Erik Carlsson

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Erik Carlsson and Saab 96 pictured in 1999, Keystone Resort, USA

Carlsson's replica 1963 Monte Carlo rally car at Linköping, on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of SAAB in 1997

Erik Carlsson, aka "Carlsson på taket" ('Carlsson on the roof'), was born March 5, 1929 in Trollhättan, Sweden and was a rally driver for Saab. Because of his public relations work for Saab, he is also known as Mr. Saab.

Erik Carlsson married Pat Moss (on March 3, 1963, London), who was also a famous rally driver (and younger sister of Stirling Moss). In 1970, they had a daughter, Suzy Carlsson, who was later to become a successful show jumper.

In John Gardner's James Bond novel Icebreaker, Bond receives several weeks of driving training from Erik Carlsson, as preparation for an arctic assignment. Carlsson also outfits and delivers Bond's "Silver Beast", a Saab 900 Turbo, in Licence Renewed.

Because the early Saabs in which he competed were seriously underpowered, he had to maintain a high speed while cornering and developed the left-foot braking technique to perfection. Left-foot braking was performed by keeping the right foot on the gas pedal while pushing the brake pedal with the left foot. This brought the rear out in a controlled skid while maintaining speed. The drawback of this was that it significantly hastened brake wear.

In 1965 Pat Moss and Erik Carlsson wrote a book: The Art and Technique of Driving (published by Heinemann, London, selling for 25 shillings). This book was translated into Dutch, German, Japanese and Spanish.

The expression 'Carlsson on the roof' originated from the children's story Karlsson på taket by Astrid Lindgren, in which a Karlsson character lived on the roof of an apartment building. The name was given to Carlsson as a result of his habit occasionally to roll a rally car on its roof. In the Safari Rally, he even rolled the car intentionally, to escape from a mud pool. When journalists later doubted his story, he proved it by rolling the car again. The Ford factory team then tried the same stunt with their Ford Cortina, causing more damage to the car than had occurred during the entire rally.

Erik Carlsson has done a number of unusual things during his rally career. During one rally in the UK, he needed a spare part and happened to find a brand new Saab 96 on a parking lot. He and the mechanic quickly started disassembling the car when the rather upset owner discovered them. The co-driver managed to defuse the situation by explaining that Erik was a factory driver for SAAB and the owner would be given a new car. In the end Erik could keep driving and they remained friends and still exchange Christmas cards.