Autoblog

The Saab 9-4X has been caught in these new spy shots without the Keith Haring tape job it was wearing the last time we saw it. Features like the converging window lines on the side, the rear lights, and the Saab grille, give away its lineage. From the side, especially from the A-pillar back, you could be forgiven for confusing the Saab with a lot of other CUVs, while lines that are quite distinctive on the smaller 9-3 and 9-5 look to have been stretched into rather bland expanses on the 9-4X. It's still early, so we look forward to seeing the fully Saab-ified retail version. If Saab's managing director is to be believed, what won't be bland is one of the engine choices: a diesel with 250 hp and 406 lb-ft. That's the kind of quirky we can get behind.

[Source: Left Lane News]

The LA Auto Show is still a couple months away, but images of vehicles set to be unveiled in the land of fruits and nuts are already leaking onto the web. GM's Chilean website had the above photo of the production Saab 9-4X available for all to see earlier today, so now we know the production model looks almost identical to the 9-4X Biopower concept from last year's Detroit Auto Show. We'd be interested to see if the concept's integrated tail pipes and large front/side air dams make it to production but, judging from spy photos we've seen, probably not. The 9-4X will be built on the same platform as the upcoming front- or all-wheel-drive Cadillac SRX, which will also be unveiled this auto show season.

We don't have many details on the 9-4X just yet, but it will have a turbocharged 2.0L engine with 245 hp and 265 lb-ft mated to a six-speed automatic. The concept also ran on ethanol, which is also likely for the production vehicle considering that two thirds of all vehicles in Sweden are of the flex fuel variety. Other engine choices could include GM's 3.6L V6, which is likely to be found under hood of the SRX at launch, and an upcoming 250-hp 2.9L diesel. Either way, European customers will likely have an engine lineup twice as large as what we'll be offered in the U.S.

UPDATE: Saab has confirmed that the image above is not the production 9-4X, but rather a creative photoshop of the 9-4X Concept from last year's Detroit Auto Show produced by third-party reps down in Chile.


[Source: Motor Authority]

The next stab at a Saab SUV is reportedly going to be... a Saab. Word is that the newest hauler will have "Saab-DNA design and technology." Designed by teams in Sweden and Germany, that means an Aero-X-like snout, some combi-type curves in the back, and an ascending shoulder line. No word on engines yet, but there looks to be a full range of options, and dealers who have seen the final car are excited. This is all very good news to Saab mavens who don't want another badge-engineered Tahoe. For the rest of us, our first chance to see it could be as soon as the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.

[Source: Next Autos]

Click above for high-res gallery of Saab 9-4X spy shots

What we have here are the first spy shots showing a production prototype of the upcoming Saab 9-4X crossover. This CUV was first revealed as the 9-4X BioPower Concept at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, and as you can see from the spy shots in our gallery, the production version will be very similar to what we saw on stage in January. The Swedish designers even retained the sloping roof that begins its descent all the way up front at the a-pillars.

The 9-4X is based on a heavily modified version of GM's Theta platform that also incorporates elements of the company's Epsilon 2 platform, effectively making it a unique chassis on which only this CUV and the upcoming Cadillac Provoq CUV will be based. We know the 9-4X will be offered with Saab's new XWD all-wheel-drive system, and engine choices should be similar to the rest of Saab's range and include turbocharged four- and six-cylinder motors. (Yes, the 9-7X SUV is offered with a naturally aspirated six- and eight-cylinder engine, but that doesn't count.) Since the 9-4X will also be sold globally, we're hoping the U.S. market gets a diesel version, as well. Brenda Priddy hints that a 250-horsepower diesel is in the works. Okay, Saab. Now you've got our attention.


[Photos: Brian Williams for Brenda Priddy & Company]

As part of the press conference that also introduced the Hummer HX concept and the GM-Coskata partnership this morning, GM/Saab finally revealed the Saab 9-4X BioPower concept. The CUV drove onto the stage under a shake of fake snow and out popped two dolled up ski bunnies (well, one bunny and a hare, as it were).

We already know pretty much everything there is to know about this car, but it's worth repeating that this concept gets 245 hp and 353 Nm of torque (at 2500-5250 rpm) on gasoline versus 300 horses and 400 Nm (at 2600-5100 rpm) on delicious ethanol. Put gasoline in the tank and you can go 22.4 miles to the gallon (ethanol mpg was not disclosed, but it'll be less). A CUV very much like the 9-4X Concept, Saab's first, will likely be coming in 2009, so get ready to stick your skis into your biofuel car and hit the slopes. Video of the 9-4X unveiling is available after the jump.

Read more at AutoblogGreen.

click above for more images of the Saab 9-4X Concept

You're not supposed to see this vehicle yet, at least not until closer to the start of the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit this Sunday. It's the Saab BioPower 9-4X, and a Dutch outlet has seen fit to release these lowish-res images of the CUV a bit early. We think it's a CUV because the popularity of the SUV is waning (Ford's switching the Explorer from its body-on-frame SUV roots to a CUV compliant unibody, for Pete's sake), and Saab's done the whole SUV thing already with its rebadged (although nicely) version of the Chevy Trailblazer called the 9-7X. Regardless, the 9-4X is destined for production probably later this year. The Concept is powered by a 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder enginer, typical Saab fare, that produces 245 HP/260 ft. lb. of torque on gas and 300 HP/295 ft. lb. of torque on ethanol. There's also an intelligent all-wheel-drive system that can split power between the front and rear axles, as well as between each side of the rear axle depending on which needs it most. Stay tuned this Sunday when the Detroit Auto Show officially begins for us and we'll find out more.

[Source: World Car Fans, Trollhattan Saab]