At the start of the Monte Carlo Rally, the spectators applaud Erik Carlsson, driving a Saab: his trademark car. Now Erik is gone, and we applaud the legend that he was.

Married to Pat Moss, he was one half of a striking couple: both fast, good-looking, ambitious, and leading the sort of jetset lifestyle that most people could only read about in the society magazines that they regular starred in. The fairytale was complete when Pat Moss Carlsson (as she was by then known) joined the Saab factory team alongside her husband in 1964. Along with Mini disqualifications in Monte Carlo, it was probably the rallying story of the decade. They settled in England, where Carlsson lived until he died. He even starred in a James Bond novel, where he is portrayed teaching 007 how to drive on ice.

Carlsson was the first driver to inadvertently be nicknamed after a popular radio show: ‘Karlsson pa Taket’: Karlsson (albeit spelt differently) on the roof.

The name came from a children’s author in Sweden, Astrid Lindgren, who invented a character called Karlsson who lived on the roof of an apartment block. Carlsson also found himself on the roof on a number of occasions, but under very different circumstances. And so Carlsson and Karlsson became practically interchangeable in Swedish popular culture, with Eric too gaining the nickname of ‘on the roof’.

The Carlssons (Eric and his wife, not Eric and the chap on the roof…) wrote a book together in 1965: The Art and Technique of Driving. This was translated into several languages and became a best-seller.

Carlsson and Moss had a daughter, Suzy (who went on to become top-ranking showjumper) in 1969. Moss sadly died in 2008, after which Erik’s life was never quite the same – although he kept up a relentless schedule as a Saab brand ambassador. Proof of his standing was the fact that they even named a special edition after him: the Saab 9-3 Carlsson.

Carlsson is also one of the most successful drivers ever to compete on Rally Sweden (although most of his victories came before the creation of the World Rally Championship). His first home victory was on the 1959 Rally Sweden (an event he originally contested as a co-driver in 1953) and he will forever be known as ‘Mr Saab’. As well as a giant and a gentleman.

Story published in: Maxrally