Charting out Saab's upcoming model lineup

There are many folks who've wanted big things from Saab, including this blogger, but we never seemed to get them. The company sold 93,220 cars in 2008, a drop of more than 25% from the previous year, and getting sucked into this year's General Motors saga hasn't exactly helped to create any believers in Saab's return to form.

But the quirkier Swedish brand has been taken over by Koenigsegg, and the little company is said to have big plans for the bigger one. Saab's product lineup, as laid out by Swedish car mag Auto Motor & Sport, will have the expected new 9-5 and 9-4 CUV at Frankfurt this year. Next year comes the new 9-5 SportCombi with Start/Stop technology. The two following years will bring the new 9-3 coupe and convertible, a 9-5 crossover, and a little 9-1 -- rumored to be co-produced with the Mini, sccording to the Swedish buff mag. In 2012, the magazine also predicts a sport hybrid powerplant.

The predictions go all the way out to 2017, but it isn't clear how much is pure guesswork versus actual hints from Saab. The magazine, however, suggests there will be some sort of shortened, Aero X coupe-looking thing, a return of the Sonett as a TT-fighter, and the next new 9-5 in 2017.

At this point, no one knows what Saab is going to look like a year from now, much less eight. But if Koenigsegg can make it look anything like it does in the Auto Motor & Sport chart – and get the sales to back it up – a lot of people will be very happy about it.

[Source: Saabs United]

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