Saab 95.

1960 model year - Chassis No.s 1 to 1,700

Saab 95 was premiered in May 1959 and production started in the autumn. It was Saab's aim to build a trial series of 20 units - but 55 were produced by the end of December.

The press prototype was a blue and white two-tone finish with doors hung from their trailing edge. Forward of the rear door pillars the 95 was essentially the same as the 93B.

Saab scored a success with the 95 in the United States aswel as Europe. The 95 had a larger engine at 841cc and developed an output of 42hp.

Erik Carlsson drove a 95 (because this was the only Saab with a four speed gearbox at the time) in the Monte Carlo Rally of 1961 and came fourth.

Early 95s were assembled at Linköping as Trollhättan did not have sufficient capacity.

1961 model year - Chassis No.s 1,701 to 3,684

The Saab 95 had been an instant success - Saab had reported an overall sales increase of 42% in Sweden for 1960. On 1st September 1960 Saab took charge of AB Nykopings Automobilfabrik, ANA, and its well developed dealer network.

1961 models now had key activated starter motors - gone was the starter cord and toggle beneath the dash panel. This year saw the introduction of the rear roof spoiler to direct air across the rear window to keep it free of dirt and new rear side windows could be opened.

The 95 gained the same instrument panel as the 96. From August 1961 the 95 came with silver-grey wheels.

1962 model year - Chassis No.s 3,685 to 6,623

New features for the 1962 model year 95 included interference suppression,vacuum conrolled ignition setting and from January 1962 seat belts were fitted as standard on all Swedish market Saab 95s.

New body colours were city-grey and arctic ocean blue. The seats now had woollen cloth upholstery.

1963 model year - Chassis No.s 6,624 to 10,800

25,000 Saabs were sold in 1962, an increase of 22.5% on the previous year. The SAAB emblem on the bonnet had been discarded in favour of the SAAB name and logo - an aeroplane - within the grid-pattern grille.

New interior features included a horn-ring on the steering wheel, a larger interior rear-view mirror, raised seats and more effective interior heating and ventilation.

New colours for the model year were Midnight Blue, Brown-Beige and Black. Green was dropped.

1964 model year - Chassis No.s 10,801 to 15,096

A major safety innovation, and one that has been included on Saabs ever since (and further enhanced by ABS3+) was that of a diagonally split dual circuit braking system. This meant that the front nearside and rear offside brakes acted on a separate circuit to the front offside and rear nearside brakes. Should one circuit fail then the driver still had a degree of braking control that would avoid a skid.

A new instrument panel featuring round instruments was introduced. New colours for the model year were Glacier Blue and Savannah Brown. The interior now sported darker interior colours.

1965 model year - Chassis No.s 23,101 to 28,701

The production of the 1965 model year started on 19 August 1964 with a 95 featuring a somewhat new and longer front. The 95 now had a completely redesigned cooling system that included the positioning of the radiator ahead of the engine rather than behind it.

The engine compression was increased to 8.1:1 which in turn raised the power output to 44hp. Other changes included a hydraulically operated clutch, a new fuel pump, a new exhaust system and foot pedals that were hung from the top.

The rear lamps were given a new colour combination with orange for the direction indicators. Model year colours were Olive Green, Torreador Red, Polar White, Midnight Blue, Savannah Brown and Glacier Blue.

1966 model year - Chassis No.s 30,001 to 37,309

The 1966 Saab 95 had a triple-carburretor. It had a higher power output. It had faster acceleration - 0-100kph down from 29 to 23 seconds. It had a faster top speed - up from 120 to 125kph. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, fuel consumption was up also!

Other features included new hubcaps and stainless steel trim strips and a new headlamp flasher. Cars for the home market were fitted with two external rear view mirrors as standard. Headlamps that were easily converted to driving on the right were fitted ahead of the impending change in Sweden in 1969 from driving on the left to driving on the right.

On the Swiss and American markets the Saab 95 came with a separately lubricated 55hp engine. This was the same engine as the Monte Carlo - but the 95 did not feature the same luxurious interior.

These 95s were designated "95 Special" and had instrumentation that included a tachometer and front wheels with disc brakes. New colours were Dark Grey and yellow. Savannah Brown and Olive Green were now no longer available. The three speed gearbox was now phased out completely.