1951 SAAB 92 De Luxe

The end of World War II ushered in a new era for the European automobile industry. The war machines had ramped up production facilities, and the abrupt end of the war left many factories idle. Saab was an aircraft company in a world that no longer needed fighter planes. But the engineers at Saab had an idea—a relatively low-cost, homegrown car that broke all the rules the automotive world had come to know.

First, the body: designed with aerodynamics in mind, its teardrop shape was highly efficient, and the unibody construction was groundbreaking for its time. Next, the drivetrain—conceived on another planet, it seemed—featured front-wheel drive, a simple liquid-cooled two-stroke engine, and a “freewheeling” three-speed transmission. In 1950, this was radical.

This Saab 92A comes out of long-term Swedish ownership, where it underwent a two-decade-long restoration by its previous owner. The car is a blast to drive and a true piece of automotive history. Very few of these 92As have survived over the past 75 years.