Earlier today I had a minor meltdown, showing an image of Saab’s Geneva cars all covered up and playing a guessing game as to what they might be.
I could have avoided all that by actually reading the text on the image, going to the website noted on the image, where it laid out which car was which. Screenshot below….
The site also gives an idea as to when we can expect Saab to lift the various sheets off the cars.
Saab Concept Car – This won’t be seen until the Geneva Motor Show on March 1.
Saab 9-5 SportCombi – the first image has already been released, but the car will be seen in full at the Geneva show, too.
Saab 9-3 Griffin – Will be seen on February 23.
Saab 9-3 Independence Edition – Will be seen on February 23.
February 23, of course, is the one-year anniversary of Saab’s independence from General Motors. Saab’s media website indicates that they’ll be holding events in Trollhattan on the 23rd, although at the time of writing, it’s not known what those events will comprise.
At the very least, there will be an unveiling of two new 9-3 versions.
I’m really looking forward to the concept and learning more about the new technology!
The shape of the concept looks more like a “real” car than I thought it would do. I feared it would be a very futuristic vehicle with only some details revealing the coming design. Can’t wait for some pictures!
off topic
sales in austria have risen again.
saab austria sold 12 cars from 1-10. feb.
it’s very good compared to the 16 saabs which were sold in the first 20 days of jan 2011.
1-10. feb
saab 12
jaguar 12
lexus 6
lancia 5
Excuse my words, but d*mn I like it when you bring us news like this. We are so many here who in a way just wait for a new month so we can dig into different sales numbers and start predicting and analysing. With this – you keep our focus. 😉 Keep it up!
The concept car seems to be sportier (flat roof) than the 9-3 range. Looking forward to the unveiling!
Here´s a pic of the 9-5 SC from the front that I found on teknikensvarld.se
I for one have been raving about the line of the rear doors, but seeing it from this angle, it extremely sporty and very coupesh like.
End of raving. This car MUST be seen IRL. The doorline may even be a feature that you grow to love..
http://www.teknikensvarld.se/_internal/cimg!0/9bl56636qw803dzf4512hz2k1dat24u/Saab-9-5-SportCombi-svart.jpg
Sorry. It seems I didn´t get the link right..
http://www.teknikensvarld.se/_internal/cimg!0/9bl56636qw803dzf4512hz2k1dat24u/Saab-9-5-SportCombi-svart.jpg
Off topic: in today’s “Autobild” (German car magazine), there is an article in which four design experts judged 10 new cars for their design, and the 9-5 came out second! First was the Audi A7. The experts specifically noted that the car looks betterin flesh than on photographs, as many SU posters have noted before 🙂
I always wonder why people like Audi’s so much. They all look the same. 😉
If you have to ask, you will never really understand why.
But, SAABS are equally wonderful
Audis definitely are boring, but they are a practical chice. They are higher-than-average quality on every detail, and that’s all. And almost noone else can match the interior quality for the same price. The interior is what surrounds the owner all the time, and if everything else (price, exterior, engine, etc.) has no flaws, interior quality becomes the key point.
“good plastic”
Good plastic is very wide concept, if you ask what is good plastic from an engineer, designer, fireman, economist, environmentalist and cancer researcher. They will all name a different plastic materials what is good or bad.
Good plastic is the one that satisfies customer better, that’s what cars are made for! 🙂
Of course, it should be safe, other features are not so important!
This is really good news! That the 9-5 has participated in the competition and than ranked second just after Audi but before BMW and others is great. AutoBild is the most widespread car magazine in Germany. Saabs are not that visible out on the streets, and this way the car is in a very positive way showed up to a mass audience.
I have an ’09 9-3 Aero and my wife has the ’10 9-5 Aero. I tell her I’ve got an awesome car but her’s is a g.d. rocket ship.
Funny you wrote that, Chris. My wife also has the ’10 9-5 Aero and I tell her the same thing. I’m not complaining though as I drive a TurboX SS. Best of both worlds, I figure.
– E
Funny looking convertible…Almost the same roofline as the SS.
Anyway, any thoughts on the Indepedence Edition? Fully loaded package option like the Anniversaypaket in 2007?
This is the only information available.
Compared to the 2010 sales. 102 cars – saab austria with 41 cars until yet in 2011 is ok
It is just me, or does every one of those unreavealed shapes with the car covers still draped over them look like a hatchback?
Especially the concept car…. it looks like a Classic 900 hatch.
That’s right, I suspect the cloth is a rendered model wich has nothing to do with the shape of the cars. 🙂
Oh damn…. you’re correct.
I notice now that the shdow marks on all three of the cloths are identical, probably just a copy and paste job from a generic shape… or an older Saab rendering 🙁
Still, I hope there’s some hatchback involved.
I don’t think we should draw too many conclusions about the real cars based on the masked cars, since they are all covered by the same image, modified a bit here and there… 🙂
I guess that the concept is a teaser of the new 9-3, just like the 9-4x concept was a teaser.
According to Jason it is not supposed to be a concept of the new 9-3. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Does anyone know if the interior of the 9-5 Sport Combi will be identical to the sedan, or will it already have the upgrade?
No official information about the interior of the 9-5 SC exists, but the people that test drove the car talk about an updated interior.
I’ve seen the interior in the SC and if we talk about the famous black panel it is replaced by a really nice one that look more similar to the interior that we saw when the 9-5 sedan was launched. It could of course be an option to get this new panel and maybe it is standard in the Aero. But anyway, much better according to me.
Something like this?
http://images.saabsunited.com/9-5_navigation.jpg
Yes, something like that.
Exciting, can’t wait for the unveiling of the concept car. It looks like a hatch, but maybe this is just the form of the cloth. And it looks flat, at least when compared to the 9-3 and the 9-5. The dynamic shape of the bonnet reminds me of the OG 900. Counting the days!
The concept looks really long and low… Almost squashed…
Off topic
I noticed several test drive videos on Youtube of the 9-5 2.0T Aero sedan which is not available in the US. Maybe I missed it on earlier posts, but is there any indication of a 2.0T Aero in the Sport Combi being available in the US?
Haha! I just realised this is the old Saab teaser trick again!
The cover is actually the same graphics as the teasers for 9-X in 2008 – which in turn was a covered 9x from 2001… (image-google for “saab 9-x teaser” or click my link and you’ll see what I mean).
Is it me or does the concept look like a hatch profile????…….Bring it on!!!
Off topic …
Is any one else but me getting tired of the “hey look at me” off topic posts?
Steven,
Did not mean to offend. Just asked a question.
Did they just change
‘Saab 9-3 Griffin’ to ‘Saab 9-3 Range’
and
‘Saab 9-3 Independence Edition’ to ‘Saab 9-3 Cabriolet’
on http://www.premiere-mondiale.ch/ or is my memory failing me?
Yes, they did.
Indeed. I don’t have a screenshot of the “before” wording, but that’s how I knew I had my guesses correct.
Tricky.
It looks like many of the big decisions and hard work that have taken place over the past 12 months are now coming to fruition. I am proud of our little company!
Press iteaser invitation is available now on saabmedia site
Here’s the first teaser image of the Geneva concept released. It appears to be a closeup of a rear 3/4 view taken on the passenger side.
The wonky side view mirrors are evident in the draped concept from yesterday high up the A-Pillar. Very concepty, but very cool.
No more wraparound windshield? or is it just me?
I think those lines combined with a wraparound windshield would be a homerun.
Completion of the design study car is in the finishing process at a contractor in Italy.
The guys are working hard and wish them all the luck getting it ready on time.
Saab has used italian companies for the completion of show cars before, the 9X was such a car.