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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. |
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