Mikael Beckgärd Johansson‘s Saab story is really filled with great passion as this is our favorite brand, but even though he wrote to us a few months ago that he wanted to share his Saab story with us, we were not able to publish it. That is why we are doing it now, and on this occasion we apologize to Mikael for not publishing it before.
Mikael (53) is a sign painter who lives and works in Stockholm, and Saab cars have been his passion for over 30 years. Already at the age of 18, he acquired his first Saab, and since then he has owned a large number of classic Saab cars from the 1960s. In fact, more than that, his oldest SAAB car would be a 1950 Saab 92.
In addition to these classic aerodynamic Saab cars, Mikael once acquired an exceptional Saab rarity in the form of a Saabo mini caravan. The SaabO mini-camper was made in just over 400 copies, and Mikael found one such caravan in poor condition, so he set about restoring it. Unfortunately, he has not yet managed to bring it to the desired state.
In addition to the above, Mikael does not miss the local gatherings of the Saab community, and at each gathering he offers enthusiasts his unique Saab memorial. Since he is an artist and a signature writer, he makes flower pots in his free time, which he paints with classic Saab cars.
And that’s not all, because like all Saab car fans, Mikale loves speed, acceleration and racing in which Saab has always had great success. So he tried himself in a Rally competition, as an amateur in his Saab 96. There is another interesting thing for them, how the love for Saab and cars in general is passed on to younger generations, so pay attention to the following photo:
If you take a closer look at the picture, you will see something that looks like a child’s head through the passenger window. And that is the real truth and curiosity, that is Mikael’s 8-year-old son Robin, who, since he is very small, only has his head protruding above the level of the side window.
This was a bit dangerous, as the seat belt was not small enough to protect Robin, but fortunately there were no incidents in that race. As Mikael stated, the organizers of the rally did not mind little Robin being a co-driver, but he “shook” well in his first rally race.
In addition to several classic Saab cars, Mikale also has a real “small cavalry” in the form of the Saab 9-3 Sportcombi model, which has over 400 horsepower. With the help of a friend of Saab mechanics and tuners, Mikael has boosted his Saab station wagon equipped with a 2.0 turbo engine to 425 horsepower which is some upper safe limit for this engine, with no risk. Outside, you can’t see anything unusual on this family caravan, so this is a real road “sleeper”.
Fun to have my story on saabplanet.It is my friend Michael Bergmans all fantastic saab two strokers who introduce me in the saab world.We work togheter in a small town ”Norrköping ” in sweden with signs and car decorating.I am a professional artist today and you find me on Mikael Beckgärd Johansson on facebook there you find à lot of photos.Me as a mechanich dosent ”click” but Michael and Fredrik Ekendahls skills in saab engines helped me a lot.And the red Saab with ower 400 horsepower didnt survived so long maybe a month.- all the power cables burn up and the cylinder head explode on the highway when the speedometer viewers woobling around 240 hk.Best regards Mikael
Mikael, thanks for adding this beautiful Saab story
I have a 2004 Saab 9-3 that looks like it just came out of the factory. Probably has the lowest mileage of any 2004 in the world. I drive it one mile a month only. Always been garaged. Perfect condition!!!!!! Starting offers at $35,000. Contact me if interested or want information.