Now that the dust has settled in terms of Saab’s financial situation, the Swedish marque is concentration on rolling out cars to sell. The sleek 9-5 is out, and the 9-4X will join the range soon. Both these cars were completed under GM ownership; the first Saab designed under Spyker’s reign will be the new 9-3 that’s expected to hit the market sometime in 2012.
Victor Muller, boss of the Spyker Group revealed that while the carry over platform and hard points of the new 9-3 can’t be changed now, liberation from GM means that the mid-sized exec will feature a “bolder, more typically Saabish” look. British chief designer Simon Padian said that the 9-3 will feature a “much stronger form language” with a grille like the new 9-5’s. At least there won’t be two very different looking models in the same range.
The 2012 9-3 will still be based on GM’s Epsilon 1 platform but it will be heavily modified and will include a host of new technologies, according to Saab president and CEO Jan Åke Jonsson. “It is the existing 9-3 base, but we are enhancing so many systems that it’s almost a new architecture. It will be the first Saab to get start-stop, for instance.”
The new 9-3 is a vital car in Saab’s business plan. It will be Trollhättan’s volume model with 70,000 units annually once the new range, which will include a small car, is complete. The 9-5 is forecasted at 40,000-45,000 units a year while the 9-4X crossover is expected to contribute 10,000 units to the cause.
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Can’t wait to see Saab + Spyker design influence in both Saab volume seller and extreme detail Spyker dive of joy.
“bolder, more typically Saabish” look.
Any good example on this?
Can’t wait to see how Spyker will handle the brand.
Nice car but poor marketing…