Rolf Mellde
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Rolf Mellde | |
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| Born | 1922 |
| Died | March 2009 (aged 86–87) |
| Education | Stockholms Tekniska Institut (STI) |
| Occupation(s) | Engineer, performance engines, car racing enthusiast |
Rolf Mellde (1922 – March 2009) was an engineer who specialized in performance engines and also a
Early life
Mellde's grandfather
After finishing his basic education, Mellde studied
Work at Saab
Mellde started working at SAAB in September 1946 and was put in charge of engine development.
In 1948, he started his competition career in a
In the 1960s it became harder to sell
Having no luck, Mellde talked with Marc Wallenberg who used to drive a Saab 92. Marc talked with his father and Rolf got the go ahead with the V4 engine. Even before the go ahead, Rolf had secretly visited Ford in Detroit and asked both Don Fray, then head of Ford US, and Fray contacted Robert McNamara, head of Ford, and he had nothing against selling the engine to Saab. The price would be the same Ford charged their own daughter companies.
The switch to the V4 was done under great secrecy. Just before the factory closed for the summer in 1966, a number of workers were asked if they were willing to work on some 96s that had "faulty brakes". 40 workers volunteered and then Svante Holm explained that the real reason was that they would take the unsold cars and refit them with V4 engines. 600 cars were rebuilt and the V4 Saabs became a big hit and outsold the two-strokers by a factor of three.
Work at Volvo
Shortly after,
Later life
Mellde died in March 2009 at 86 years of age.[1]