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It seems like it was ages ago, but it was only October 24th when I featured a possible Saab 9-5 mule image, one that was shown originally at Auto Motor and Sport. The car was very Opel Insignia on the outside and consequently, in that story the focus was on the interior, which was definitely quite Saaby.
Mailr has re-examined those AMS images, focusing on the exterior. Inconclusive, but interesting.
Here’s the outside of the car as featured at AMS. Click to enlarge.
One of the strange things about this photo is that it was taken in October, when the Insignia was already released. So why have it all disguised? The interior shot gave away the fact that it wasn’t necessarily an Insignia, though people wondered if it was really a test mule 9-5 or just an Insignia with a 9-5 dash slotted in for testing.
Here are Mailr’s comments about it after he took a good second and third look:
I went back and looked at the front of the Insignia with 9-5 interior, and realized, when looking carefully at the lower parts of the front, that it is definitely not the Insignia front. The bottom looks just like I would expect a Saab front to look, and there also seems to be sime kind of crude seam two inches below the headlights. The hood also seems not to fit properly with the front, and the top inch of the front center has a strange sunken look, and there is a seem between the headlights and the grille at the same position as the seem between the hood and the front on the 9-5 Dame Edna design (the uneven reflection in the black paint (or is it tape?) gives it away). So my guess is that it is a adopted Saab front and an a Insignia hood there. I guess that car is a lot more 9-5 than I previously thought.
Now, compare to the sketches and it starts to make sense:
For further comparison’s sake, here’s the Insignia/9-5 mule again with a real Insignia publicity shot (which I’ve flipped so it’s pointing the same way).
Like I said, inconclusive but interesting. Even if it is a real 9-5 mule (which I think it is) then all we can really learn is that Insignia panels don’t fit straight over the top of it, which they shouldn’t do anyway.
It should also be said that all this pre-supposes that those sketches are indicative of what we’ll see when the new 9-5 finally arrives. Sketches have a habit of being a fair bit more racier than the real thing. The comparison between the mule and a real Opel Insignia is definitely interesting, though.
It’s always fun to try and figure these things out. Thanks to Mailr for his efforts.
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15 responses so far ↓
1 Richo
// Nov 24, 2008 at 9:30 am
So I wonder when we’ll be seeing the Saab Insignia? No doubt this is exactly what the journos will be writing, “it’s so long overdue and in the end it’s just a high priced Insignia”……
I see problems coming.
2 Markac
// Nov 24, 2008 at 9:42 am
Richo: Try reading some road tests on the Insignia. Generally the Mondeo comes out tops on dynamics and handling etc. This worries me. Vauxhall and Opel (and Holden?) may be able to get away with that, but translate that to the premium sector of the market and no matter how good the Saab looks, it will be slaughtered. Saab needs to do so much better.
3 Robin M
// Nov 24, 2008 at 9:55 am
What about the number plate? Can’t quite see the very start of it but it looks almost Swedish to me. Any clues on that one?
4 WooDz
// Nov 24, 2008 at 9:59 am
I can’t see how Saab will ever get away from the OPEL references. Given that the Insignia has won COTY award, I do wonder how that will reflect on the 9-5 though?
5 Dippen
// Nov 24, 2008 at 10:23 am
Robin M > yes the plates are Swedish. I checked with Vagverket (The Swedish Road Administration) and it is a Opel regged at Saab Automobile in Trollhättan. It was regged at Vagverket on 2008-06-19
reg plate nr: HMH 626
6 Joe Meek
// Nov 24, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I love the head up display (HUD)!
7 Ken H
// Nov 24, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I just got a bad feeling…
Before Insignia was launched, the designer stated it was going to be “like nothing else seen in the class”. It was more or less a revolution, according to the designer. We’ve seen later that it was not exactly October 1917….
Now Saab is using somewhat similar words, can the difference between the promises and the end product be so dramatic as in the case Insignia?
Hopefully not.
8 ctm
// Nov 24, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Just because two cars shares the platform and some other pieces, doesn’t not mean they will be the same. They can tweak things like handling any way they want and create cars with different characteristic. The main reason for using platforms is to share the development costs, to have common mounting points for things like engines, gearboxes, fuel tank, etc., and to be able to build the cars at different factories since the whole assembly line and its tooling is built around some key measurements of the platform.
I rather have Saab using a proven platform, than fooling around with some weird specialized thing that is not tested enough and only make the cars more expensive without any other gains. That’s not what Saab needs at the moment.
9 Ken H
// Nov 24, 2008 at 8:14 pm
My point was not to critizise platform sharing, but a worry that the promises of an exceptional 9-5 are as precise as the promises for an exceptional Insignia were. Not to be confused.
10 Mats
// Nov 24, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Well in all fairness, the Insigna is an exceptional car, it’s the first Opel that I’ve felt some kind of attraction too…
11 svenml
// Nov 24, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Speaking of road handling, I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that the 9-5 is supposed to have better suspension setup than the Insignia. Double wishbone front suspension compared with McpHerson on the Insignia, if I’m not mistaken. That may take care of the premium handling, I guess.
12 Greg Abbott
// Nov 25, 2008 at 4:25 am
I’ve always been fond of those sketches – I hope they do not deviate from that too much (albeit with normal sized wheels).
I made the decision to pass on a Turbo X, to wait for the next 9-5 (plus my natural car buying cycle would hit in 2010-11 anyway). Given the 9-5 delays and GM financial crisis that have intervened in the meantime, perhaps this was not the best decision.
13 Me
// Nov 25, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Guys,
the car is a 100% Insignia, why is it disguised ?
Who of you wants to peel all the black tape snipets ?
14 Konsta
// Nov 25, 2008 at 7:58 pm
If you go waayy back, when launched the 9-5 pretty much set the standards for a fwd-car. It beat pretty much everything in comparos despite being “just” a stretched Vectra. There are apparently some very competent peeps at Trollhättan chassis department.
The fact that 9-5 will use the the most premium components the platform allows bodes well too.
15 Congolese
// Dec 3, 2008 at 2:14 am
IMO It’s the US/China Buick Regal, an Opel Insignia with a new grille
Makes sense as Opel are to be sold as Buick rather than Saturn in the US/China