Saab 9-1 Concept to Geneva
Compact Saab
Saab designer Anthony Lo has confirmed, but not released a teaser image, to our Swedish neighbours at Auto, Motor & Sport that Saab will indeed be showing their new Saab 9-1 Concept at the Geneva Motor Show. Previous rumours insinuated that London would receive the honour to debut the Volvo C30 competitor.
The Saab 9-1 Concept is based on the Opel Astra platform, and will be pitted against rivals such as the BMW 1 series, Volkswagen Golf and Volvo C30. Power is expected to come from a 1.4 liter turbocharged engine and, as always at Saab, a BioPower version will be available too.
Stay tuned for its Geneva world debut early March.
not really. bmw is overpriced. volvo c30 is an expensive ford focus (on which the chassis and some engines are based), so if its priced similar to the astra, then its in with a shout.
not really...i'll bet this 9-1 is cheaper than BMW 1 Series
Hurry up and build a truly new Saab, and quit all this teaser image crap. How long ago did we hear about these cool new Saabs... people will only take warmed over half-ass production cars for so long. Here's to hoping it really rocks when it gets here... sooner than later hopefully.
bristol411s3, a 1.4 turbo engine.. Its all about downgrading in Europe
This rendering looks like a squashed up Skoda Fabia. I can only hope for Saab´s sake that they don´t build it that way!
By the way, did you know that design is the most important issue for the decision which car to buy, even before price or power or fuel consumption? I just read an Austrian poll ablout it ...
What is wrong with a 1.4 liter turbocharged engine? Maybe we should just slot a 5.0 V8 under the hood and kill the planet some more!
I totally agree with you, William. More powerful models may get 1.8 liter engines, but 1.4 is enough for most people.
The 1 Series and CLC-Class rear-heel drive are exceptions in the European C segment. Other expensive cars in the category (Audi A3, VW Golf, Honda Civic, Volvo C30) have more or less the same features as this 9-1. It's good that Saab choose to actually produce such a car.
Looks good, but id never buy it, saab has 2 engines, the 2.3L I4 and the 2.8V6 this new 1.4 is probably a GM engine made by Daewoo that will explode on startup. Only way this car would attract me is if it came with 1 of those 2 engines as an option.
The design would be just superb, Skoda or not Skoda.
The exterior looks just superb, Skoda or not Skoda.
I have already driven the basic 1.4 TFSI engine (125 PS) in an Audi A3 and its way much better than what you would expect in that class. Considering the fact that this is just the base engine, I would recommend to go with the 1.4 in the Saab as well.
Besides, Saab was renowned with its turbocharged engines. May be its time to stick to what you do best...
I hope you haven´t confused the company relations. Audi is part of the VW-Group, Saab part of the GM-group. So no way they can use a TSI-Engine in a Saab. Maybe some engines from Opel, but these haven´t the best reputation ....
Herr.Bugno:
No confusions whatsoever... Considering my experience with a 1.4 Turbo engine (be it a VW-one or not) I suggested that Saab would also be better off with a (GM-sourced) 1.4T engine as well.
Following Volvo's footsteps they may even introduce the Multijet diesel engine family to a future Saab 9-1. For example the brand new 1.6 Multijet with 120 PS/300 Nm (from Fiat Bravo) would be a fine example for European markets.
I am not fond of Opel/Fiats or their engines nevertheless for Europe, their small-size diesels will help Saab a lot, that's for sure!
With "Volvo's footsteps" I mean the strategy to use small size diesel engines: 1.6 TDCI from Ford...
From Opel, I only know two small turbos: the 1.6 liter GSI and OPC versions of the Corsa, with 150 and 192 HP.
From Fiat, they have from the Grande Punto and the Bravo, two 1,4 liter turbos with 120 HP and 150 HP.
Opel also offers the 1.6 turbo with 180 PS in Astra and Meriva OPC. My bet would be that Saab will make use of these engines for gasoline variants...
For the hot hatch version, the 2.0 liter turbo from Astra GTC OPC would be cool! Let's see how this 9-1 might save Saab & bring it back to its glorious days in the past???
This car is a disgrace to saab just like the combi and the SUV. GM is forcing them to build these cars. The glory days of saab died with the Viggen in 2001. Some would even say saab died in 1994 when GM baught them. Saab has 1 hope for an iconic comeback and that is the Black Turbo X not a POS hatch with a 1.4T.
it's a cute little thing.....but saab is going down and i dought that this little....thing will save them
What is missing with today's GM vehicles is external and internal decoration pals, cars like cell phones or niteclubs are more preferred. That is wnat makes the carisma nowadays...
1.4 turbo, hmm... Maybe it is Fiat's T-Jet 1.4 120 hp or 150 hp?
Pitted against the 1-series with a 1.4 engine and FWD? Doomed...