SAAB

The last three SAABs

Three all-new designs went to the dustbin with SAAB’s extinction. We mourn what might have been.

SAAB suffered an ignominious death in 2012, its management desperately grasping at funding throughout a protracted demise. But even as the end neared for the Swedish brand, former design director Jason Castriota—the mastermind behind the Ferrari P4/5by Pininfarina and the Maserati GranTurismo—was penning all-new designs, hoping the company could hang on long enough to birth fresh sheetmetal. Here, he takes us through the never-before-seen Saabs that nearly were.—As told to Josh Condon.

SAAB9-1Concept01-sm

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Goran Aničić
the authorGoran Aničić
For over 15 years, Goran Aničić has been passionately focused on Saab automobiles and everything related to them. His initial encounter with Saab cars took place back in 2003 when the first Saab 9-3 and sedan version were introduced. At that moment, he was captivated by the car's Scandinavian design logic and top-notch engineering, and everything that followed stemmed from that first encounter. Later on, through his work at the editorial team of the Serbian automotive magazines "Autostart" and later "AutoBild," he had the opportunity to engage more closely with Saab vehicles. In 2008, he tested the latest Saab cars of that time, such as the Saab 9-3 TTiD Aero and Saab 9-3 Turbo X. In 2010, as the sole blogger from the region, he participated in the Saab 9-5ng presentation in Trollhättan, Sweden. Alongside journalists from around the world, he got a firsthand experience of the pinnacle of technological offerings from Saab at that time. Currently, Goran owns two Saabs: a 2008 Saab 9-3 Vector Sportcombi with a manual transmission, and a Saab 9-3 Aero Griffin Sport Sedan from the last generation, which rolled off the production line in Trollhättan in December 2011.

2 Comments

  • If i is all the same to you I think I will keep my 1988 Saab 900 sis. I did find 3 NEW OLD STOCK.GM 55806 gear boxs with the 8 series gears. To look at the car you can not tell it is a 160MPH 900, it is for sale go to wwwsaabnet.com. you will glad you did.

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