TheSaab Catherina is a 1964prototypeautomobile, commissioned by theSwedishautomakerSaab, designed bySixten Sason and made at the workshops of theAktiebolaget Svenska Järnvägsverkstäderna (ASJ - the Swedish Railroad Works) inKatrineholm,Sweden (hence the name). It is a red, two-seatsports car with atarga top.[1][2]
Sason, who was working as afreelancer for Saab, made some drawings of a small sports coupé in the early 1960s. As Saab was planning to introduce a sports car model, the company commissioned him to adopt the design for mass production.[1] The project began in January 1963 and in May the assembly of the prototype started at the ASJ. The prototype was first displayed, however, only on 24 April 1965, at theLinköping Sports Centre.[2]
For economy reasons, the Catherina utilised many components of the contemporarySaab 96 and shared the same wheelbase, which was longer than the finally accepted design. Its unique feature was itstarga top, which could be stowed in the luggage compartment of the car.[1][2] Stemming from the design of an integral 'roll bar', it was still a new concept in the automotive industry, preceding the 1966Porsche 911 Targa, which popularized it (and established the name). Sason also designed some other unusual features for the Catherina, such as the roof-mountedheadlamps (for longer range), which were not included in the prototype because of the need to make the car fit for mass production.[1][2]
After test drives on the prototype it was concluded that some more development work was needed. Meanwhile, another prototype, known asSaab MFI13, was prepared by theMalmö Flygindustri (MFI) and Saab chose it as a basis for its sports car, theSaab Sonett II. The Catherina ended up on display in the SAABmuseum inTrollhättan, but Sason used some of the design cues previewed in the Catherina in his later design, the mass-marketSaab 99.[1][2]
In each book and newspaper article since the 60's this prototype has been referred to as 'Catherina', but the document from ASJs archive where Sixten Sason suggested the name of the car, it statesCatharina. The same name is also found on the original name badge on the dashboard that since 2008 once again was re-fitted to the car at the Saab museum.[3][4]