SPY PICS: Another Saab story: 9-5 Estate trapped and snapped
At the 11th hour, the long-lived Swedish brand appears set to deliver a wagon, but is it all too late?Spy photographers Carparazzi snapped this prototype Saab 9-5 Estate on test in southern Italy recently. We can't quite see a chalk outline around the car yet, but it's gotta be on life support.
Despite advanced developmental work on a number of new models, the chances of GM offloading the ailing brand onto a fired-up revivalist outfit looks ever less likely. GM announced just over a week ago that its seemingly finalised deal with Swedish sports car maker Koenigsegg was off the table. GM has said it will wait for other suitors -- including Dutch firm Spyker -- to make their case, but the future of Saab looks bleaker than ever. So the wagon's appearance could be a sort of Saab swansong.
The tragedy is the car that follows the original 9-5, that has remained essentially unchanged since its launch in the later 1990s, looked like a strong prestige/luxury contender with all-wheel drive technology, high levels of safety (including a moose-resistant body) and signature styling. The estate version looks distinctive, spacious and practical with an extended cargo area and the promise of lots of clever wagon engineering -- including aircraft-style tie downs in the cargo area, something the original 9-5 Estate pioneered.
The estate's engine lineup, like the sedan's, presumably includes the super-frugal turbodiesel four-cylinder, a new 1.6-litre petrol turbo and, of course, a turbo version of the Holden V6.
Supposedly, the next generation 9-5 was exposed in its finalised form in August this year and recent reports have the company still saying it will launch in Europe in 2010. But economic practicalities often prevail -- and Saab is no less prone to those than any other car-maker.
-- with Carparazzi
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