1965 The MFI13 was the creation of Björn Karlström and Björn Andreasson. Karlström was a designer who had many ideas about Swedish cars in the 1950s and he succeeded in getting a manufacturer enthusiastic about one of his ideas: a sports car project based on standard Saab components. The manufacturer was Malmö Flygindustri (MFI) and project number 13 was chosen since there was no way the number would be used by superstitious airmen!

The Sonett II was not identical to the MFI13 but the basic lines of the prototype have been retained. The MFI13, the only one of its kind, has a three-cylinder two-stroke engine with three carburettors and a (very) loud exhaust note. It has achieved a top speed of 150km/h with 0 to 100km/h taking just 13.7 seconds - a figure that was as good or better than its contemporaries.

The Saab 97 project - based upon the MFI13 - made good progress. By the winter of 1966 it was possible to display the car earlier than expected, and in Stockholm, rather than New York as had been anticipated. The show model was a pre-production model based very much on the MFI13 but with an extended front section to give the car a more purposeful look.

For ease of maintenance the entire front section tilted up to provide access to the engine. The engine itself was the same as that in the Monte Carlo (the Monte Carlo was a Saab 96 based successor to the GT750), delivering 60hp due in no small respect to the three carburettors.
Production commenced at ASJ in late 1966 with a total of 28 Sonett IIs, three of which were pre-production models, being manufactured practically by hand.
Few further Sonett IIs were powered by the two-stroke power plant, instead the Sonett II was fitted with a new four-stroke four-cylinder unit (Ford V4) as was now standard in the Saab 96.
The installation of such an engine required a modification to the bonnet lines of the Sonett II that left it with an unsightly bulge - even if it did indicate a more powerful engine.

Articles In This Section Introduction - An overview of the history of Saab Saab 92 - Models from 1950 until 1956 Models from 1953 to 1960 Models from 1958 to 1960 Models from 1959 to 1966 Saab Formula Junior and Catherina MFI13 and Models from 1966 to 1970 95/96V4 - The Toad - Sonett III Saab 98/99/900 Saab EV-1/9000/900 Saab Rally Saab Innovations