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Fancy owning a motorsport legend? Paul Davies looks at true classics that made their names on rally stages and race tracks, and still provide fine drives today

You can’t talk about the V4 without mentioning the original Saab 96. This was the car that helped change the face of international rallying. Yes it had only a three-cylinder, two-stroke, motor of 841cc, but on triple carburettorsErik ‘On the Roof’ Carlsson was a triple winner of the RAC Rally as the sport moved fromdriving tests on Blackpool promenade to rough,tough, special stages in the forests. Carlsson’s wins in 1960, ’61 and ’62 put Saabon the map, but other manufacturers had more power and the Swedish manufacturer was left flagging. Until 1967 when – courtesy of Ford – the V4 arrived to power another string of successes. Designed for the ‘Cardinal’ project, which in the UK produced the Cortina, the 1498cc power unit was destined for Ford Germany’s Taunus model. In original form it was uninspiring, with just 65bhp, but the short length of the Vee configuration made it ideal to slot into the space left by Saab’s outdated three-pot motor, and – like the Saab – the Taunus was front-wheel drive. It was a marriage of convenience. Once the Saab competition guys (the Trolls at Trolhattan, as they were known) got their hands on the engine it grew to 1740cc and an easy 90bhp. By the time the V4 left the rally scene in 1980 it was 1815cc and power in excess of 140bhp was on tap. But the Saab 96 was big and heavy compared with some (like the Mini) and it needed superstars behind the wheel to make it work. In those days, they came from Scandinavia. Stig Blomqvist, and Simo Lampinen, were the guys who made it sing: Simo (who’d won Finland’s 1000 Lakes Rally twice in the two-stroke) was the RAC Rally victor in 1968, and Stig in ’71. Blomqvist was also a three times Swedish Rally winner – and triple national champion – and ’71 1000 Lakes winner in the V4. Per Eklund was another rapid Troll, but he never took an outright WRC victory in the Saab. They were mad, of course! Underpowered compared with an Escort, and with a column gearchange and free-wheel on the final drive to hinder (or help?) progress, left-foot braking and clutchless gearchanges were an essential part of the Saab driver’s modus operandi. The results were often dramatic: one RAC, Blomqvist bent almost every body panel, the service crews bolted new bits on as he raced around the country, and the paint was still wet when the car struggled onto the finish ramp! Mere Englishmen never quite got to grips with the Saab. Jack Tordoff was the most successful,before he discovered the Porsche Carrera RS, photographer Colin Taylor took one on the 1968 London-Sydney, and more recently Andrew Street posted some worthwhile results in the British Historic Rally Championship. Now it’s best described as a quirky competition car only likely to appeal to drivers looking for something different, and with a slightly mad streak!