I just spoke to Björn Envall the former chief designer at SAAB.
He started his career at SAAB with Sixten Sason in the 1960’s. He was the design father behind the CombiCoupe and I asked him how he came up with the design of the 99 Rally car.
It started with the 96 Rally model a few years earlier. The red and later the orange rally 96 was not as “noticable” – they did not stand out – the cars kept winning but people did not recognize the car. The paint had to change.
So the green color scheme came up. Odd green colors and chevrons that matched and mirrored itself into the roundness of the car. This made the car stand out of the crowd.
Pierre Olofsson, who at that time was considered an old man, was 50 years old at the time. He was the man behind the selection of the green colors. According to Björn, Pierre has a unique sense for colors. Stig and Per were once again easily spotted in the forests.
Then the 99 Turbo rally car needed a design. Björn liked the thunderbolt graphics saying “power” and something extra. The Red Turbo “O” is a design feature he is especially proud of. It is a glowing red hot turbo! To match this “O” there was a new graphic typeface/font.
Gunnar Sjögren helped out forming the unique letters that make up the “TURBO” logo.
Björn refers to this period as the “Playhouse time”. Before things started to be complicated and bureaucratic at Saab!
I will talk to him again soon. He seemed quite excited over our little project!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve seen many yellow minilites over time, and I wonder which came first — the idea for the yellow wheels or the Stig car? I would be interesting to find out.
I will remember to ask Björn Envall next time I talk to him.
Hello,
Congratulations on this fine endeavour. I will be sure to follow proceedings closely!
A suggestion if I may with respect to fund raising;
Would it be possible to kindly ask Björn Envall to produce a series of sketches, particularly during his period at Saab? This could include any ideas he may have had about future Saab models..
This link gives a glimpse of his talents (see from 02:20s onwards): http://www.saabhistory.com/2007/03/17/the-saab-9000-film-1984/
My thinking is that these could then be printed in a limited run of say 100 each of which can be autographed and then put up for sale?! The original sketches could even be auctioned online..
Just a thought about potential fund raising avenues!
Good luck with everything,
ARUK
~96 9000 CS Aero, manual, 75k, Le Mans Blue
Are there any good colour phots available of Stig’s Red 99 turbo that he used in the 1979 RAC rally?
I’ve seen a couple of B&W shots, but color shots are hard to find!
That being said…the Black is certainly my favourite!!!
Keep up the good work!!!