Saab Automobile To Unveil Another Concept Car?

Posted on 06. Nov, 2009 by in 2000-2009

Saab Automobile to unveil a new concept car? This is the headline that hit the news media today according to Edmunds Inside line.

Apparently, this concept, will define the new Saab. This makes me wonder though, if this new concept defines the new Saab, what are the 9-X Air, 9-X BioHybrid, 9-4x BioPower, 9-5 BioPower e100, 9-3 BioPower Hybrid Convertible and Aero-X doing? I thought all of these previous concept cars were built to define the new Saab, so the question is, how will this new edition to the concept car lineup be so significantly different that it defines the future of Saab?

Anyone want to guess at the name of the new concept car model designation?

Here’s the piece below by Edmunds Inside line.

Saab’s Next Concept Expected To Be a New Small Car

Published Nov 5, 2009t

TROLLHÄTTAN, Sweden — Saab is working on a new concept car — believed to be a new small model — that will “define the new Saab,” says Director of Global Operations Knut Simonsson. “It’s going to be very important and will indicate what the Saab message is going to be.”

The concept, which will appear within the next 12 months, will take Saab into a segment in which it is not currently present, although Simonsson would not be drawn out on what that would be. However, it is thought that the company is once again considering a smaller model, positioned beneath its aging 9-3.

But a new small Saab is a long way off right now, as the company regroups following its yet-to-be finalized breakaway from General Motors. More pressing, in product terms, is the need to replace the 9-3, although that’s a good three years away. Between then and next spring’s 9-5 launch, we will see a Combi version of the 9-5 with a tailgate and the Mexican built 9-4X SUV launched.

The 9-3 replacement, which was originally to have been built on a shortened version of the GM Epsilon platform that the 9-5 rides on, may be built on a Saab-derived platform that uses the front-end structure of the Alfa Romeo 159, which at one time Saab worked on with the Italian company as part of a failed cooperative venture.

In the near future, Saab is busy consolidating its activities around its Trollhättan factory. The production line for the 9-5 is currently being lifted and shifted from Opel’s Rüsselsheim factory in Germany, where it was originally to have been built, an exercise requiring the movement of 56 truckloads of machinery, says Simonsson.

He adds that the split from GM has delayed the launch of the 9-5, “which we really had to fight for,” by six months.

The company is also transferring production of the 9-3 Cabrio, currently made by Magna in Graz, Austria, to Trollhättan as well. Further out, Simonsson talks enthusiastically about what he calls the “electrification of the turbo,” which can be interpreted as the development of a hybrid model using bespoke Saab technology.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Share

No Responses to “Saab Automobile To Unveil Another Concept Car?”

  1. Markc

    06. Nov, 2009

    Perhaps the concept car is meant to define post GM Saab?

    Reply to this comment

  2. Jim Marden

    06. Nov, 2009

    “HaHa… “what are the 9-X Air, 9-X BioHybrid, 9-4x BioPower, 9-5 BioPower e100″… Gee… lets think… Maybe a gimmick to make people think GM gives a shit about alternative energy…”

    Reply to this comment

  3. Ryan

    06. Nov, 2009

    Mark,

    One can hope, but GM has made us weary of concept cars due to the ideas never seeing the light of day.

    Jim,

    Good point! I hope we don’t go down that road again. :)

    R

    Reply to this comment

  4. stewart

    07. Nov, 2009

    Lets wait and see, it would probably be the competition for the volvo C30.

    About the electrification of the turbo, is not about an hybrid model. Its just saab idea of turning the turbo electric, instead of using exhaust gases to propel it would use electric energy reducing to none the turbo lag.

    Reply to this comment

  5. ARUK

    08. Nov, 2009

    Saab 90..!

    And yes, it will be designed to reflect a post GM Saab.

    In an interview with Simon Padian, Saab’s brand design chief referred to the Swiss eco-concept the ‘Mindset’ as being a Saab.

    Couple this with the rumours that Saab may have engaged with BMW’s Mini division over future platforms –more so now that the new Mini platform/ ‘0’ series BMW 3/5 door hatch has been announced, it would be easy to arrive at the thought that the Saab 90 concept could be a mix of the two…and it may also form the basis for a future Saab Sonett two seater sports car!

    AMS interview: http://www.saabsunited.com/2009/08/ams-dare-to-be-saab.html

    Mindset: http://www.mindset.ch/?language=en

    0 series BMW/New Mini: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/244420/bmws_new_baby_zeroes_in_on_fiesta.html

    Reply to this comment

  6. Ryan

    09. Nov, 2009

    ‘I just don’t see the point of yet another concept car right now, we’re all frankly quite tired of it.

    Saab needs product in showrooms yesterday.

    The priorities seem to be quite skewed.

    R

    Reply to this comment

  7. Centralwallwaper.com

    09. Nov, 2009

    Is there any change that Saab Turbo X will be continue in development?

    Reply to this comment

  8. ARUK

    09. Nov, 2009

    Ryan, I share your sentiment but also understand why this is necessary;

    As hinted previously it represents a clean break from GM and showcases new Saab technology. It could be argued that any new Saab concept (as opposed to a GM-Saab concept) is now far more likely to contain production-ready elements and see the light of day –indeed the basic chassis may well come from BMW/Mini. Of course, let’s not forget the free hand Saab now has in the design stakes.

    It will also signal Saab’s interest in the sub 9-3 sector to compete with the Volvo C30 (as mentioned above) and the forthcoming BMW 0 Series and Audi A1…

    Additionally, and as we know, product design lifecycles are long and the major design work for the next 9-3 is likely to have been frozen and the detailed design and engineering teams are now doing their work. This leaves those with the first category of skill-sets (and no doubt the designer Bård Eker –one of the new investors) to sketch a few thoughts..!

    Much of the actual work for the building of the concept will likely be outsourced to one of the Italian coach builders to keep internal Saab resources utilised and focused on forthcoming models such as the NG9-5, 9-3x, 9-4x and the new 9-3.

    Just like the media column inches generated by the Aero-X on its debut this new concept will probably be more cost effective than a few prime time TV slots in raising the profile of a confident new Saab.

    Reply to this comment

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Twitter Trackbacks for Saab History » Saab Automobile To Unveil Another Concept Car? [saabhistory.com] on Topsy.com - November 7, 2009

    [...] Saab History » Saab Automobile To Unveil Another Concept Car? http://www.saabhistory.com/2009/11/06/saab-automobile-to-unveil-another-concept-car – view page – cached Saab History – Past, Present & Future [...]

Leave a Reply



Production Concept