20 responses so far ↓

• 1 kdsaab // Feb 8, 2009 at 2:18 pm

  LOL @ the guy in the passanger seat taking photo’s!!!

• 2 eggsngrits // Feb 8, 2009 at 2:22 pm

  Hmmm… this thing may actually get built!

• 3 zippy // Feb 8, 2009 at 2:24 pm

  It has a distinct whiff of 9000 to it. All it has to do is be as cavernous as said car, accelerate like said car and we are looking at a winner ladies and gentlemen.

  Is it me or is that whole back window fake. The whole back end looks ‘tacked on’ to me.

  Those big shots sure show a fair amount of detail!

• 4 ck1x // Feb 8, 2009 at 2:37 pm

  these are really great close-up photos and do show off more details about the car than previously known before. I like seeing that Saab are finally doing away with the repeater lamps on the fender in favor of it now being on the actual mirror bracket like every other Premium/Luxury maker does. Kudos…

• 5 Ascariss // Feb 8, 2009 at 2:39 pm

  Yes the read end is fake, it is not as sharp as it is shown, it is more rounded and smoother. C pillar also fake or modified.

• 6 zippy // Feb 8, 2009 at 2:40 pm

  PS

  Im going out on a limb here. I reckon the LeftLane News rendering is the real deal.

• 7 ck1x // Feb 8, 2009 at 2:54 pm

  Does anyone know in comparison how big this car will be to the 9000. I am just glad we are getting this much new hype about Saab period, it’s a good thing surely.

• 8 ELBOBO // Feb 8, 2009 at 3:33 pm

  I see a Saab badge on the hood top. I think that means the griffin is still alive and kickin….

• 9 Alex // Feb 8, 2009 at 3:36 pm

  I like the 9000 vibes I’m getting from this car. If it’s as competitive today as the old 9000 turbo was in it’s day then I think Saab could have a hit on their hands.

• 10 kn // Feb 8, 2009 at 4:29 pm

  Looks like the grill is raised like on the 9-4x.

• 11 Nate // Feb 8, 2009 at 4:35 pm

  my wife currently drives a prius (which is a great car in terms of efficiency and space). we’ve had an especially snowy winter here in wisconsin and it’s terrible in snow. She’s borrowed my turbo x many, many times and has become quite smitten with it’s winter handling. We were planning on getting her a 9-3 aero combi next year, but if the new 9-5 has XWD we’ll wait for that.

  maybe i haven’t been paying enough attention, but i haven’t seen any reports about it’s drivetrain. XWD with eLSD? looks like a sweet car…

  great site you have here, swade. here’s to many more years on saabsunited.com.

  cheers,
  Nate

• 12 Razvan // Feb 8, 2009 at 7:52 pm

  @Nate:
  in the site with original pictures, mentioned by swade (not put again the link, so my comment will not wait moderation):
  2,0T BioPower 190 hk

  2,0T BioPower 220 hk

  2,8T V6 260 hk

  2,8T V6 XWD 300 hk

  2,0 TiD 160 hk

  2,0 TTiD 190 hk

  2,9 TiD V6 XWD 250 hk

  You can see in the list two times XWD, at top power for both petrol and diesel.

• 13 Me // Feb 8, 2009 at 7:59 pm

  9-5 190hp TTiD XWD eLSD a must have. The only problem will be the price I think .

• 14 BrianL // Feb 9, 2009 at 4:05 am

  I am so confused as to why GM doesn’t provide SAAB with the DI 2.0T from the Solstice/Sky. It would make this car so much more SAAB-like, not to mention more competitive and technologically up to date, at least to 2006! Think of how much fun BSR and Hirsch would have with that engine. I guess I should just be happy they are even building the new 9-5 at all…

• 15 Johan // Feb 9, 2009 at 4:37 am

  The LNF engine (found in Opel GT for instance) is only Euro 4 classed in terms of emissions, just like the current Saab engines. Given that this car won’t start selling before September new engine versions that pass Euro 5 is a requirement.

  Most cars will probably be ordered with the 2 liter BioPower or the 2 liter TiD/TTiD.

  Also notice that the car doesn’t have a clamshell hood.

• 16 Alex // Feb 9, 2009 at 10:33 am

  I’m also slightly bummed to see a lack of an LNF or 320+ horsepower option. Saab really needs to hit it out of the park with this car and that’s going to require some slightly more ambitious gasoline powerplants than what I’m seeing here.

  I’d like to see a 1.6-2.0 liter direct injection turbo motor married to a two-mode hybrid drivetrain. That should be a relatively easy package to put together and it would be a huge selling boon for Opel as well as Saab. A big-hp LNF would also do a great job of sending a “Saab is back” message, especially if they can use it to hit ~250 horsepower and V6 performance. Finally, while the 300hp 2.8T will surely scoot, a ~350hp 3.0TT or 3.6TT would give the NG9-5 the kind of performance today that the 9000 Turbo had back in the late 80’s.

  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they are doing a staged rollout while they finish up the newer powerplants and that in a model year or two we’ll see the biohybrids and big-power gasoline engines that we’re all hoping for. Hopefully the 300hp V6 is just the “SE” trim level and they’ll drop the 350+ hp Aero for 2011. Ford’s doing this with the ecoboost engines that are slated for the MKS, Taurus and Mustang and that doesn’t seem to be hurting sales so far.

• 17 ck1x // Feb 9, 2009 at 11:45 am

  I have to agree that Saab has to give people the option of higher performance. I know they are promoting rightsizing and everything but they are preaching to the choir about how great their smaller yet powerful efficient engines are. With the 9-5 being their executive car they really should put it out of range from the 9-3 standings as far as drive-train and horsepower are concerned. It will solidify why they have a higher asking price for the model. I think it was probably understandable before since the car was only front wheel drive. But with the inclusion of XWD (which should come standard) the 9-5 should push 300hp all day.

• 18 Alex // Feb 9, 2009 at 2:02 pm

  It’s also looking to be a seriously large car, my guess it that it will weigh around 4000-4500 lbs. 300hp in a big car like that with AWD drivetrain losses factored in will likely return performance on par with the old 220hp 9-5 2.3T. At the executive prices that Saab’s going to want for this beast, 6.5-7.0 second 0-60 times just won’t cut it and Saab will need a variant that at least matches the performance of the 260hp 9-5 Aero. For a 4000+ lb car, Saab’s going to need to offer a 320-350hp option to achieve that sort of performance.

  I’m not saying that they need to go chasing the M5 with this car, but they will need a variant that can hold it’s own against the 550i, E550, M45, and GS460. The old 9-5 Aero did that in 2000 against the E500 and 540i, and the 9000 Turbo held up against the 535i back in the 80’s, so this isn’t at all unprecedented for the brand. I’d go so far as to say it’s a “must” if Saab wants to regain some of their lost reputation.

• 19 Nickolay // Feb 10, 2009 at 12:21 am

  I agree 350h.p. is a must(with hirsh tuning up to 400 h.p.

• 20 Nickolay // Feb 10, 2009 at 7:22 pm

  Lutz is fired!!!