SPY PICS: 9 lives for Saab flagship

As the final questions remain unanswered about the future of Saab within the General Motors empire, the Swedish brand is well advanced on its replacement for the unbelievably ancient 9-5.

The big Saab came to Australia in 1997 and, apart from a few tweaks, has remained largely unchanged since then -- which must be some sort of automotive record.

Now a new 9-5 is on the way and, judging from these Carparazzi spy pics snapped on a frozen lake somewhere in Scandinavia, it will show a distinctively different profile to the current sedan with what appear to be significant increases in width and height. The Carparazzi team reckons the 9-5's wheelbase will be extended by a considerable 140mm.

A noticeable design cue identifying it as a Saab includes the beetle-browed windscreen that harks back to the 99 model on sale in the 1970s.

Everything else about the next 9-5 apart from the more menacing proportions remains fuzzy. The rear end of the heavily disguised photo car looks interesting and suggests a hatch-like sweep to the C-pillars -- but that's most likely a deception as the company ditched the idea of five-door bodies in favour of sedan configurations when the current 9-3 series was launched in 2002.

It is believed the next 9-5 will build on the GM Epsilon II platform that currently underpins the 9-3, and that Saab's long expertise with turbo engines will bring a smaller 1.6-litre powerplant capable of delivering -- VW Twincharger style, although it's turbo-only -- 2.0-litre-comparable performance. That said, there's every chance the big Saab will offer a similar range of engine options to the current series, including Holden-sourced V6s, as well as an ethanol-friendly four-cylinder.

Speculation remains whether the 9-5 will be built at the Trollhattan plant in Sweden, or at Opel's Russelsheim plant in Germany although, as it's understood both 9-5 and the next 9-3 will be based on variants of the same platform, Sweden may end up being the better choice.

The new 9-5 is aimed at a Frankfurt motor show introduction later in the year.

-- with Carparazzi