UPDATE – This special edition is for the Swiss market only….
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It seems the Saab 9-1 concept vehicle may not be the only thing for Saab enthusiasts to see at Geneva.
I know it ain’t much, but the Geneva Motor Show website is offering the first little snippet of info into what might be the final special edition for the current Saab 9-5.
The name: Saab 9-5 Turbo Edition
All it says is that the car will be a special edition with top equipment, a sporty outlook and increased performance.
I really hope this car is a cracker. The 9-5 deserves to go out with a bang. If you’ve never done so, you need to drive one some time. Every time I drive one I don’t want to give the keys back.
Thanks CAM!
Oh, and that’s not a picture of it below. It’s just a smmmmokin picture from 2006
So all.. is the new 9-5 due as a 2009 vehicle or 2010?
No, it is a anniversary edition of the 9-5.
So as the last 9000 came out as an anniversary.
greets from germany!
No, just a special edition for current 9-5
Do you suppose that this is all done with parts that already exist (i.e. options or hirsch-type stuff, or simply emptying the parts bins?) or could there be actual new parts (such as a new nose, more aggressive hood/airdam/spoiler? Kinda like the Viggen body kits.)
If it is the latter, it could be interesting, because you would imagine that anything they do could bolt-on to the recent 9-5s (as they certainly won’t be making major structural changes.)
Could be interesting.
I’d rather see the new 9-5 concept and a positive date of production… Unless they are going to change the drivetrain of the current 9-5.
Is it possible that the “increased performance” will be a taste of xwd and the next engine? doubtful
There will be no 9-5 concept. When the 9-5 is unvieled (Paris?) it will be the real thing. And no, increased performance probably is Hirsches performance upgrade to 300bhp or maybe half way to 280bhp. Way to much for a fwd chassie, even for a Saab 9-5, but for the sake of surviving it´s last year or so on the market it´s a good thing. Just give the car the lot.. ventilated sport seats, carbon fibre inlays, as chaaalie wrote a killer bodykit etc etc and sell it at a fair price. Might be a car that gets an aura like the Viggen? NOT!
But it might just be the car to make the truly wonderful 9-5 go out with a bang.. And with that.. When will the new 9-5 be at dealers?
One more thing.. Since there will be no 9-5 concept.. Will the design be extremely close to the Aero-X wich has already been approved (understatement) by the public? But less dramatic.. I can´t see a vision of the Aero-X in Linear trim.. Can you? Would Saab dare to have the 9-5 look as futuristic? Will they have too? Hope so..
Tompa: to answer your first question I believe the next-gen 9-5 is to hit dealer lots in late calendar year 2009 as a 2010 model. The special edition of the current-gen 9-5 will be out later this year (2008) as a model year 2009.
I don’t think we ever see concepts of existing models. For example, when the 9-3SS came out, there was no concept. When the 9-5 came out there was no concept. Only “new” model introductions like the 9-1 and 9-4X get concepts. Therefore I’m not surprised when we see the next-gen 9-5 in Paris it won’t be in concept form. It’s the actual introduction of the model itself about a year before you can actually purchase one. Wonder what that’s going to do to 2009 9-5 sales though?
“Wonder what that’s going to do to 2009 9-5 sales though?”
Nothing that a 280-300hp, 300+ ft-lb of torque 9-5 with a quaife, Turbo-X brakes and a properly-done suspension and a Viggen/Turbo X-level interior wouldn’t fix. Throw all of that together and sell if for $45k and I’m sure they’ll all find homes the same way the Viggens did.
In many ways, the 9-5 is the last “real” Saab, and I think it would be fitting to have the last “real” Saab go out in style the way a true “Saab” should. That is, in a blaze of Turbo-laggy, torque steering, hideously overboosted and overpowered 4-cylinder glory. Give them a racy look like the current TL type S and they’ll sell like hotcakes.
This special edition will probably fall in line with the 60th Anniversary Editions (special leather embossing and color, trim on the floor mats, perhaps a special color, those 18″ spoke “Double Blade” wheels, vent sport seats, and an ECU upgrade boosting HP and torque slightly). Don’t look for those old door rub strips to even disappear as this would require retooling.
If we remember back to the 9000 to 9-5 transition I think we could see a similar time line for intro…..’09 9-5 as a limited production,choose your color combination as the only option ,6 month model run and (Oct.’08-Spring 0f ’09) new 9-5 as a 2010 mocel in April/May of ’09.at least ,as a Saab Sales rep.,a best case scenario to hope for!
If we remember back to the 9000 to 9-5 transition I think we could see a similar time line for intro…..’09 9-5 as a limited production,choose your color combination as the only option ,6 month model run (Oct.’08-Spring 0f ’09)and new 9-5 as a 2010 model in April/May of ’09.At least ,as a Saab Sales rep.,a best case scenario to hope for!
I live in Switzerland and my local Saab dealer sent me an invitation letter for Geneva’s car show just today.
Without surprise it announces the 9-4x Concept, the 9-X BioHybrid (I guess the 9-1 concept) and the Saab 9-5 Turbo Edition. At least the word NEW is not associated with 9-5 8(.
SaabLance: has Saab ever introduced a new model before mid-year (as you’re hoping they’ll do with the 2010 9-5)? I know they’re doing it with the 2008 Turbo-X, but that seems to have simply been due to XWD production delays.
Yes….that was why I based my best case scenario on the ’98 9000/’99 9-5 transition.First 9-5′s hit the U.S.in Spring of ’98 as a ’99 model.We can only hope we see a similar case.in the upcoming year.You would have to sell Saab’s for a living to truly understand how bad the situation is and how acute the need to truly become at least a two model car company again.Right we have reduced demand from last year on the 9-3 and virtually ZERO interest in the 9-5!
The Aero-X would only work as a sports car. Not as a 9-5 with very very similar looks. Also, look at the size of Saab’s booth! Fairly large…1.5 times the size of Imfiniti’s
SaabLance: thanks for the info. How the heck could demand for Saabs have gone DOWN with the introduction of the 9-3 refresh? You’d think also that the 9-7X sales (with the new Aero model out there) would be able to offset sagging 9-5 sales. I don’t sell Saabs for a living, but I do see tumbleweeds blowing through my local Saab dealer whenever I drop by.