Report: Saab 9-3 sketch leaked

Swedish website, SVD Naringsliv, seems to have sourced a sketch of the new Saab 9-3. What we have going on here is a bit of current 9-5 at the front, some old 99 towards the rear quarter panel and there is a teensy bit of Exige/Cayman going on at the back. In all, if this somewhat cryptic image is any good indication of things to come, we are looking at a shape reminiscent of the 99-900 (the decade or so before the big, and some say bad, GM takeover).

SVD Näringsliv also pulled up a presentation given to the European Investment Bank in 2010. Saab’s recent recovery will pop up tangibly in early 2012, which may mean big-time Chinese expansion (think more Saabs sold in China, rather than more Saabs made in China). As for the new 9-3, it should show up a year or two from now as a ‘vert and as a fastback.

Along with the 9-3 will be the 9-4x, the 9-5 wagon and a compact not-so-economy car, potentially with the 9-1 moniker.

As part of the restructuring, purchasing companies Youngman and Pang Da have agreed to pay 50m Euros to fund the company during what is a necessary restructuring process to avoid bankruptcy.

Pending PRC government approval (expected somewhere in the middle of November), Saab seems to be heading back towards its roots, it’s just that the owners are not Swedish this time around.

– By: Sawyer Sutton

Source: AutoCar