Carlsson was born in Trollhättan. On 9 July 1963, he married Pat Moss, a famous rally driver and younger sister of Stirling Moss, in London. They had a daughter, Susie Carlsson, on 1 December 1969, who later became successful in show jumping.
Because the early Saabs in which he competed were seriously underpowered, Carlsson had to maintain high speeds while cornering. With tuned two-stroke engines that required keeping the revs up, he practiced left-foot braking to perfection to maintain momentum.
In 1965, Pat Moss and Erik Carlsson co-authored a book titled The Art and Technique of Driving, published by Heinemann in London for 25 shillings. The book was translated into Dutch, German, Japanese, and Spanish.
The nickname "Carlsson on the roof" originated from the Astrid Lindgren children's story Karlsson på taket, about a character who lived on the roof of an apartment building. The name was applied to Carlsson because of his habit of occasionally rolling his rally car. During the Safari Rally, he intentionally rolled his car to escape a mud pool. When journalists later expressed doubt, he proved the feat by rolling the car again. A subsequent attempt by the Ford factory team to perform the same stunt with a Ford Cortina resulted in more damage than Carlsson's car had sustained during the entire rally.
Carlsson was known for unusual solutions during competition. During a rally in the United Kingdom, he needed a spare part and began disassembling a brand new Saab 96 found in a car park. When the owner discovered them, Carlsson's co-driver defused the situation by explaining Carlsson was a factory driver and promising the owner a new car. Carlsson and the owner remained friends and continued to exchange Christmas cards.
In another instance, to avoid penalty points for car damage at the finish, Carlsson's team swapped a dented fender and door with parts from a support car. To hide the fact that the new parts were clean while the rest of the car was covered in dust, they washed the car using spare gasoline. Reporters were impressed that the crew had found time to wash the car before the finish, though Carlsson later spotted the support car outside his hotel with the dirty, numbered parts still attached.
During the 1959 Rally of Portugal, Carlsson was leading the European championship. His closest competitor was Paul Coltelloni, for whom Citroën had purchased an Alfa Romeo to prevent a Carlsson victory. While driving through Spain, Carlsson's Saab suffered a grabbing front brake, causing the car to spin and roll into a railway barrier at over 70 mph (110 km/h), narrowly missing a train. Despite the crash and subsequent electrical problems, they finished third. Although a 25-point penalty for having the wrong color combination on their competition numbers dropped them to fourth, Carlsson appeared to have secured the championship. However, at the prize ceremony, he discovered he had been given an additional 25-point penalty per door, resulting in an eighth-place finish.
In the 1966 Coupe des Alpes, Carlsson drove a Saab Sonett II with a two-stroke engine bored to 940 cc. The car produced 93 bhp and could reach 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standstill in eight seconds. While the car was capable of holding station with the Porsche 904, it suffered from excessive spark plug failure. After running out of spares and retiring, an analysis of the gasoline by Saab revealed it had been contaminated with a foreign substance.
During the 1961 German Rally, the DKW team suspected Carlsson was using an illicit four-speed gearbox. Upon disassembly, no fourth gear was found; Carlsson had fooled competitors by dipping the clutch in third gear to make it sound like a four-speed transmission.
In 2010, Carlsson was among the first four inductees into the Rally Hall of Fame, alongside Rauno Aaltonen, Paddy Hopkirk, and Timo Mäkinen. He died on 27 May 2015 following a short illness.
1955: 1st in the Rikspokalen (Saab 92)
1957: 1st in the 1000 Lakes Rally (Saab 93)
1959: 1st in the Swedish Rally (Saab 93)
1959: 1st in the Rallye Deutschland (Saab 93)
1960, 1961, 1962: 1st in the RAC Rally (Saab 96)
1960: 2nd in the Acropolis Rally (Saab 96)
1961: 17th in Canadian Winter Rally (Saab 96)
1961: 4th in the Monte Carlo Rally (Saab 95)
1961: 1st in the Acropolis Rally (Saab 96)
1962, 1963: 1st in the Monte Carlo Rally (Saab 96)
1962: 7th in East African Safari Rally (Saab 96)
1963: 2nd in the Liège-Sofia-Liège Rally (Saab 96)
1964: 1st in the San Remo Rally (Rally dei Fiori) (Saab 96 Sport)
1964: 2nd in the Liège-Sofia-Liège Rally (Saab 96)
1964: 2nd in the East African Safari Rally (Saab 96)
1965: 2nd in the BP Australian Rally (Saab 96 Sport)
1965: 2nd in the Akropolis Rally (Saab 96 Sport)
1967: 1st in the Czech Rally (Saab 96 V4)
1969: 3rd in Baja 1000 (Saab 96 V4)
1970: 5th in Baja 1000 (Saab 96 V4)
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