Saab Sonett is the name of a series of automobiles from Saab. The Sonett I was initially called the "Saab 94". The Sonett II and III are also known as the "'Saab 97". In the 1950s Rolf Mellde suggested that Saab should make a small number of open-top two seater sport cars as racing regulations did not allow Saab to tune their cars as much as was needed to be competitive. Rolf Mellde designed the car himself and in utter secrecy built it in a barn in Åsaka outside Trollhättan. Only a very limited number of people working on the project knew about it and was done in their spare time. The total cost of the project was 75000 Kronor. The name 'Sonett' is derived from an exclamation in Swedish by Rolf Mellde; "Så nätt den är", but the name was originally suggested for both the Saab 92 and the Saab 93.

Sonett I

On March 16, 1956 the Saab Sonett Super Sport or Saab 94 (later known as Sonett I) was displayed at Stockholms Bilsalong. Only 6 were made, the original had a hand crafted body and the others were made in Glassfiber Reinforced Polyester (GRP - "fiberglass") using the original car as a model. It had a three-cylinder 748 cc two-stroke engine giving 57.5 hp (43 kW). The body design was advanced for its time and was based on aluminium boxes. However, racing rules were changed and since Saab was now allowed to race using tuned up standard cars, only six were produced. In September 1996, car number 1 broke the Swedish speed record for cars up to 750 cc with a speed of 159.4 km/h.

Sonett II

In the 1960s Björn Karlström suggested that Saab should develop a new two seater sports car with a two stroke engine, but this time it would be a coupe and not a convertible. Two prototypes were developed, the Saab MFI13 by Malmö Flygindustri and the Saab Catherina by Sixten Sason. The MFI13 was the one selected for production. In 1966 the MFI13 was, after some modifications, put into production at ASJ in Arlöv as the "Saab 97" - that year only 28 units were produced, and a further 230 in 1967. The engine was a three-cylinder, two-stroke engine giving 60 hp (45 kW). The Sonett II could do 0 to 100 km/h in 12.5 seconds and had a top speed of 150 km/h.

When Saab started using the Ford Taunus V4 engine in their other models, they also wanted to use it in the Sonett II. The car was redesigned and renamed the Sonett II V4, with the 1500 cc Ford V4. A new hood was designed by Gunnar A. Sjögren, with a 'bulge', necessary to fit the higher engine. The bulge is slightly to the right so it would not obstruct the view of the driver. The engine produced 65 hp (48 kW) and the Sonett II V4 made 0 to 100 km/h in 12.5 s and had a top speed of 160 km/h.  In total only 1868 Sonett IIs were produced.

An interesting side note is that the local SAAB dealership in Czechoslovakia opened in 1962 and run by the race driver Zdenek Treybal. Apart from selling Saab 96 he also managed to sell two Sonett II V4s. One to a race driver in Prague. The other to AZPN (Automobilové Závody Narodni Podnik) in Mladá Boleslav in 1968. AZPN used the Sonett as the basis of a prototype for Škoda Auto called the Škoda 1100 GT. From the doors and rear it is almost identical with the Sonett, bue the front is inspired by Ferrari Dino.

Sonett III

In the 1970s the Sonett design started to feel a bit outdated and for the redesigned Sonett III Saab called in Sergio Coggiola. It was important that the middle section would be unaltered, but Coggiola ignored that and made a significantly wider car. The Coggiola design was altered by Gunnar A. Sjögren to fit the middle section. Due to demands from the US market, the Sonett III had a floor shifter instead of the column shifter as used in previous models. It also came with optional dealer installed air conditioning, also a request from the US market.

The Sonett III had the type indicator '97' in the chassis number and used the same Ford V4 engine as before, with 1500 cc in 1970 and 1971, and a 1700 cc in later versions. Both engine types gave 65 hp (48 kW). The Sonett III made 0-100 km/h in 13 s and due to a 'longer' differential gear ratio, had a top speed of 165 km/h. The drag factor was 0.31. Production was ended in 1974 due to stricter automobile emissions control in the USA. A total of 10,219 Saab 97 (Sonett II and III) were made.

Sonett IV

The Sonett IV was planned to be a 2+2 sports car with a 2.0L turbocharged engine, but the project never got very far.

In March 2004 the head of General Motors in Europe, Bob Lutz, stated that he wanted a new Saab Sonett. This time based on the Pontiac Solstice . Another possible platform that has been mentioned is the Subaru B9 Scrambler, but what most people seem to think that the most likley choise is the new GM Delta platform. The designer will probable be Michael Mauer and it's said that the roadster was designed when he worked at SAAB, before he went to Porsche in July 2004.

On April 6, 2004 AutoWeek wrote that a new Saab will be based on the GM Kappa platform, but that would be difficult to adapt to front wheel drive. Go ahead has already been given to Saturn's Kappa car, based on the Curve concept created by the Saab advanced design team in Gothenburg, Sweden. A Saab source says "that we're exploring a Sonett-inspired two-seater should be no surprise". It is likely it will be revealed on the 2005 Frankfurt auto show.

Svante Kinell at the marketing department at Saab told Autoweek in an interview that a front-wheel-drive, two seater powered by a 250 hp V6 is planned. A concept may be shown at the Geneva auto show in March 2006. At the launch of the face-lifted 9-5 in Spain Svante Kinell told Automotive News Europe that "We will show an interesting concept in Geneva that will have the DNA of our Sonett sports car that we sold in the mid-'60s". If the concept is received well on various US car shows it will go into production.

There have been speculation regarding if the concept car Saab Aero-X may go into production under the "Sonett" name.

Sonett V Prototype

Despite its name, the Sonett V was supposedly designed and built during the early production of the Sonett III. It is rumored to have been constructed by hand overtop a production 197x Sonett III chassis by none other than Sergio Coggiola. Many claim it was shown at the 1971 Las Vegas International Auto Show. Other sources claim it to be a custom car job by a Saab enthusiast more recently. Its wider body and more exotic lines suggest this to be closer to Coggiola's original design for the Sonett III. As Coggiola is believed to have departed from Saab before producing the V, the car could be classified as a custom Saab rather than a prototype. Due to the uncertainty of its history, there is still some debate.

Functionally, the Sonett V is believed to be very similar to the production Sonett III. Information is scarce and details unclear, but it likely contains a somewhat modified version of the production Ford Taunus V4 engine. 90 hp engine output has been mentioned along with a top speed of 120 miles per hour. Both numbers are possible; several modified Sonett IIIs have attained this level or more of performance. The widened body in the front and rear and 4 bolt wheel hubs also indicate possible suspension modifications.

The Sonett V's history is as vague as the rest of the car's details. Its journey from Sweden to the US is so far a mystery (assuming it was built there), and even its current owner is not known. The earliest mention of the Sonett V on the internet appears to be a classified ad from a California owner. Though the description of the car was somewhat inacurate, mentioning an inline engine rather than a V4, there is no reason to believe this ad to have been a hoax. Following this is a long period of inactivity until a more recent owner placed the car up for sale in mid-2004. This time it was described as belonging to a member of the Yesteryear Car Club of Shelton, Washington. After several months, it was listed on eBay by the same owner. Rumors of the eBay bidder backing out have been circulated, but no solid information on the car's current whereabouts has surfaced.