City Car Design

Jack has always managed to included ideas for small city cars throughout his books. This one is simply tagged as the "SL." There isn't much in the way of notes about this concept, so I'll just let the sketches to the talking:

Suicide doors and "bugeye" like headlight:

Note low floor and huge luggage area behind driver:

New Saab 96?

Many moons ago, Jack had sketched up some ideas for a modern version of the Saab 96. This was when the rumor mill was suggesting Saab would bring over a new small car, based on the Opel/Vauxhall Astra. So you'll see quite of Astra proportions in this design:

Black Olga: Saab 93B

Many years ago, we took possession of a rusty little shell of a Saab 93B, we called Black Olga. The bottom 4-inches of the doors and fenders were more dust than metal, so Jack sketched up some ideas for a chopped and channeled street rod:

Of course it had a hot rod V4 engine:

Fast Freddy Hood Details (1969 Saab Sonett V4 Race Car)

When Fast Freddy got a winter's worth of work, one of the jobs was to lighten the hood, build a front valance with a wing for added downforce, and keep the tilting option for ease of access. Here are some of Jack's sketches:

Fiat Topolino - Saab V4 Powered?

The earliest version of the Topo was powered by a Saab V4. Since Jack has built a couple hundred of these little engines, it made perfect sense. It is an extremely compact design, and when it isn't hiding under the hood of a Sonett, it can house some respectable cross-ram Webers.

Cross-ram intake manifold featuring twin Weber DCOE carbs:


Saab V4 mated to Fiat 124 5-spd trans:


More details showing the cross-ram Weber setup:


And along came a twin cam. About this time, Jack took possession of a low-mileage Fiat 2000 Spider that had been smacked in the butt. So after a bit of measuring, deep introspection, Jack decided the little Topo should be powered by a hot rod 2L Twin Cam:


Ultimately, this setup has proven less costly, far easier to make work, and possibly even more powerful given similar carb setups.

Fiat Topolino Mechanical Details

These are a few of the various mechanical sketches Jack did for the Topolino project in Sketchbook #4.

Fiat 124 Spider front suspension and Saab 99 steering rack. This basic setup actually made it to the final product:


Jack ended up building a simple roll cage following much of this early design:


More cage details, including doors beams:


Window winding mechanism and handle/lock details:


Brake master cylinder mounting details:


The Topo came equipped with a 124 rear diff, setup with leaf springs, per this sketch. The final product uses coils and modified Saab 99 rear trailing arms:


Jack had grand visions of driving the Topo in 100-degree heat, so some of his earliest sketches included details for mounting air conditioning:


Highly detailed HVAC setup:

Fiat Topolino Introduction

Starting in 1996, Jack began a series of sketch's on his new Fiat Topolino project. Unlike most of his skethbook pages, this project is real. In fact, Jack is likely sketching up new ideas as he works to complete this little car.

For a better idea on where this little project currently sits, I've posted some info on my blog, here.

Because this project is spread out over multiple sketchbooks, it will be hard to organize. So I've decided to break it out into some common themes, such as exterior design, dashboards, or mechanical items. This initial post features the earliest exterior design sketches from book #4.

Very first sketch of the Topo:


Rear view showing folding fabric top, covered spare, and luggage rack:


Early grille designs featuring driving lights and faired in headlights:


Squatty look with fuller fenders and fat wheels/tires:


More side and rear details:


Note "V4" logo, as this car was originally intended to use Saab V4 engine:


Much rounder fender profiles in this side view:


More rear details:


Larger, fuller fenders tied together with a running board:


C'

Saab 99 Truck

Yet another Saab based sketch, this time featuring a 99 that gets converted into a pickup truck.



Long rear sail panels like on Maserati Merak:


Hard bed cover hinges at front:


Later sketches minus the sail panels:


Nice overall proportions, and notice the front air dam:

Saab Sonett Shooting Brake

Another idea for your damaged Sonett II would be to create a station wagon, or shooting brake, such as this design Jack sketched up:

Saab Sonett II Rear Ideas

What would you do if you had a Sonett II with rear damage, including a busted rear glass? Well, if you're like Jack, you'll sketch up a few ideas like these:

This idea uses a flat rear deck, with a vertical rear window and short panels:


Similar concept, but with full length sail panel and a louvered rear window. Also note the use of different rear taillights, likely from a Fiat 128 Coupe, which is a theme Jack includes in many Sonett II sketches:


A T-Bar roof design, which also features a small rear wing:


A side view of the T-Bar roof design. Note that the front of the car has also received some attention:

Aerosabre 2

One of several ultra-aero coupes that Jack has sketched, this time featuring a rear mounted Saab 99/900 engine/trans power unit, gull wings doors, and Tatra like central rear fin.


Unique 3+1 seating position:


Passenger side door is a gullwing, driver side door featuring a sliding mechanism:


Typical full array of instrumentation

Saab 8000 and 960

It was 1985, and Jack decided that Saab needed a smaller, fuel efficient coupe/sedan. As it happens, he also predicted a joint venture between Saab and Subaru, penning this vehicle with a flat-four Subie engine. Early pages tagged this design the "8000" while later pages have it running under the model name of "960."



Door details shows the characteristic Saab 96 window pivot:


Front hinged hood, ala Saab 96:


More interior details:


"This space for rent" shows careful attention to detail under the vehicle:


More interior details:


Rear view shows asymmetric exhaust layout:


Pretty sure this predates the Nissan Pulsar NX, which had a replaceable rear hatch to form a coupe or wagon back end:


Even the door hinges get consideration:


Front end treatment includes homage to Saab grilles and logos of the past:


Subaru flat-4 engine under the hood of a Saab? Who would have guessed it...


After a few pages, Jack picks back up the theme of the 8000, but with "960" nomenclature. This pages shows the impressive HVAC ducting system:


Final design of the 8000/96. Some of the swoopy coupe lines have been replaced with a boxier 9000-look: