Saab Marque and Emblem
The name Vabis is derived from the name Vagnfabriksaktiebolaget i Södertelge or Södertälje Coachbuilding Company which was founded in 1891. The name Scania is derived from Scåne a competitor truck company from the south of Sweden. The two companies merged in Spring 1911 and became known as Aktiebolaget Scania-Vabis until 1969.The AB Scania-Vabis corporate symbol featured the crowned head of a mythical beast, the Gripen, or Griffin. Though this symbol was not actually used on any Saab car, it is important in the respect that it is the forerunner of the Saab-Scania corporate symbol that was used between 1984 and 2000, and the new Scania corporate symbol that reverts to the three pointed star of the original symbol. The first emblem to appear on a Saab automobile was that on the bonnet of the prototype Saab, the Ursaab. The symbol itself was nothing more than a fictitious heraldic symbol which did not appear in any Saab since. The simple SAAB logo mounted on wings, to signify its aircraft origins, was used on the bonnets of models 92, 93, 94 (Saab Sonett Super Sport), 95 and 96 between 1949 and 1962. It was either on a blue background, as shown, or a single silver-coloured casting.
Appearing on Saab cars from 1963 the new Saab emblem was a stylised Saab aeroplane symbol with the letters S A A B in capitals across the top.
This distinctive logo, signifying Saab’s aircraft heritage, first appeared within the grid-pattern grille of the 1963 Saab 96. From 1967 onwards the logo, pictured (photographed from the bonnet of a Sonett II), appeared on the Sonett II and Sonett V4. The same badge was mounted above the boot handle on the Saab 96V4 until 1973/4.
The Saab-Scania logo, pictured above, was designed by Carl Frederik Reuterswärd who commented: “The Symbol consists of a roundel inscribed with two circles, transposed to form a cylindrical band and create an impression of movement. Although each is shown in its own perspective, Saab and Scania are seen as a unit.”
The symbol was introduced in 1984 and was the symbol for the then Saab-Scania group. This is the first Saab logo to reintroduce the head of the mythical Gripen, or Griffin, first seen on the AB Scania-Vabis logo.
Saab Automobile AB introduced the new corporate symbol of the red Gripen head and gold crown with the name SAAB in silver beneath it all contained within a blue roundel.
The heraldic Griffin’s head – derived from the coats of arms of the Skåne and Östergotland counties in southern Swedentraditionally symbolises vigilance.
This logo was officially introduced on 14th August 2000, just months after the complete takeover of Saab Automobile AB by General Motors.
Saab say that the corporate symbol “…has now been refined to reflect more clearly the strengthening brand name and a model range which is the most competitive ever produced by Saab.”