BOLD RIDE
Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie stole a bunch of cars in the 2000 remake of Gone in 60 Seconds, but there’s only one that everybody remembers by name—the “Eleanor” Shelby GT500. If most Mustangs are “cool,” consider the “Eleanor” to be hypothermic.
In the many years since, the “Eleanor” Mustang look has been bestowed upon thousands of Mustangs across the world, and interestingly…at least one Saab too.This eye-opening custom car is a 1973 Saab Sonett III. The fiberglass coupe waltzed off Saab’s production lines 42 years ago, but at some point got tangled with an “Eleanor” Mustang. It’s certainly not something you see every day, yet here it is, and listed on eBay nonetheless.
Though the owner never explicitly calls the Saab an “Eleanor,” one look at its body kit will leave few doubts as to what the car emulates. The ’73 Sonett III now comes dressed in a calling-card grey metallic paint with black racing stripes, which run along the now bulging hood, rear winglet, and pronounced custom bumper…said to have been chopped from a 2001 to 2005 Mustang rump.
Flared wheel arches sprout from the Sonett’s waist, and complement shouty side scoops, as well as beefy rocker panel covers complete with non-functional exhaust outlets. The reworked front grille even sports a pair of Eleanor-esque driving lights. Racy. Despite all the “Eleanor” cues on the outside, it would appear to be all Saab Sonett on the innards.
The hood tilts up to reveal the Sonett III’s 1.7-liter V4 engine, a la the Ford Taunus, which drives the front wheels of the Saab through a four-speed manual gearbox. Inside, the Eleanor Sonett appears to feature a rather unmolested standard-issue interior, though the speedometer is said to have broken, as well as the odometer, which reads 29,956 miles.
Should every remaining Saab Sonett be turned into an Eleanor Mustang—ah, no. That said, there’s something very “fun” about this custom car, and someone obviously put a lot of time into it.
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