A piece of history - or what is Saab 92.004 worth?

The Saab 92.004 auction ended yesterday in Sweden. The second oldest Saab in the world, a historic car. There was a lot of international interest in advance. But also criticism of the auctioneer and the way of presentation. The result of the auction is not overwhelming. Not when you see the historical value of the pre-production car.

325.500 Swedish kronor, the equivalent of 31.400 €, were at the end as Highest bid firmly. That was slightly above the estimated price and is not a little. But it is also not an outstanding amount. The owner shouldn't have been particularly impressed. A few years ago he tried to sell it for 350.000 kroner. At that time the krona was worth considerably more in relation to the euro.

In advance, there was criticism about the handling of the vehicle.

That was certainly justified. The Bilweb auction house was vague with its description. If you were looking for facts about the history, you had to find them yourself. While there was still rudimentary information available for domestic interests, it looked meager for international customers without any knowledge of Swedish. The sparse description shrank to a few lines, so only reaching for the dictionary helped.

Many important questions were left completely open. Including the question of whether the Saab originally had a blue paint job. Their proof would have increased the value considerably and proved that Saab 92.004 was one of only 2 standard vehicles.

But the search for facts did not materialize.

And certainly drove away one or the other international buyer who shied away from the risk. To be fair, it has to be said that Bilweb just doesn't Bonhams is and probably doesn't want to be. The vehicles are treated accordingly. It is the seller or sellers who have chosen the wrong stage.

The big international auction houses would have been the appropriate platform for this unique piece of Swedish history. They would have done auto archeology and clarified and documented the history. Before the auction. And they would have recruited interested parties for this piece of history.

One can assume that Saab 92.004 would have achieved a higher price.

The words “pre-series” and “oldest Saab” would have ignited. But the opportunity was not used, which is a shame for the Saab brand and its appreciation. So many questions about the history and the conversion to the B-model remain open. Perhaps, and it is to be hoped, the Saab has found the right buyer. Who researches history, documents it and makes it available to the public. Because there are not many contemporary witnesses left, it is the cars that have to tell the stories of the Götaland Canal.

The magazine has something in the past of the vehicle Classic.nu rooted. The editors found some historical pictures that are worth seeing. Unfortunately, they are not in color either, so that further questions remain unanswered.