Saabs have always been sporty so for a sporty carmaker to make a sports car… well, you have to know that it’s doubly-sporty or somethin’. I’m not sure where I was going with that but the seller says that this 1969 Saab Sonett V4 is very fast! They have this unusual and beautiful car listed here on eBay in unusual and beautiful Portland, Oregon, and the current bid price is $10,000. This car was shown here on Barn Finds by Jonathan Dennis back in October but that sale apparently fell through and it’s for sale again – here’s your chance!
Jonathan gave us some great information on the rare Sonett II and Sonett V4 a few weeks ago so please read that article. The Sonett II, or Sonett V4, depending on the engine, weighed well under a ton so I don’t doubt that this is a very fun car to drive. Sporty. They are somewhere between very rare and incredibly rare so if you’ve ever wanted a nice one, here’s your chance. There is no reserve on this auction and only two days left so someone will be getting a nice driver-quality car.
The original Sonett, the Sonett I, would be incredible to find or even see in a museum. The company reportedly only made around a half-dozen of them or so and only two are said to exist today. I’m still holding out hope for politicians to “reach across the aisle”, that may actually happen before a person finds a Saab Sonett I tucked away in a barn somewhere. What am I saying, neither of those things will ever happen.
You can see that the driver’s seat bottom could use some help but this is one nice-looking interior otherwise. The seller has provided a lot of good photos so kudos to them for that. They even show the underside which looks solid, as well as photos showing the rear cargo area and one of the “trunk”, which isn’t really a trunk but more of a pass-through to the rear cargo area. The rear glass isn’t hinged so access to the rear cargo area is either from the inside or through the small rear cargo door. The stereo was upgraded to a Bluetooth model.
Saab originally had their legendary two-stroke triple in the Sonett II but in mid-1967, they added another legendary engine: the Ford V4. In this case, that V4 would have had between 65 and 70 horsepower. They say that it’s in good running condition, it shifts through the gears as it should, and everything works. These cars don’t come up for sale too often. Have any of you owned a Sonett?
Unusual car? Yes. Beautiful car? No! Even the Daimler SP 250/Dart is prettier than this.
The Daimler Dart looks absolutely amazing when in the UK Police livery as the robbers were getting away from the police in their Mk2 Jaguars for high speed pursuits! The drivers must have had extra large cahonies especially with bias ply tyres!
Back in the late fifties and early sixties we used to RACE our cars and motorcycles on Bias ply tyres! The cars drifted more easily on cross (bias) ply tyres but the bikes let go completely when their limit was reached and we ended up with plenty of broken bones or even wooden overcoats.
There are actually more than two Sonnett Is in existence. There are two in this country…both in collector’s hands. There is one in the Saab Museum in Trollhattan, Sweden. And there are two or three in collector’s hands in Europe. Saab built about 12 of these cars back in the day. There could be a few tucked away in a barn over across the pond, but I doubt if there are any in a barn over in the US!
Thanks for that info, SaabGirl900!
Count me among the few who have driven one. Fun indeed, but the hind end is so darn light it breaks loose *very* easily. Only car I’ve ever driven with “four-on-the-tree”. Never did find reverse, but it’s so light you can open the door and push it backwards with your left foot.
It seems like you pulled the shifter out (opposite of an old VW) to engage reverse. I’ve never driven a Sonnet, but I did own a 2 stroke column shifted 96, but it was a long time ago.
Didn’t realize that Sonett production was so low. 640 for the 1969 run?
I still have my 1969 sonett V4
Reverse is towards driver and down☝️
I’ve had 3 early SAAB cars:
A 1958 SAAB 93B that ended up moving back to Sweden in the late 1970s.
A Sonett V-4, but after buying it I discovered the majority of the steel supporting bulkhead under the fiberglass body had rusted away, so I never drove the car before selling it to another SAAB enthusiast.
And my favorite; a dark blue 1963 850GT Monte Carlo with a rather unusual history. This car was equipped with 4 wheel disc brakes , triple carbs with automatic oil injection, Nardi wood steering wheel, Halda Speed Pilot, and 4 extra rallye lamps up front. The car was documented as having been prepared by the factory for the 1963 Monte Carlo race, but was not needed.
So what to do with the car? It was sent to America, where it went from SAAB dealer to SAAB dealer until it finally ended up in San Francisco, where a fraternity brother of my dad bought it from the dealer there. He drove it sparingly until 1964 when he returned to Maryland.
The car was stuck away in the new house’s garage, and with a new job and kids, he just never got around to putting Maryland license plates on the SAAB, so it just sat. Dad had told me about the car, but said it wasn’t for sale. That said I asked for “first refusal” if he did decide to sell the SAAB. In 1994 that call came, and he said to come pick the car up. Refusing any payment, he simply wanted a true car enthusiast to own the car. That, plus he’d known me since the day I was born.
So we brought the Saab to my shop and got it running and driving, new fuel system and brake system overhauls, battery & tires, and I had a 14,000 mile SAAB 850GT Monte Carlo, with all the rallye equipment!
One of my neighbors collected American sports cars; Mustangs and Camaros. He made jokes about my “Little bug”, so we agreed to a race north on New Hampshire Avenue, a 2-lane winding road. His Mustang GT fastback simply could not catch my little bug in the tight corners, he would begin to catch up in the brief straight sections of roadway, but fall right back in the curves. The Camaro SS was even worse.
Sadly, on the first Saturday night in May, 1995, the building where I stored my cars was hit by lightning, and everything, including the SAAB, was mostly destroyed. I was able to save some of the items under the hood including the triple carbs and oil injection, plus the disc brakes, all of which I sold to a SAAB guy at the Carlisle show. I was able to find in the rubble, a singed 850GT Monte Carlo emblem, that I’ve saved as a memento.
Bill, that’s a very sad story. No car deserves to end up like that, no matter what make or model.
Lost in the fire were: 1932 & 35 Rolls-Royce 20/25, 1935 Rover 12 Tickford drophead, 1941 Cadillac convertible coupe, 1950 Packard Super Deluxe convertible, 1956 Imperial with body by Facel of Paris, 1948 Packard experimental taxicab, 1972 Triumph TR6, and several more cars parked outside were damaged.
And while on the subject, in May 1973, A barn I was storing cars inside was struck by lightning. Inside was a 1920’s Packard 1/2 ton truck, 1956 Packard Caribbean sedan [only one built], 1955 Packard Caribbean convertible, and a 1946 Alfa Romeo 6C2500 with an alloy coupe body.
The Saab Sonnet and Opel GT trying for market shares with the Corvette and Porsche back in the late 60’s. Yup and it’s still as ugly now as it was back then.
I disagree. There are many excellent points w/these cars. Do not reject out of hand but come to know what it really is. Being ‘of difference’ actually has some advantage. Understand Y it was engineered this way. It will expand ur understanding of automotive science.
I like them and the later models (when Subie was known as “the 4WD” or AWD co & this 1 as “the turbo” company). Here we have a glass body w/steel under pinnings – kinda smart…
Bill–
So sorry to hear about the loss of all of those great cars, including the Saab. Friends of mine in Iowa who own a former Saab dealership, now a service point, had a ’64 96 (I think it may have been a GT) stored in a large shed on their property with a few other rarities. Some tyres caught fire and the fire spread to the shed. Sadly, the ’64 was lost along with at least one other vehicle. Marty and Annette were able to save a few cars before the shed got too dangerous to enter, but the ones that didn’t get out were reduced to charred metal.
SaabGirl900,
The good part of the aftermath was in the adjoining room where the body and paint section of my restoration shop was located. We had just finished a total restoration of a 1966 Mustang Convertible for the original owner. She picked the car up the morning before the fire. I had the car in the paint booth to protect it from getting dirty until her arrival. The next morning the paint booth was destroyed.
A customer car was in the next garage bay, a 1969 Chevelle Malibu, 396 & 4 speed from the factory. It was also a 1-owner car, and we were almost finished with it’s restoration too. It was sitting on 4 jack stands while we painted and detailed the Chevy Rallye wheels and installed new tires. because it was not on rolling tires, we couldn’t get the car out in time, and I sat on our picnic table and watched it burn.
When the flames reached the gas tank & because it was almost empty, that meant it had a tank full of fumes, so when it lit up, the front of the tank seal was the first to let go, and I watched as the entire car lifted up in the air several feet, before coming straight back down, settling back on the stands!
The couple who owned the Chevy were retired county police officers, and we 3 cried together the next morning. But the insurance covered client’s cars, and as we had documented the restoration and it’s value, they went out and bought a pair of new Harley-Davidson motorcycles with the cash payment!
Bill–
That had to have been awful, watching so many great cars and so much hard work go up in flames. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it had to have been.
I think I understand now why my neighbour has so many lightning rods atop his house!!!
Auction update: this one ended with a high bid of $10,100 but we don’t know if the seller took that high bid or what happened. According to eBay, “This listing was ended by the seller because the item was sold.”