The Saab Logo


In 1939 Saab moved its production and administrative departments to Linköping, it was also there that the plans for a new car first appeared. The production facilities were redesigned to be able to produce cars instead of airplanes. On the 10th of June 1947 journalists was invited to "bilprototyp 2" in Saabs lunchroom in Linköping. Outside prototype nr:1 stood available for test drive. When the production started in 1949 an airplane inspired emblem was fitted on the hood. With the letter SAAB written in a square with to wings to its side.
This was the logo that Saab would us for a long time. From 1956 the square had a blue background, this logo was used by Saab up to the 60s. In the 60s the logo was modified so that the letters SAAB was written in a bigger style over the airplane. In 1963 the logo was built in in the front-grille and in 1964 an elegant chromed version was fitted on the trunk of all Saab cars.
Saab had used this logo ever since the 40s on its drawings and other Saab related material. In 1969 Saab and Scania married and in 1973 Saab got a new logo with more modern letters, the log now said SAAB SCANIA. Read more about the specific logos and about the two later versions of the Saab logo below.

- The logos

Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (= the Swedish Aeroplane Company), initials forming the name Saab, was founded in April, 1937 to manufacture aeroplanes. After the end of the Second World War the company operations had to be redirected and under the consideration were module houses, modular kitchens and motorcycles among the many choices. Finally it was decided to concentrate on automobiles. Gunnar Ljungström, an engineer, and Sixten Sason, an industrial designer, designed a front wheel drive prototype which featured a very streamlined body. The two-cylinder two-stroke engine was designed by Rolf Mellde. The prototype carried a heraldic insignia which never saw subsequent use.
The 20 cars of the prototype series were built in 1949 and series production commenced in 1950. The insignia naturally featured an aeroplane - a twin engined propeller plane - which was dropped in the beginning of the 1970's.
Subsequently Saab only had a text logo until 1987 when the insignia designed by the artist Carl Fredik Reuterswärd was introduced. The insignia depicted a mythological beast Gripen (griffin) with the Saab name and the name of Scania as a sign of the merger of the two companies. Allthough the companies joined forces as early as 1969 they didn't get the same logo intill 1984. Gripen also is the name of the JAS 39 jet fighter being produced by the Saab aeroplane factory.  
In 2000, a new logo was introduced. The biggest reason for this new design was probably that Scania and Saab split up after all shares of Saab Automobile were sold to General Motors. The new logo resembles the old one very much, except that Scania was taken out as well as the two rings. the new logo was first fitted on Saabs cars on the 14th of August 2000. the same person that had designed to Saab Scania logo also designed this new logo
(Carl Fredik Reuterswärd )		  
Thanks to Geert's Saab page for the info written next to the logos and some of the pictures.

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