in the early 1960s rolf mellde, per gillbrand and karl rosenqvist began work on a new 1.2 l inline four for the upcoming saab 99. uk engineering and consultancy company ricardo was involved in the project, and were also aware that triumph in the uk were working on a similar engine. when saab determined that developing their own engine would be too expensive and too risky, ricardo put saab in contact with triumph.