The Saab Sonett has quirky, tangled roots. In the mid-1950s, engineer Rolf Mellde proposed a sports car to his employer, teasing Saab with the idea of entering the European racing circuit. But with the company fully engaged in making family cars, it was a tough sell. Mellde did what all true blue enthusiasts do – he went in with three colleagues and built the car in a barn near Trollhättan, the site of Saab’s manufacturing facilities. The result was a tiny front-mid-engined fiberglass open-top sports car, with an alloy chassis designed by Sixten Sason. Its power came from a three-cylinder two-stroke 748 cc engine, transferred to the wheels via a four-speed gearbox. Top speed was a frightening 120 mph. Only six examples were made before a change in race rules eliminated the loophole Saab hoped to exploit to put its car on the circuit, killing the Super Sport entirely. Ten years flowed by. The Sonett’s next chapter began in the early 1960s when Saab decided it wanted a sports car to compete with MG and Triumph. Two parties submitted fresh designs to Saab. One was the MIF-13, jointly developed by Björn Karlström and Malmö Flygindustri, an airplane manufacturer; the second was Sixten Sason’s Catharina. Saab chose MIF-13, redesigning it into the two-stroke Sonett II, and with the installation of Ford’s Taunus V4, the Sonett V4. In 1970, Sergio Coggiola of Ghia penned a new Sonett, with hidden headlights, a sleek front end, and a useful hatchback. Saab engineer Gunnar Sjögren tweaked the design to minimize assembly-line changes, and the Sonett III was born. Here on craigslist is a 1973 Saab Sonett III with long ownership history, at an asking price of $8,000. The car is located in Lynden, Washington. Sharp-eyed PRA4SNW found this car for us – thanks!

This Sonett was purchased in 1983. It has been garaged for thirty years but was recently resurrected with a tune-up, radiator flush, a new fuel pump, and fuel lines. The gas tank was also cleaned out. The car has a new clutch and clutch pressure plate. The carburetor feeding its 1.7 liter V4 engine has been rebuilt as has its master brake cylinder. No engine bay photos are supplied, but this is what it should look like. Despite only 65 hp, the Sonett is a spritely performer.

This car has been stored well, as the interior has survived quite handily. The rear cargo area is as clean as the front. From experience, I can say that the materials inside this cabin are not of the highest quality, so this one’s appearance is a victory against the ravages of time and use. The odometer reads over 120,000 miles, which seems almost unbelievable given the car’s condition.

The underside is a thing of beauty. Perhaps it has been steam-cleaned, or it has a restoration in its past, but in any case, I would take this car any day over many lower-mileage examples, judging by the photos. The asking price is spot-on Hagerty’s “good” car value, but actual transaction prices have been creeping up closer to $10k. Pending an in-person inspection, this Sonett III could turn out to be a bit of a bargain.