While its first ancestor was the Saab 93 sedan, the 95 owes its legacy and good looks to the Saab 96. A two-door wagon that holds seven people is quite a feat, yet the 95 can do it in style. Originally produced with an 841cc 2 stroke 3 cylinder engine, this example has the more robust Ford derived 4-stroke V4, which is the first year it became available. That is connected to a 4-speed manual which was the only available transmission option. This Saab gets a declared 30 mpg and has 35,000 miles on it! You can check out the auction on here on eBay.
The early production models of the 95 had suicide opening front doors. Those variants also had no rear spoiler above the rear window. This version does not have the suicide doors, but does have a spoiler. That was added to direct airflow away from the rear window and keep it clean.
According to the listing, it is an older restoration. While there are no photos of the engine, there are photos of the wonderfully done interior. Passengers who chose the two rear facing seats might have been the wiser than those who chose the middle bench seat. The 95 can still hold seven even with a length of 169 inches (2 inches shorter than a Ford Focus Hatchback). A weekend trip to the mountains, even in the snow, would be ideal for this front wheel drive classic. These cars were built to carry up to 1,200 pounds of cargo so the family, the dog, and luggage could all come along. It is not a Swiss army knife, but it is a Swedish wagon, and could be a versatile tool in your garage!
Needs surfboards
As others had pointed out; “there’s no surfing in New York” (Kentucky). Wind surfing fer shure.
Besides, the ‘four on the tree’ would hospitalize most of today’s drivers above boomer babies’ generation.
Tough machine.
As others have pointed out, folks surf off of Long Island AND folks surf on Lake Ontario in the fall and early winter when the waves are kicking up.
I was just waiting for someone to make a comment about where the car is based, since Kentucky is land-locked.
Brave souls wind surf on the Mississippi. Doesn’t look a thing like SoCal. With this car I’d be headed out for the Great Lakes to make an “Endless Summer-II” movie. 30 mpg wagon, four speed, and a stone for an engine, how can you lose?
Many thanks to the late Bruce Brown.
“Holds seven”? Really? Seven what? Surely not seven typical 250 – 300 lb. big-Mac fed Americans.
that’s true. holds seven fairly skinny pre-adolescents or seven skinny nordic adults and their cross country skis and granola but that’s about it.
Last week I got to drive my brother’s new 96. What fun. You really need to review that 3 cylinder.
It is very narrow, no way 3 over the age of 6 could fit in the back seat.
He’s thinking of rallying it.
The first ancestor to this little Saab was the model 92. The 93 came next followed by the 95 (wagon) and 96.
Correct, and well-spotted.
The funny thing about Saab development was they changed the front and then the back most of the way through the times when they built interesting cars (pre-GM). So the 92 rear was kept for the 93, but the front was new. The 96 took the 93 front and updated the rear, until about 1966 when they (badly) updated the front again.
The 99 changed the front and became the 900. There was also the (rare) 90, which was the front of the 99 and the rear of the 900.
We now call this IKEA.
The SAAB 92/3/6 are amazingly modern cars. Look at the chassis and it really is the prototype for ever modern shopping car. Shame that 2 stroke looked like a good idea in very different times. And that the answer was the Ford Taunus V4. They also experimented with the Fulvia V4. Imagine what that could have been.
I had a Saab 96 and loved it. It was an unbelievably-tough car, had a separate dispenser that fed oil into the gas, and came with a tool set that allowed you to fix most of the car. You could put down the rear seat back and then the car had a huge amount of room.
A nice older example of this car, but hate the paint scheme and the dark interior. No pics of the engine compartment leave me to be concerned as well as no pics of the underside of the car where there are prone to be many rust rot and structural integrity issues. However it being based in the south, the body is probably okay. Main issues focused around the protective coating on the underside of the car, becoming compromised, peeling off and then moisture being allowed to get between the coating and the floor pans where it would become trapped and then rust the British Steel out.
These are great little cars that helped SAAB build a loyal customer base here in the US and throughout Europe. For many this car was their first exposure to the beauty of FWD. Wish I had the money as I would consider buying one of these as they are becoming quite collectible.
u didn’t want to be behind these even when they were new
Smell was great. The times have changed……not saying that is a good or bad thing. Just different.
I have owned a1963 96 with 2 stroke, a new 1967 96 with triple carb 2 stroke
1974 96 with V 4 and still own a1974 97 SAAB Sonnet sport coupe.
All were very good comfortable cars.
I love the tail lights, same as Porsche 904!
Never seen one of these! I do know that I like it! Love the colors! Saab is turning out to be my favorite small cars! Just starting my adventure with small cars, but I am leaning towards the Saab as seriously purchasing to start the journey in!
“…He’s thinking of rallying it….”
they were winners back in the day.
“…am leaning towards the Saab as seriously purchasing…”
a great company that is out of business (?’12?).