The electric variant of the 9-3 model was long discussed and only now the Saab has the necessary means of dealing with this grant.

The Saab will be building the electric 9-3 starting this fall, finally reaching its Swedish dealers at the beginning of next year.

The electric version 9-3 is set to have a limited range for the moment, with only 200 kilometers, but the carmaker is looking ahead promising to deliver a more performed battery for the model.

NEVS has been manufacturing the 9-3 Aero turbocharged model for the Chinese market ever since December 2013, with the possibility of buying the version in Sweden as well, from the company`s website.

The Saab had a long run with its financial situations, being first bought by General Motors in 2010 and then being purchased by Spyker carmaker in June 2013.

Now, the car manufacturer is under NEVS and tries to recover the losses by launching an electric 9-3 model.

The post Saab Puts Electric Motor on the 9-3 Model appeared first on Ultimate Car Blog | The Latest Car News, Reviews, Tuning.

These days there’s two major events to consider about Saab. One is about whats’ being sold and the other is about what’s being bought.

The “on sale” item right now is the Saab museum, with well over 100 units of gem history from within the Swedish brand.

It seems that each of the vehicles is sold off the lot of the Saab Heritage Museum can be purchased piece by piece. We’re certain however that if your pockets are deep enough you can buy the lot.

The Saab museum features some iconic production cars from “back in the day” but it’s also loaded with concepts the company has presented over time.

A second interesting bit about the present situation at Saab is that now that they’re bankrupt investors are considerably more attracted to buying into the company.

In the cold world of finances and economy it makes perfect sense since the Saab is actually worth considerably less after bankruptcy.

Even though they were in a critical state before filing for it, a car maker the likes of Saab is still worth a lot of money and, more importantly, has loads of debt to deal with.

Filing for a bit of “final moments of Concorde appeal” Saab dealers seem to be overrun with visitors, particularly new customers who are interested in taking one of these cars home.

Irony strikes again, on its deathbed, the company seems to be more alive than ever before.

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A few reports have been trickling in lately and it seems like the company isn’t going to give the Saab 9-3 a successor. We’re still going to see a new Saab small business sedan but as a return it’s no longer going to be called the same.

As the situation would see a nameplate swap in order to bring back some of the missing heritage the company has been blamed for lacking lately.

By lately I’d be referring to Saab’s history since the GM ownership starting sometime in the late eighties and continuing all the way up to 2010.

While we all know how technically and financially none of the Saab products would have lived on to today without General Motors’ money, on close analysis, it’s going to be quite a lot of time before the Swedish can get back to their former glory.

Saab’s North American president, Tim Colbeck came forward with this sort of information and he even shared some stuff on what’s happening with the new release.

Apparently the… whatever it’s called Saab 9-3 replacement will be released sometime in the first quarter of 2013 sporting an edgy reinterpretation of design cues from the company’s past.

That sounds brilliant, but it’s pretty ambiguous so it’s tricky to estimate what exactly the new version of the Saab 9-3 (or not) is going to be in terms of design, performance or technology.

In other shady news from Saab, Tim Colbeck claims they’re going to be actually making that 92 successor we’ve been hearing before the company eventually died altogether.

The Saab 92 was an iconic small sports car produced throughout the 1940s and 1950s. It wasn’t exactly the vehicle with the best engine around but it did have a drag coefficient of just 0.30.

Technicalities aren’t really my best attribute but I’ve been told it’s better than the legendary likes of the Ferrari F40 and similar to the modern day Porsche 996.

It seems like the new Saab 92 and the re-branding of the Saab 9-3 is going to be part of the new plan the Swedish are pushing in order to keep their new Chinese investors happy.

My hopes when hearing that the Saab 9-3 would never be the same, were riding on how they’d come up with a new model that would be joyous and crazy like a Viper powered estate.

The post Saab’s 9-3 model will never be the same again appeared first on Ultimate Car Blog | The Latest Car News, Reviews, Tuning.

I mean, you hear about Saab being uncertain about their future one day and about struggling and about how they found another new Chinese partner the other.

Why do we, why is it important? Simple, because everybody cares about Saab to some extent, everybody is a fan or enthusiast to the Swedish car maker’s brand.

Don’t believe me? Let me show you the latest of very interesting things to come from the Saab enthusiast stable. Scratch that, let’s talk about the Saab fanatics.

It’s these people that came up with the Saab 9-3 Sport Combi SRT10 MegaPower and if you’re not sure what this is about, it’s about a Saab estate that had an engine transplant.

The MegaPower part is in itself clear, but the SRT10 reveals a new level of insanity one may attribute to what is the calm and sensible Saab 9-3 Sport Combi.

The new engine a team of Swedes put in the estate Saab is the shockingly powerful powerplant one may find in the Dodge Viper SRT10.

If you’re thinking about racing away from the lights with this sort of car you’re clearly crazy, but that wasn’t enough for these people.

This is why they actually tuned up the Dodge Viper SRT10’s engine to offer 100 horsepower more than standard. I see it and yet I can’t really imagine the feeling of driving such a thing.

We’re talking about a perfectly appropriate school run car which has an American built 8.4 liter V10 engine. This transplanted heart churns out 600 horsepower and 560 lb-ft of torque.

The slightly flared wheel arches and the massive new wheels are not really there just for show, they are actually there to accommodate the rest of the underpinnings this Saab rides on.

Underneath what appears to be a slightly modified Saab 9-3 Sport Combi, there is not only the engine from a Viper, but the entire drivetrain as well.

Adding everything up, this Saab 9-3 Sport Combi SRT10 MegaPower edition is not only powerful enough to waste your average sports cars away from the lines, but also possibly the most fun you can have.

The Dodge Viper chassis is renown for an over-engineered yet simple design which makes for trouble free pedal mashing hard driving of any sorts.

Team it up with an exterior nobody would key in a supermarket parking lot and you’ve got a completely winning combination in what is the Saab 9-3 Sport Combi SRT10 MegaPower.

It’s cars like these that make Saab enthusiasts care more and more about their cars whether or not they are modified or in standard trim.

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In our rather sheltered world of petrolheads, the bad boys have been pretty much eliminated, heck, even Chrysler managed to turn a profit this year, but the evil economy enemy still lives.

One of the very last victims that just couldn’t escape it’s malevolent grasp was the darling Swedish company at Saab.

Once one of the greatest manufacturers in terms of performance and recently an understated sensible car for people who don’t care about the image offered by their wheels.

Throughout its life, Saab was first suffocated by their original management, later on by General Motors and recently the Swedish dragged the chaps at Spyker down thanks to the economy.

You see, it’s those damn financial corporate evil people that just won’t let Saab live a normal life.

Sure, it’s sad but in an effort to once again elude the troubling environment around the car making industry, Saab went to China for a new partner to come to their salvation.

The new partner is called Hawtai Motor Group and their new contribution to the mix includes a check for the amazing sum of 30 million euros.

The weird thing is that even with this new money, Saab will still be applying for a new loan plan from the European Investment Bank for some extra €29.1 million.

Hopefully, all of this money will see Saab finally put their wheels in motion and eventually come up with the turbocharged model that should be a holy grail.

The post China’s Hawtai Motor Group comes to the rescue of Saab appeared first on Ultimate Car Blog | The Latest Car News, Reviews, Tuning.

Once they sorted the updated Saab 9-5 and launched the Saab 9-4X the small premium car would’ve been the next logical step.

While we’re going through the list of progresses made at the 2012 Saab 9-3, they have actually been taking their test mule to the road.

Since we’ve been seeing it around here may look like a pretty standard 2011 Saab 9-3.

The test mule runs on a modified Epsilon I platform and features a pretty impressive parts bin as it sometimes uses components from the Bavarians at BMW.

Also in keeping with the partnership between Saab and BMW, we’re looking to see some really impressive engines under the bonnet of the 2012 9-3.

To that end, while the 1.6 liter turbocharged mill from the Mini Cooper is interesting, what everybody really wants to see is the new 2.0 liter turbo BMW put in their X1 power up the 2012 Saab 9-3’s Aero version.

Sadly, all we have to see within these pictures of the 2012 Saab 9-3 is a wider front track which may mean it’s accommodating one of these special BMW engines.

The post 2012 Saab 9-3 test mule spied appeared first on Ultimate Car Blog | The Latest Car News, Reviews, Tuning.

The Saab 9-3 Convertible which is supposed to celebrate their independence is called rather unimaginatively, the Independence Edition.

While Saab’s independence is quite the overstatement since they’re now funded by Spyker and their 9-4X is made in a GM facility, the car does deserve some attention.

The most important special part of the Saab 9-3 Independence Edition is how it will be built in limited run of just 366 units.

Other important characteristics of this special Saab 9-3 Convertible include the marvelous 18 inch alloy wheels with a two tone finish.

The Saab 9-3 Convertible does become somewhat more important because it gets Amber Orange metallic paint and a relatively beige interior.

To be honest, apart from the limited edition factor you really have to struggle and see the special part of this particular Saab 9-3 Convertible.

The engines aren’t really impressive either. Unlike the Jaguar XKR-S which doesn’t look impressive but has quite the performance, this Saab is pretty standard.

Under the bonnet of this Saab you can have a 1.9 liter turbo diesel with about 180 horsepower or a 2.0 liter turbo with direct injection and another version which is flex fuel capable.

No matter which engine you chose Saab will gladly fit a six speed gearbox which is either automatic or manually operated.

So there we have it, a special edition Saab which isn’t really that special to see.

The post Saab celebrates independence with a special 9-3 Convertible appeared first on Ultimate Car Blog | The Latest Car News, Reviews, Tuning.

Saab’s newly designed SUV, the 9-4X has finally rolled off the production line at the factory in Mexico where it’s being made.

The chassis number 00001 Saab 9-4X is headed for the test driving event the Swedish planned for journalists in the United States.

Once that’s done, the first Saab 9-4X ever made will be headed home to Sweden where it will be on display at the Saab car museum.

As far as the car itself is concerned, it is finished in Aero trim level, draws its power from a 2.8 liter turbocharged V6 engine and is finished in Ice Pearl metallic paint.

The powerplant choice is pretty interesting, especially considering how Cadillac killed off this engine for the SRX, the car on which the Saab 9-4X is based.

Even so, Saab is very proud of their achievement and also of the efficiency of the Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico.

Apparently, the Saab 9-4X will hit dealership showrooms across America sometime in May of this year.

That’s not bad for a financially broken down company, in the wake of a financial crisis after just having revealed the Saab 9-4X last November.

The post Saab finally produced their first 9-4X appeared first on Ultimate Car Blog | The Latest Car News, Reviews, Tuning.

So what did Saab come up with for an alternative to AMG? Well, Americans rejoice, the tuning options to come from Saab will be made in the U.S.A. for the U.S.A.

Sadly, Saab’s tuning contract is only limited to the U.S. but we now want to enjoy the fact that there’s a “for now” tag added to it.

It’s probably enough stalling for the time being, Saab has teamed up with none other than Hirsch Performance for their hot aftermarket options.

Details on the deal are late in what exactly is happening but Saab did publish availability and conditions of the said parts.

Basically, your run of the mill Saab dealer will be able to install Hirsch Performance parts on your Saab to varying degrees of warranty promises. On the other hand, if you plan to buy yourselves a new Saab with some added Hirsch parts they will be offered with full warranties on your vehicle.

In a full lineup, Hirsch Performance parts will be offered on anything included in the 2007-2011 Saab 9-3 and 2010-2011 9-5 range.

The post Saab gets in-house performance tuner appeared first on Ultimate Car Blog | The Latest Car News, Reviews, Tuning.

In fact, tense is how many would describe the situation. Even so, Saab may have gotten a bit of a breath of fresh air thanks to a recent deal.

The recent deal involves the Swedish counterpart and China Automobile Trading Co. Ltd. If you haven’t heard of the latter don’t be ashamed because while it shifts cars by the boatload it’s only really popular in China.

Back to Saab, the new deal will enable them to enter and sell vehicles on the largest car market the world has to offer. As part of Saab’s plan to shift about 120.000 units globally by 2012 the entry into China’s market is essential.

Since there’s still some distance to cover by 2012 we’ve been told that Saab plans to sell somewhere between 2.000 and 5.000 cars per year to start with.

Once the initial targets are met, they will be gradually raised up to 50.000 units. That change should help Saab get back on the road to a serious recovery.

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