SAAB V8: The Finno-American Dream

When the Saab 99 came out in 1968, it originally came with 1.7 and 1.8-liter inline-four engines, known as the "Slant-Four," produced by the British company Triumph. However, by 1971, Triumph had developed a 3.0-liter V8 engine, which was also considered for the Saab 99. Despite building 28 prototypes with this engine, the project didn’t move forward, and instead, Saab decided to produce their own engines, based on the Slant-four. This led to the creation of the Saab B engine in 1972, followed by the Saab H engine in 1981. The idea of installing a V8 in a Saab resurfaced once again during a trip to the U.S. by Juhani Linnoinen, the head of the Saab-Valmet factory in Uusikaupunki. He noticed that while Americans generally liked their cars, there was one major point of dissatisfaction — the engine volume. Even though the engines were turbocharged, Americans still wanted to see a bigger motor. This vision was also shared by Robert Sinclair, the president of Saab-Scania in the U.S., who wanted to elevate the brand to a higher market. He believed that their cars needed more character and performance, and a V8 engine could be the ideal solution. And just before Christmas of 1987, Juhani asked Mauno Ylivakeri, the chief engineer at Valmet's Linnavuori engine plant, if they could make a V8 engine for Saab?, and Mauno replied, “Of course, after all, this is an engine plant!” And this is how the Saab V8 engine project began Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio Font used in the thumbnail: Deledda by Blue Curve Design Studio!