New Saab 9-3 image

Love it

I would love to change my current 93 with this 93 but only if they make it better than my Insignia. At least lookwise they are in the right direction.

By PAAdam on 10 November, 2011, 7:14am

hatchbacks

Wouldnt be a bad idea to go back to making good looking hatchbacks at a reasonable price like they used to make and get themselves a decent niche.

Lets face it, if you have a disgusting springer spaniel you arnt going to buy an something like an A4 saloon so you are stuffed with having to buy an estate (the over priced A5 "sportback" makes no sense to me!)

Shame they fitted the concept with 29" alloys and the short wheel base rally chassis.

By jakeb1 on 10 November, 2011, 7:30am

Another chinese take-away?

Lets hope Saab doesn't go the same was as MG/Rover with the Chinese involved.

By toycollector on 10 November, 2011, 7:41am

Not sure

Is the writer living in the past or something? Unless Saab is able to work out its differences with GM, there won't be any Saab. And I am not sure about Castriota's designs. You need big rims to fill those wheel wells, which is killing for the comfort.

By voyager on 10 November, 2011, 7:48am

Wish them luck, but pessimistic

Sad to say it, but even if SAAB doesn't go under, people will still stick to the boring, cloned German brands on some illusion that they are better built and sportier. Shame.

By gherkins123 on 10 November, 2011, 8:03am

Shows some promise

I'm not keen on the curved crease between the rear lights and the door handle; I believe the design would look better without that fussiness. I agree with your other correspondents about the wheels and arches: filled with normal wheels the big arches will make the car look anaemic.
The other thing SAAB needs to improve is the dashboard compared to the current 9-3. It needs to take cues from the likes of Volvo and offer a more modern, Scandinavian fell to the interior, as an alternative to the Germans.

By snappyuk on 10 November, 2011, 8:32am

Looks ridiculous!

I truly hope this is another duff photoshop exercise by AE - the proportions are all wrong! Seems longer at the rear than the front, and what's with the door handles - they're about a foot apart!!?

By BARNEYM1979 on 10 November, 2011, 8:38am

Would have loved to Get the New 93

I ordered my 93 Aero ttid 180 bhp, in August, cancelled in late September after been told it would take 24 weeks to get my new car.

As it a contract hire I am now in Seat Exeo Sport Tech, not the same by anymeans just hope Saab can improve On the looks, inside and outside and on bettering a 24 weeks on delivery.

May come back in 3 years .....

By Johnhobbis on 10 November, 2011, 9:04am

LOL!

Slow news day AE?
The chances of the above seeing the lite of day are slimmer than a slim thing at slimming world.
Saab are going under, and I bet the announcement will be made on Nov 15th. GM have blocked the sale of Saab to Youngman/Pang Da due them wanting to protect the IP on the Epsilon 2 platform (I understand SAIC are doing something with it with the MG/Roewe).
So AE, please show us the docs you have that show that Saab are "flying high on the news" of a rescue. Victor Muller is almost finished as he has no more rabbits to pull out of his hat.
I do believe that this is another AE bullshit out of boredom story.

By Tazfan2 on 10 November, 2011, 9:34am

nice

at last a nice looking Saab.

By kirra1 on 10 November, 2011, 10:32am

Nice dream

Reminds me of the days shortly before MG Rover went pop, we were regularly treated to mock-ups of one new Rover after another, which naturally, never appeared.

I would dearly love to be wrong, but Saab are very much a twitching corpse right now. It's already over. It was the second that GM raised the IP rights issue. They just need someone to officially pronounce them dead.

By Oilburner on 10 November, 2011, 10:44am

Beautiful

Love it, crease over the wheelarch and all. Hope the doom-mongers on here are proved wrong.

By Ian2861 on 10 November, 2011, 12:44pm

please buy this

please stop buying korean cars and start buying this instead

By julianlee on 10 November, 2011, 12:58pm

I'll be having one!

If SAAB do survive then I want one of them for sure.

The design looks great, just keep the FIAT sourced engines out the cars and SAAB will be back in business.

By bignick81 on 10 November, 2011, 3:01pm

It's an AE photoshop

"It first surfaced on a Swedish website that had intercepted a copy of Saab’s business presentation"

which was a monotone poor photocopy....

This is pre-Castriota and therefor all references to the Phoenix Concept are rubbish. It looks just like what it is a poorly photoshopped 9-5....

By W00DZ on 10 November, 2011, 3:17pm

Looks great... Saab is still alive!

I am sure some of these writers also predicted that the Chinese couldn't build the Three Gorges Dam.

By dickerin on 10 November, 2011, 3:47pm

Mr C

it doesn't look like a BMW.Mercedes or an Audi. It looks like a Saab.
Brilliant I want one.

By STILLO52 on 10 November, 2011, 4:01pm

STAY ALIVE SAAB......THIS IS A WINNER

A truly great design. Good balance of sport and sophistication. Please endow this car with a good chassis, quality interior, a potent turbo engine, and a rear-bias AWD system, and you now you have a real game changer for SAAB. PLEASE CHINA DON'T F*** THIS UP!
-Sam

By aprimalheart on 10 November, 2011, 4:44pm

another pipe dream

Milos being playing with photoshop again?

By fleabane on 10 November, 2011, 6:15pm

WTF?

This has to be the worst photoshop I've ever seen. Does anyoen seriously believe £88 million will save SAAB? they haven't made a car since early 201 and yet have been paying staff all along by begging for funding from anywhere. The dealerships have almost given up - who wouldn't? no-one wants the cars and the dealerships don't have any to sell even if they did. A joke and best to lay it to rest now rather than tarnish what was once a highly innovative and quirky brand with integrity and quality.

By JamesRiley on 10 November, 2011, 9:27pm

GM have screwed the deal

GM have vetoed the deal with Pang Da and Youngman as they have an agreement with their rivals and have said it the deal goes ahead GM will not supply the technology that SAAB need

By Carmad3 on 11 November, 2011, 5:00am

These models are unlikely to see production, as Saab is probably past the point of no return. I think they have been showing those same 9-1 mock-ups for about two years now, and I would be surprised if any real progress has actually been made on the car. Even if they survive the current crisis, I think the future for Saab looks bleak.

As Oilburner says, MG Rover were doing exactly the same sort of thing in ~2003/4, belatedly trying to convince us that they still had a pulse by releasing pictures of "imminent" 25 and 45 replacements. These were actually several years away from reaching production, and as we all know the company didn't last long enough to see them released. But I can still remember the, ahem, "Forget the Focus" headline in either AE or WC? Can't believe everything you read!

By CrystalBall on 11 November, 2011, 9:46am

Build Quality and Service Costs

I have had 6 Saabs over 12 years. I Like the look and driving position, but I now drive a BMW. The BMW serviceing costs are less the half that of Saabs.
Saab if your out there the main reason saabs depricate so much is nobody is going to buy a second hand car that if seviced at a dealer would cost £400 + for an oil change.
Sort this out and you might sell a few more cars.
Hope this new car has reversing sensors as standard.

By baileybms on 11 November, 2011, 8:18pm

Gorgeous

That looks great and would really stand out in this class. I'd have one of those-makes a 3-Series look old. Hopefully Saab can pull through this mess and come out with some nice cars like this.

By uncle_paulie on 12 November, 2011, 10:58pm

SAAB?

SAAB is dead since more than few years. Old generation Opel Vectra chasis and engines cannot recreate the pedigree of once great innovative car builder. Same storry now. Whatever the new body pannels, using bottom-range BMW engines does not add-up to a genuine SAAB. If you like this car, buy a proper BMW. Or Audi. In fact I expect the Chinese to sort this out and push SAAB back to the exclusivity level that Rover have never been on.

By Stivans on 14 November, 2011, 6:42pm

The Joys of CGI, presumably?

Presumably the money is in place, unless the Chinese have done an MG Rover and sending over all the new models in kit form to be built up in Sweden so that they can claim to be "real" Saab models.
I really would love to own a Mini sized Saab, but unless they think that by positioning it in a niche market and price it accordingly, they can make money on it. Saab have threatened a small model for years, most recently based on the Corsa, but have never managed to make one that came anywhere near the UK. I've seen one new 9.5, several recently registered 9.3's [which were probably discounted to death to make the owners take a chance on them] but any new model ranges will have to be pretty special for drivers to part with their readies. I, for one, would love them to succeed but, based on the last year's news, new models are merely CGI designs that may, or may not, come to the marketplace.

By n50pap on 15 November, 2011, 3:36pm

Castriota designs...

Mr. Castriota may be able to pull off a relatively interesting design with the right proportions on a supercar (Maserati Birdcage) but he absolutely cannot produce a sophisticated, subtle, and mature design, which is what Saab needs in its next 9-3. His signiature bulges, wheel sizes, and swept surfaces simply overpower any now well established design language that had Saab going in the right design direction.

By GPhilip on 18 November, 2011, 8:49pm