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The 93B Le Mans Story

In 1959 a Saab 93b was entered in the famous long distance race by enthusiast Sture Nottorp with support from Saab in the form of Rolfe Melde.

Rolfe had the car completely stripped down and everything not needed was thrown out and a 21.5 gallon fuel tank fitted. With a compression ratio of 10:1, three large solex carburettors and some polishing the 750cc engine had 65bhp at 6,000 rpm to power the 723 kilo Saab. A four speed gearbox was used which gave the little car a top speed of 105 mph , reflecting tape was stuck on the back so the faster cars would see it as they bored own on it at 180mph.

The race started at 4.00pm on June the 20th and Nottorp sprinted across the track for the first stint but after a few yards the car spluttered to a halt, he had forgotten to turn the electric fuel pump on! Thirty two laps later the car was in for it's first stop and one of Sweden's top racing drivers Gunnar Bengtson took over and drove until 10.45pm when it was refuelled again and new spark plugs fitted. At 0.59am the third stop was taken and the drive joints massaged to get the grease back into the joints and it was at this point that the other 750GT entered by British duo Sidney Hurrell and Roy North had withdrawn with a seized piston. After one more stop at 5.20am to replace a broken alternator bracket, as well as the usual fuel and massaging, the Saab crossed the finishing line after 232 laps in 12th place out of 13 but that was out off 55 starters! For 24 hours the car averaged 81mph using a 4% petroil mix.

- Niklas Enander of XP Engineering, has put his heart and soul into this engine. 92 hp from 750 cc under Appendix C is no shame, certainly seeing the small two-stroke kitted out with a twin choke Solex PII carburettor it looks great! Three of these engines have been built and one is being tested on the midnight sun rally prior to the Le Mans trip lets hope it performs well!

Fast forward to 2008 and we find that Bo Lindman from Swede Team Motor is heading up an entry effort for the Le Mans Classic in July 2008.The car will be as follows:-

  • Saab 93 from 1959, light grey
  • Chassis according to Group 3, 723 kg
  • 748 cc two-stroke, highly tuned engine
  • Double barrel Solex carburettor
  • 4-speed close ratio gearbox
  • Complete safety equipment. safety cage, racing seat and 6 point seat belts
  • Racing tyres, same type as in 1959
  • 70l safety racing tank with fast filling equipment
  • Water cooled drum brakes

This is the Le Mans bound service barge it was after all Saab who introduced service cars in rallying!

The core of the team consists of five members, all of whom are very experienced racing Saab 93s and Saab 96s in the classic racing competitions in Sweden.

These core team members were:

  • Bo Lindman - team leader
  • Göran Dahlén - project leader - sponsor contact
  • Tony Ring - sponsor concept and contacts
  • Fredrik Tornérhielm - project leader, chassis, body
  • Niklas Enander - project leader, drive train
Working together, this team already hold the FIA registered world record for a standing kilometre for cars up to 750cc. This new effort won’t be a sprint, of course, it’ll be a marathon. And to lend special assistance, they have enlisted the services of Alf Lavér, one of the original Saab mechanics.

Here is the exact replica of the 1959 car

Pete

Reprinted from the Summer 2008 edition of the Club Magazine

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