Saab 9-4X launch confirmed

By Tom Phillips

31st August 2010

You wait for a new Saab to come along and then two come along at once! Hot on the heels of the new 9-5, the new 9-4X crossover will make its debut at the LA Auto Show which runs from November 19th to 28th. The launch was confirmed on the LA show’s Twitter page.

The 9-4X will become the second car to be launched under Saab’s new owners Spyker and is of key importance to the brand’s renaissance, particularly in the US where demand for crossovers remains high.

Despite being launched by Spyker, the 9-4X is heavily linked to the firm’s GM parentage. The 9-4X uses the same mixture of Theta and Epsilon 2 platforms as the recently launched Cadillac SRX, and will be built at the same factory in Mexico.

However, Saab's design team has had the change to impose the Swedish brand's unique stamp on the design both inside and out. Much of the design is taken from the 9-4X Bio Power concept which debuted in 2008, including the interior which owes much to the latest 9-5.

Saab dealers will be clamouring to get their hands on the new crossover when it goes on sale in the US next spring. In the US, the car will be offered with the same GM-sourced 2.8-litre V6 turbo engine that powers the Vauxhall Insignia VXR coupled to a six-speed automatic gearbox.

However, Saab is yet to strike a deal with GM about the supply of diesel engines for the 9-4X, which could seriously hamper its popularity when the crossover arrives in the UK later in 2011.