The track was built on marshlands in 1968. Its layout includes a long straight — known as Flight Straight — which doubles as a functioning aircraft runway (ICAO: ESMP), still open for aircraft operations as of 2022 with a helipad planned for race-day air ambulance use. The circuit also features several banked corners, which create a challenging engineering compromise for car setup. An unusual feature is the placement of the pit lane halfway around the lap rather than at the start-finish straight.
The track rose to international prominence in the early 1970s as Swedish driver Ronnie Peterson reached the height of his career, generating intense public interest in motorsport across Scandinavia. The Swedish Grand Prix ran at Anderstorp from 1973 to 1978 and produced two moments of particular historical significance.
In 1976, Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler gave the six-wheeled Tyrrell P34 its first and only Formula One victory — an outcome never repeated by any six-wheeled car in the championship. Two years later in 1978, Niki Lauda won driving the Brabham BT46B, better known as the Brabham fan car, in its first and only race before the design was withdrawn under political pressure. Both wins are unique in Formula One history as the sole victories for their respective unconventional cars.
When Ronnie Peterson and Gunnar Nilsson both died during the 1978 Formula One season, public appetite for the Swedish Grand Prix collapsed. Without the national heroes who had driven support for the event, the race was not renewed and the Swedish Grand Prix came to an end after 1978.
Anderstorp hosted the Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix from 1971 to 1977 and again from 1981 to 1990. The European Touring Car Championship held rounds at the circuit from 1985 to 1987 and returned in 2002 and 2003. The Superbike World Championship visited in 1991 and 1993, and the FIA GT Championship raced at Anderstorp in 2002 and 2003. The BPR Global GT Series appeared in 1995 and 1996.
A 24-hour motorcycle endurance race organised with the FIM in 1993 became a cautionary tale: a last-minute noise complaint appeal and subsequent media reports that the event had been cancelled caused spectators from neighbouring countries to turn back at ferry crossings. A severe thunderstorm further hampered the event during racing. The circuit declared bankruptcy in the aftermath of the failed race.
The FIA World Touring Car Championship returned to Anderstorp in 2007, replacing Istanbul Park on the calendar, but the circuit was dropped again for 2008 in favour of Imola. A planned DTM round in 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The circuit has been modified at least four times. A chicane was added to Norra corner before the 1975 Swedish Grand Prix and tightened again for 1976. Before the final 1978 Formula One race, the penultimate Norra corner was reshaped and the following straight slightly reoriented, increasing the circuit length from 4.018 km to 4.031 km. A further modification between 1997 and 1998 reduced the length to its present 4.025 km. Notably, the 1978 modification to Norra corner did not introduce a chicane — contrary to common belief — but instead sharpened the bend's radius to reduce cornering speed.
The circuit continues to host national and Scandinavian racing events, including the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia, Formula Nordic, and the annual Anderstorp Race Festival. The Scandinavian Touring Car Championship has appeared regularly at the venue. The dual-purpose nature of the Flight Straight as both a racing facility and a licensed airfield remains one of the most distinctive features of any circuit in European motorsport.
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