Editing Saab Toad

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
[[File:Saab Paddan and regular Saab 96.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Saab ''Paddan'' (right) next to a regular Saab 96 (left), showing the difference in width.]]
The '''Saab Toad''', or '''''Paddan''''' in [[Swedish language|Swedish]], was a development car [[Saab Automobile]] made in 1966 to test out the new [[chassis]], [[Drivetrain|drive train]] and [[engine]] for the [[Saab 99]].

==Background==
On 2 April 1964, [[Name days in Sweden|Gudmund's day]] in [[Sweden]], after several years of planning, the Saab board started '''''Project Gudmund'''''.<ref name="museum99">{{Cite web |title=Saab 99 - Model Years 1969 to 1984 |url=https://saabmuseum.com/99/index.html |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=Saab Museum |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Lindh|1987|p=135}}{{Refn|Digital sources often (wrongly) cite 1965.}} This was a project to develop a new and larger car to replace the [[Saab 96]]. This new car became the [[Saab 99]], designed by [[Sixten Sason]],{{sfn|Lindh|1987|p=135}} and unveiled in [[Stockholm]] on 22 November 1967.<ref name="museum99" />{{sfn|Lindh|1987|p=140}}

==Overview==
[[File:SaabPaddanEngine.jpg|thumb|200px|right| SAAB ''Paddan'' with in-line four fitted]]
The reason for this project was to preserve secrecy during development of the new model, the Saab 99, which was the company's first radically new body shape since the first cars made in 1947. The Toad used the body of a [[Saab 96]], which was long enough for the purpose but had to be widened by {{Convert|20|cm|in|1}}.<ref name="museumtoad">{{Cite web |title=Saab Toad history |url=https://saabmuseum.com/toad/index.html |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=Saab Museum |language=en}}</ref> This was achieved by cutting the body in half lengthwise and inserting 20&nbsp;cm of steel spacer. The [[windscreen]] (windshield) and rear window clearly showed the seam.

The [[hood (vehicle)|bonnet]] (hood) and [[Grille (car)|grille]] required widening in a different way, to prevent changing the appearance of the centrally-placed features, as the picture shows. Under the bonnet, the [[Triumph Slant-4 engine|inline four]] engine for the future Saab 99 was mounted, developed by [[Triumph Motor Company|Triumph]] in coordination with Saab.

It was rightly believed that the wider body would not be noticed on [[Sweden]]'s roads, where so many SAAB 96 cars were an everyday sight. This deception was successful, for a while, until test drivers allowed a grey Toad to be followed by a similarly-colored SAAB 96, making the different proportions obvious to any observer.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-02-14 |title=Saab 99 Test Mules: When the Swedish Company Used Their Prototype ‘Paddan’ and Labeled It “Daihatsu’ to Test a Car |url=https://www.vintag.es/2020/02/saab-99-test-mules.html |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=Vintage Everyday |language=en-US}}</ref>

Four Saab Toads were made, but only one remains, in dark gray paintwork. It is currently on display in the SAAB museum in [[Trollhättan]], [[Sweden]].<ref name="museumtoad" />{{sfn|Lindh|1987|p=137}}

==Post-Saab Toad==
[[File:Saab'Daihatsu'.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Project Gudmund with "Daihatsu" label]]
Further development was carried out on the [[SAAB Daihatsu]], a test car with the new body but badged "[[Daihatsu]]", to prevent its identification by journalists as a developmental SAAB. This vehicle is on display in the SAAB Museum in Trollhättan.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

== Literature ==
* {{Cite book |last=Lindh|first=Bjorn-Eric |title=SAAB, The First 40 Years of Saab Cars |edition=1st |year=1987 |publisher=Förlagshuset Noren AB |isbn=91-86442-34-1 |access-date=2024-10-15| url=https://www.abebooks.com/SAAB-First-40-Years-Cars-LINDH/30902255608/bd | language=en}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}{{clear|right}}

==External links==
* [https://saabmuseum.com/toad/index.html Saab Toad] at the Saab Museum

{{Saab Automobile}}

[[Category:Front-wheel-drive vehicles]]
[[Category:Saab prototype vehicles|Toad]]