a gold crown. According to the Saab Car Museum, the griffin comes from the coats of arms of Skåne and Östergötland and stands for vigilance. It reached Saab through the 1969 merger with Scania-Vabis.
What does Saab stand for?
Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, which means the Swedish Aeroplane Company. Saab was founded in 1937 to build combat aircraft.
Who designed the Saab griffin logo?
The griffin symbol adopted in May 1984 was designed by the Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd. It first appeared on 1985 models and was updated several times, most visibly in 2000.
Does Saab still make cars?
No. Saab Automobile filed for bankruptcy in December 2011. The Saab name now belongs to the defence and security company Saab AB, and Saab itself had stopped making cars once General Motors took full control in 2000.
From Gripen to griffin: the Saab dossier
- Founded
- 1937
- Country
- Sweden
- Parent company
- General Motors (2000 to 2010), Spyker Cars (2010 to 2011)
- Current emblem
- A red griffin head with a gold crown above silver SAAB lettering on a navy blue roundel, introduced in 2000
- Known for
- Aircraft-bred cars, the Saab Turbo and the red griffin badge
- Status
- Defunct
