Thursday, June 4, 2015

Erik Carlsson, 1929-2015

Erik Carlsson, a.k.a. "Mr. Saab", has passed away at age 86. Carlsson was an international rally racing star who assisted author John Gardner in research for his third James Bond novel, Icebreaker. Gardner thanked Carlsson by including him in the book:

Bond then flew via Helsinki to Rovaniemi, to meet up with driving experts, like his old friend Erik Carlsson and the dapper Simo Lampinen. The Driving Course took only a few days, and after a word to the massive Erik Carlsson, who promised to keep an eye on the Silver Beast, he left the hotel near Rovaniemi in the early hours of a bitterly cold morning.

Later Carlsson brings Bond's Saab 900 Turbo north and leaves 007 a note in his glove compartment which reads:

Good luck, Whatever You're Doing... Remember what I've taught you about the left foot!!! -Erik.


Read Erik Carlsson's obituary at The Telegraph.

1 comment:

  1. Erik Carlsson is a real legend and as a swede I'm proud of his achivements even if he was a generation ahead of me. He also Went by the nickname "carlsson på taket" ("carlsson on the roof") after an accident. He was married to the formula 1 legend Stirling Moss' sister Pat.

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