New Saab 9-4X World Premiere: Scandinavian Choice for the Crossover Segment

The new 9-4X brings unique Saab design and engineering values to the growing mid-size crossover segment. With distinctive Scandinavian and aircraft-inspired looks, it also offers car-like handling and ride characteristics that challenge class benchmarks.

Making its world premiere at next month’s Los Angles Auto Show, the 9-4X expands Saab’s product portfolio to three car lines and will provide a fresh, alternative choice for independently-minded crossover buyers. It is an important next-step in the Swedish brand’s renaissance as an independent premium car manufacturer … Read full Saab Newsroom article

Saab Automobile and BMW enter agreement for supply of gasoline engines

• Engines with latest fuel savings innovations to be used in future generation Saabs
• Major step towards successful future as independent company

Trollhättan, Sweden: Today, Saab Automobile and BMW announced an agreement for the supply of engines to be used in next-generation Saab vehicles. Under the purchase, supply and development agreement, BMW will supply Saab with 4-cylinder 1.6 liter turbocharged gasoline engines from 2012. The engines will be adapted to meet Saab’s specific requirements.

The contract was signed on Wednesday in Trollhättan, Sweden. Participating in the signing were Saab Automobile CEO Jan Åke Jonsson, Saab Automobile Chairman Victor Muller and Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing … Read full Saab press release

• Saab 9-3 SportCombi with all-electric propulsion
• Projected driving range 200 km approx.
• Battery cells set benchmark for energy density
• User trials with 70-strong test fleet starting next year

DETROIT: Saab Automobile is taking its first step towards developing an all-electric vehicle with the Saab 9-3 ePower.

Making its public debut at the Paris Motor Show later this month, the Saab 9-3 ePower is the prototype for a test fleet of 70 vehicles which will participate in extensive field trials in Sweden early next year.

The performance of the cars will be evaluated under a variety of real world driving conditions as part of the development process for a purpose-built, electric Saab vehicle. Targets to be verified include a projected driving range of approximately 200 kilometers through the use of high density energy storage in lithium-ion battery cells.

The Saab ePower is the first electric vehicle from Saab and is a result of a co-operation between Saab Automobile, Boston Power (batteries), Electroengine in Sweden AB (electric power trains), Innovatum (project management) and Power Circle (Sweden’s electric power industry trade organization) … Read the full Saab press release

Saab’s Future Can Be Found in Saab’s Past, Says Its New Designer

Jason Castriota Designs has been hired to handle design for Saab Automobile, the Swedish automaker that was bought in February by Spyker NV, a Dutch car company.

Saab’s news release referred to Mr. Castriota, 36, as design director, adding that he would take “the lead role in design at Saab,” but he will not work exclusively for Saab, Mr. Castriota said in an interview on Monday.

Mr. Castriota is widely regarded as a star in the car design world. He was at Pininfarina from 2001 to 2008. While he was at Pininfarina, he worked on designs for Ferrari and also for Maserati (which is owned by Ferrari) including the Maserati Birdcage concept. More recently, he worked at Stile Bertone, where he designed the Mantide, an exotic car based on the Corvette ZR1.

Mr. Castriota, who was born in the United States, set up his own firm, Jason Castriota Design, in December and has offices in New York and Turin, Italy, where he also keeps a residence … Read the full NYT article

All New Saab 9-5 Sedan: Start of a New Era for Saab

The all new Saab 9-5 sedan signals the start of a new era for the Saab brand. Sleek, sophisticated and unmistakably Saab, it combines stand-out looks with advanced technologies and brings a fresh alternative choice to the premium sedan segment.

The clean, sculpted shape embraces the purity of Scandinavian design and its dramatic wraparound window graphic echoes Saab’s aviation heritage. With frontal styling inspired by the award-winning Aero X concept car and a muscular, low-slung stance, the new 9-5 heralds the introduction of a bold, more expressive design language.

The array of high-tech features on offer includes: an aircraft-like head-up information display (Pilot HUD); adaptive lighting (Bi-Xenon Smart Beam); adaptive cruise control; Saab DriveSense adaptive chassis with real-time damping control; keyless entry and starting; tri-zone air conditioning; dynamic parking assistance and Saab XWD with a rear eLSD, the industry-leading all-wheel-drive system … Read more @ Saab Newsroom

Resurrected Swedish brand promises all-new model lineup by 2012, including a 9-3 hatchback.

By now, you’ve probably heard that, following years of careless stewardship at the hands of a neglectful American foster family, the quirky Saab brand has been adopted by Dutch supercar builder Spyker. But if trouble-prone Saab is to be healthy, its future offerings need to quickly get competitive with some standout products from BMW, Audi, Cadillac, and others. What might future Saabs be like? Well, Spyker has just provided details on the new models it plans to introduce over the next two years, as well as its vision for the brand over the longer term … Read the Car&Driver News article