Saabs first link with Fiat was with the little Autobianchi A112 Which was sold in Saab dealers in the 1970‘s.
Then in 1979 Gianni Agnelli had private meeting with wallenberg and Saab BODs. Resulting in Fiat and it’s subsidiaries Lancia and Alfa Romeo, Guigario -penned the Lancia Delta that was marketed as the Saab Lancia 600 in Sweden…
Then came the “Tipo Quattro” which was named because of the names involved, Saab 9000 Fiat Croma, Lancia Thema and the Alfa Romeo 164.
Saabs version of the type four the 9000 Would need to be resigned to meet Saabs Safety Standards, not Fiats. Most of the 9000 was redesigned to meet the Saab Safety Standard put in place by the pervious lineup, C900 , 99, 96, 95. Saab version of the type four won many safety awards.
Bob Sinclair Wanted something more distinctive, but tooling cost were already high, so there was a limit to changing design.