Monday 12th December 1949
Regular production of cars at the Saab factory in Trollhättan, Sweden began. The first car – a green Saab 92 – rolled off the production line a few weeks later. Powered by a transversely mounted, water-cooled 2 cylinder, two-stroke 764 cc, 25 hp thermosiphon engine based on a DKW design, giving the ‘92’ a top speed of 65 mph (104.6 km/h). The transmission had three gears, the first unsynchronised. In order to overcome the problems of oil starvation during overrun (engine braking) for the two-stroke engine, a freewheel device was fitted.