SAAB

Sixten Sason – designer of the Saab 92, 93, 95, 96, 99 and the Saab Sonett

Sixten SasonSixten Sason

Sixten Sason (born Sixten Andersson; 1912–1967) was a Swedish industrial designer.

Sason started working for Saab, designing aircraft throughout World War II. Following the war, he was asked to contribute to Project 92, the result of which would be the first Saab automobile, the Saab 92 which began production in 1949. Sason remained with Saab, designing the 93, 95, 96 and 99, as well as the first Sonett.

Sixten Sason’s prototype 92001
Sixten Sason’s prototype 92001

Many of the unique design elements Sason implemented, particularly with the 99, dominated Saab design into the 1990s and continue to inform Saab’s design language today. Much of the company’s reputation for iconoclasm, ingenuity and quirkiness rests on his work.

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Sixten Sason, Saab Sonett Super sport, born in a swedish barn and introduced 1955.
Sixten Sason, Saab Sonett Super sport, born in a swedish barn and introduced 1955.

In addition to Saab, Sason designed consumer products for Electrolux (most notably the Z 70 vacuum cleaner in 1957), Hasselblad (where he designed their first camera model in 1949), Husqvarna (designing such motorcycles as the Silverpilen), and Monark (where he designed the scooter Monarscoot.)

The legendary Ur SAAB (the original) designed by Sixten Sason
The legendary Ur SAAB (the original) designed by Sixten Sason
1949 Saab 92001 designed by Sixten Sason, Sweden
1949 Saab 92001 designed by Sixten Sason, Sweden
Goran Aničić
the authorGoran Aničić
For over 15 years, Goran Aničić has been passionately focused on Saab automobiles and everything related to them. His initial encounter with Saab cars took place back in 2003 when the first Saab 9-3 and sedan version were introduced. At that moment, he was captivated by the car's Scandinavian design logic and top-notch engineering, and everything that followed stemmed from that first encounter. Later on, through his work at the editorial team of the Serbian automotive magazines "Autostart" and later "AutoBild," he had the opportunity to engage more closely with Saab vehicles. In 2008, he tested the latest Saab cars of that time, such as the Saab 9-3 TTiD Aero and Saab 9-3 Turbo X. In 2010, as the sole blogger from the region, he participated in the Saab 9-5ng presentation in Trollhättan, Sweden. Alongside journalists from around the world, he got a firsthand experience of the pinnacle of technological offerings from Saab at that time. Currently, Goran owns two Saabs: a 2008 Saab 9-3 Vector Sportcombi with a manual transmission, and a Saab 9-3 Aero Griffin Sport Sedan from the last generation, which rolled off the production line in Trollhättan in December 2011.

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