Officially Teased: 2008 Saab 9-3

Alex Nunez — Mon, 14 May 2007 01:02:00 EST

Click for high-res gallery

Leaked photos had been dripping out onto the web all last week, and today, Saab officially released the first photos of the facelifted 2008 Saab 9-3. In addition to the wagon that we've all already seen, we now get our first look at the sedan. The release after the jump (which comes via the automaker's Australian division) is very, very lean on details -- this is basically a teaser ahead of the full release that's coming next month, when we can expect to see the convertible and the rear ends of the sedan and wagon.

Obviously, the Aero-X-inspired styling is in play, with the cars getting new front ends, a clamshell hood, and new lighting. As for the other changes, the release plays coy, saying that "significant developments" in design, performance, and handling are being introduced with the car. In Australia, it'll bow with gasoline, diesel, and BioPower engines. We'll probably hear more from the US side later this morning, and will update this post accordingly. We wouldn't be surprised to hear that we'll get the BioPower E85 engine, but not any diesels.

The Australian press release is pasted after the jump.

UPDATE: When the car arrives in the US, it will be available in two trim levels: 2.0T and 2.8 V6 Aero. Sounds like the BioPower's not in the cards for this market (at least not at launch). The US press release has also been added after the jump.

[Source: Saab]

Gallery: 2008 Saab 9-3

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Official renderings of the 2008 Saab 9-3?

Alex Nunez — Wed, 09 May 2007 08:31:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Saab

Our man Swade at Trollhattan Saab dropped us a line with the CG renderings you see here, which he strongly believes are about as close as you can get to seeing the soon-to-be-unveiled 2008 Saab 9-3 sedan without getting a walkaround of a prototype. The inside source who sent these in to Trollhattan Saab is familiar to Swade, who has dubbed him "Djup Strupe" (Deep Throat" in Swedish) based on the accuracy of information he has provided in the past.

The car will be formally unveiled June 10th in Sweden -- the 60th anniversary of the unveiling of the first Saab, and between this and what we've seen in the excellent spy photos circulating the last few weeks we have high hopes for the new 9-3. And those are just cosmetic changes. Throw in the new all-wheel-drive system and you have a vehicle that's going to be of significant interest compared to its predecessor. Follow the jump for a rear view, and head over to Trollhattan Saab for enlarged versions of both renderings, plus some additional commentary.

[Source: Trollhattan Saab]

Continue reading Official renderings of the 2008 Saab 9-3?

Official renderings of the 2008 Saab 9-3? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 May 2007 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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