The S-PB was the first line of cars by the car ompany Sundets Bilar, which was founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden.
The design team behind the S-PB was given rather simple instructions from the CEO and those were that the car should be big, loud, shiny and powerful. The end result was presented and released in 1949, which was the 1st generation S-PB 311 and lots of inspiration was drawn from American V8 powered automobiles design wise. Lots of chrome was used to give the car an unique look, which is something that Sundets Bilar’s cars would be known for in the future.
While the exterior might look impressive, the interior of the car is very simplistic. There is no entertainment device in the car and it seats four people in the unimpressive and dull interior. However, one could opt in for a premium grade AM radio for just 90 additional dollars (1949 currency value). There wasn’t even any ventilation built into the interior besides rolling down the windows. Most of the budget for this car was used for the powerplant.
The long-stroke 5.1L V8 produces 259HP and has peak torqoue of 408Nm. While it’s a fairly standard engine, it uses a SOHC 2-valve design instead of the more common pushrod design and the internals of the engine were carefully crafted with high durability cast iron to withstand the redline of 5100 RPM. It was fitted with two dual barrel carbs to increase performance.
All this could be had for just $1,199 (without the optional AM radio) back in 1949. The car was put out of production in 1955 and was replaced by the second generation S-PB.
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The second generation S-PB was introduced in 1955, shortly after the first generation S-PB was put out of production.
The car received a design overhaul but the S-PB side vents were kept. The interior remained as simple as in the first generation of the car and the engine was slightly modified to give better fuel economy and a slight horsepower increase.
The newly introduced Platinum trim includes medium compound tyres and also the same AM radio that was used in the first generation S-PB (now called the basic AM radio) and also power steering to make the car easier to steer. The Platinum trim has a ”PLATINUM” badge on the back and an aggressive looking dual exhaust.
Buyers could also opt in for an in-house designed automatic transmission called the A-VXL. It was a 2 speed automatic and very few models with the A-VXL 2 speed were sold due to the transmission being unreliable, sluggish and also heavily reducing performance of the car. The first gear went all the way up to 100km/h and the second went to the top speed of this trim, which is 236,4 km/h. The A-VXL manages a 0-100 km/h pull in 7,7 seconds.
After many reports of the gearbox breaking with just a few months of use (if you were lucky), production of the A-VXL was stopped and any available cars fitted with it were recalled and fitted with the standard 4 speed manual. The few S-PBs with the A-VXL that were left and in wokring condition are now considered to be collectibles, however, few collectors dare to drive them too often because no spare parts are available for the 2 speed A-VXL transmission.
Production was scheduled to end in 1960. Production of the A-VXL transmission ceased towards the end of 1955.
Stat sheet for regular S-PB 311
Stat sheet and a picture of how the rear looks of the Platinum trim
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Wow that is some good chrome work. Particularly like the rear of the S-PB Mk II.
Nice to see a Swedish car company, can we expect a full history up until the present day or does the lore tail off somewhere else?
Please lore! I would also put more into that drivability stat but it’s not bad for 1950s. Nice cars too! I wish I could chrome like that… 
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Thanks!
I’ll try my best with making up a history but writing that stuff is not my strong side .
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After the issues with the second generation S-PB, AB Sundets Bilar had to create something innovative and new to show customers and prove that their cars are something people can rely on. To show that failures such as the A-VXL gearbox are rare, out of the ordinary situations.
The third generation S-PB was revealed at the Earl’s Court Auto Show in 1960 and the first batch of cars was supposed to roll out within a month of the car being shown at the Auto Show.
Interior wise, the car now had ventilation and a basic AM radio as standard equipment. Medium compound tyres were used as stock equipment to give the car better grip and there was no automatic gearbox for this generation. Just the trusty 4 speed manual that has been used in previous car S-PBs.
The third generation S-PB comes in two trims. The regular 311, which has the same engine and gearbox from the second generation and also the new S-PB 396 SS which has a new 6.5L V8, dishing out 368 horsepower and 544 Nm of torque. This trim was fitted with sports tyres and has a ”396” badge on the rear instead of the 311 one.
Production was scheduled to cease in 1966.
Stat sheet for S-PB 311
Stat sheet for S-PB 396 SS
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The fourth generation S-PB got all sorts of upgrades compared to the previous versions. The engine internals were upgraded and now feature forged components as well as two four barrel carbs for every engine.
The interior remained mostly the same with standard quality and four seats as well as a basic AM radio. Power steering also became standard equipment for the S-PB lineup with the release of the fourth generation.
There was a special edition trim called the S-PB 518 LE which served mostly as a demonstration of advanced technology. The huge 8.5 liter V8 was made out of aluminium and had a four valve SOHC system. The car did 0-60 mph in just 4.9 seconds and had a high tech five speed manual gearbox. It was sold only from 1966 to 1969.
The rest of the fourth generatoin S-PB trims (311 and 396) were sold from 1966 to 1972 and the external differences between each trim was simply differend badges.
Stat sheet for S-PB 311
Stat sheet for S-PB 396
Stat sheet for S-PB 518 LE
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