Hemmings Find of the Day – 1974 Saab Sonett

The whole automotive blogosphere seems to be holding its breath today, not sure whether to continue mourning for the death of Saab or to believe that Spyker’s 11th-hour offer is genuine. So we’re gonna exploit the situation by digging through the Hemmings.com classifieds to find the so-neatest Saab there, a 1974 Sonett with SCCA racing history. The seller’s description of the car, cribbed from his site, has more detail:

This car was built by a famous U.S. Saab hobby racer named Randy Cook. He raced it at Road Atlanta and other tracks in the S.C.C.A. vintage events known by such titles as the Walter Mitty challenge. The car has a very strong winning record which is in the log book. Just before we decided to sell the car, we had the engine redone. It is a stock 1600 cc V4 that has been beefed up for competition. Documented included. Now, due to the timing of the engine work and selling the car, the engine has virtually no miles on it. The car is very fast and the only reason it`s never been over 130 mph is that it doesn`t have a front chin spoiler and at above 130 mph the front end lifts. Being front wheel drive, that lift doesn`t work very well. We did not add a spoiler-but woud be the way to go.  Also, due to having been driven in competition in the 1970`s, the car never had a fuel cell. If someone wants to race the car now in anything other than touring events, it would need a fuel cell added. When racing, I could stay right with the Porsche 911s through the turns, but on tracks with long straights, they would usually have the power to pass me. The car is extremely lightweight and handles beautifully. It has been lowered, and has racing wheels and tires`. Note from Jim: I have purchased a 75 Sonnett complete non running street car with excellent body-this is available at low cost to restore or for parts source for the race car for spares.   Here are a few notes from my recent inspection of the car:  Found numerouse spider cracks and some larger tears in the fiberglass-none appear structural. Its a `10 footer` paint job. Shiny, red paint with matte black accents.  SCCA Spec Full rollcage with safety driver net. 5-point harness.  Fiberglass seats.  Full guages.  Straight, clean floorpans. Minor surface rust in a few places.  Spare Hood.  Tie-down points in chassis.  Emergency shut-off switch near rear hatch.  Quick release fasteners throughout.

That one’s going for $5,900 on Hemmings. And if you need a parts car, there’s a ‘71 Sonett on Hemmings as well, for $650.