Saab 99 King Size

Saabs official picture from 1976  

The other day I found a very interesting project thread on the Swedish saab club forum, its about the royal Saab 99 limousine that took the Swedish king Carl XVI around in the states on the official state visit in 1976. Here is a little more history:

In the seventies there were no limousines in the Saab range, at that time Volvo had a limo in their range..
So when The swedish king Carl XVI was going to the United states for a state visit, of course he was going to ride a Saab! Said and done, Saab delivered a 99 2D and 99 4D to the bodywork firm Heinels in Malmö and ask them to do something good.

The company Heinels finalized the car, which basically has a 99GLE specification meaning an 118hp CI (continuous injection) engine, automatic gearbox, power steering and alloy wheels. 

In addition to that, an air condition, dual radio systems, reinforced rear suspension, additional sound insulation and the most important, an extension of 70 cm and two extra foldable seats, so called jump seats was fitted to the car.

Martin Bergstrand have owned this odd Saab 99 1976 for a few years,  he bought the car by a gentleman in western Sweden. The gentleman had several cars, and this one was for sale, and he got the confidence to buy it. The plan was to start a restoration,  but it has taken a few years before the renovation started, but that time has been spent to looking for parts that he didn't already had in the amount of spare parts that came with the car.

The restoration have now started since a few years,  the car is now disassembled, and its hoisted in a special device, to easier access the car during the renovation. It looks like its going to need a lot of work on the car, and after i have read the forum thread i must say that Martin is doing a fantastic job, cant wait to see the finished result. Dont hesitate to check the original thread at Saabklubben: http://forum.saabklubben.se/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=7644

The owner Martin Bergstrand has been involded in the Swedish Saabclub for many years, he was on the Board from 94 to 07, Chairman of the Saab Club for ten years and webmaster 96-07.

The Swedish king is on his way to his 99, in the background you can see the convoy with Volvo cars.

The historical story: Martin Bergstrand (the owner)  Photographer: Martin Bergstrand (the owner) and Saab offical pictures.