Saab was planning a coupé version of the defunct 2012 9-3 prior to the firm’s collapse.
Based on the same Saab-engineered Phoenix platform as the all-new 9-3 hatchback, it was designed as a 2+2 and conceived as a rival for the Audi A5.
Sources say it was going to be badged ‘Sonett’ — the name used for a series of three small Saab sports cars, built between 1955 and 1974.
This illustration — which is taken from a photograph of a full-size styling model — is not of the final design, but the dramatic proportions, which take inspiration from the award-winning Aero X concept, can clearly be seen.
The car would have been powered by various versions of the Mini’s current 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine. There would also have been a 4x4 performance version with an electrically powered rear axle, which also offered torque vectoring for much-improved handling.
Autocar has also learnt that Phoenix project design chief Jason Castriota had a big influence on the engineering of the Phoenix platform. He succeeded in having the wheelbase lengthened and the front overhang shortened.
According to insiders, Castriota had to use the same headlights and mirrors on the 9-3 models as those fitted to the 2009 Saab 9-5. New headlights, among many other changes, would have arrived in 2014 as part of a simultaneous facelift of the 9-3 and 9-5.
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Balance
My understanding of a basic rule of business, is that what you make, you sell for more than it costs to make it. GM understands this, SAAB, apparently, didn't. Building something different, doesn't justify selling it at a loss (unless you're Bugatti).
101 Dalmations?
I could easily see Cruella De Ville getting out of this one!!!
@Symanski - I thought the new 9-5 was a piece of automotive design beauty in a vast sea of design mediocrity.
The world is surely a poorer place for the loss of Saab. GM may have kept Saab going beyond what might have been an otherwise earlier demise, but I'm not sure that they made the most of their tenure... waste of an excellent brand opportunity for what its worth. Anyone who can make a silk purse from a sow's ear, and sell it to a 'considered' customer base (architects, marketeers etc) must have been worth a closer look......
Spice of life
I like Saab because it offered something different.