NotoriousREV

...that Koenigsegg are buying them? Assuming they've got the financial clout, there could be some interesting models coming out of there in the future.

I'll take a 9-3 with supercharged V8 and 4wd, ta

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I already have a "Koeniggsaab".

I think its excellent news for what is a fantastic brand, ruined by GM penny pinching, deviating from the core values and serving up what are basically chintzy disguised Vectra's, Ford/Jaguar did it with the X type I suppose but at least they used a fairly good starting point, dont get me wrong, my Saab is competent but totally devoid of Saab character like they used to have, the Vectra wasnt that bad a base but for what they were charging, you would expect a bit more.

Hopefully back in Swedish ownership they will get their mojo back, I suppose it depends on the finance, creating bespoke handmade hypercars is one thing, but turning out thousands and making a profit, hmmm. This cant just be an exercise to please the Saab fans, who are generally weird enough to buy one whatever, they need to drag people from their BMW's and Audi's and the current offering is just not good enough, the 9-3 is a tarty Vectra and the 9-5 harks back to biblical times , I did like the 9-2, the Impreza/Saab offspring, that would have been a great way to sneak an Impreza past my Scoob hating wife

Bring back old 900, modernised, FWD, turbo, proper build, done properly it could do well, I think some people choose Audi's and BMW's and dont feel comfortable with the thrusty image but have to as the Saab offering is too far off quality wise.

NotoriousREV

Let's be honest, Koenigsegg have a lot of mojo to share. I think they'll still end up a niche player but with some excellent cars.

sti-04!!

I purchased a 9 month old 9-3 sportswagon ttid aero for one of my guys & it cost me 14k.
Great VFM considering it cost upwards of 29k new. :eek

tanyatriangles

iTrader: (2)

Mate of mine had a 3 cylinder two-stroke with 3 Amal carbs, one for each cylinder.
It went like stink, and stank when it went

EddScott

SAAB and Subaru didn't do a bad job.



Spot the hawkeye lights. Spot the Impreza hatch??

Matteeboy

I used to like Saabs - now they are just overpriced Vauxhalls.

Wife's uncle has a 9-3 TiD - same engine as our Astra, slower, worse spec, worse handling and over £5k more...

Oh dear.

NotoriousREV

Hence why Koeniggsegg taking them over is potentially a very good thing. Rather than being overpriced Vectras, they may become underpriced CCRs <crosses fingers very tightly indeed>

SimonD

... not forgetting the Saab 9-6 or Subaru Tribeca.

Turbo2

Umm you'll probably also get one of those final Rover warranties. I.e. everything's covered all the way from collection of your nice new car on the Dealer's forecourt to the moment you hit the road 8 seconds later!

scoobberdoo

Very apt post there j4cko. Agree, with all of that! The fact that the 9-5 still hanckers back to the 9000 is testimony to the lack of investment in the brand.

I've actually always had a soft spot for saab's, since the 900 turbo 16v was around, which for me, was the last real saab. I threatened to get a 9000 turbo once, and whilts it was fast, in terms of quality, it felt like the fiat on which it shared it's platform.

Also have to say that nat21 has a valid point and this could easily happen too, which would be a shame. However, saab does seem to have quite a loyal following and if they can start producing real saab's again, with original saab philosiphy, they could bounce back big time. But, it depends if Koni have the funds required to invest! Dury out for the time being.

speedy steve

hmmm, gotta dissagree with some of the opinions on here, 900 was excellent car for its time but a bit of a bus in the handling stakes ( at least as standard ) 9k was a very good large point to point cruiser ( had 3 of emm ) excellent engine ( 2.3 FPT anyway ) & unbelievably easy to tweek, true definition of a "sleeper" fwd was a significant weekness though & ultimately the only real reason I changed to scooby's ( legacy's & currently a classic impreza ) which ( lets face it ) have laughable build quality & feel pretty "tacky".

For its size the 9k handling was pretty good out of the box both on road & round the knockhill circuit, regularly left RS(T) escorts for dead which were "allegedly" more powerfull & much much lighter.

As mentioned above the 9-2 was a great idea, just the wrong engine choise.

All IMHO of course

skinters

I have a 1996 9k Aero and a 1999 9-3

The difference in build quality is HUGE. The 9-3 is nice - I like it but it's really a Vectra with a bl00dy good Saab 4 pot turbo in it. Some serious bean counting going on during this phase.

The 9k is a different car altogether and that car to me was the turning point. That said, they probably never made any money after blowing it all on nice interiors and overbuilt engines.

The problem is the slipperly slope began about 12 years ago with GM - so there isnt' really any Saab left. They'll need to start from scratch.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Skinters, your 99 9-3 is actually Cavalier based

dome

I went straight from a 1996 9000 Aero running circa 280Bhp to a 2003 9-3 2.2 TiD SE diesel(change of job forced me to get a diseasal).

The 9000's are very well built and age well. Space in them is massive and they are extrememly comfortable for long distances-some of the best seats I've ever sat in are in a 9000 Aero. My last Aero had 246k on the clock when I sold it and the one before that had 207k-both these cars are still going strong.

9000 Aero's drive like a big hot hatch-lots of power-wheelspin as standard in the first 3 gears of my last one- torque steer that kept you on your toes(my party trick was to overtake cars on A roads by simply putting my foot down-the car would go into the outside lane all by itself :shock: ) but they are however a well balanced and well setup car. I only had uprated bushes on mine and the handling was excellent. Compared to my mates Octavia VRs the Saab was faster, better built and the handling better-Octavias are pretty stiff and get their handling this way-through stiff springs and dampers whereas the Aero, although softer, had excellent controlled ride on bumpy B roads, loads of wheel travel so you were always in contact with the ground and excellent bump absorbtion. They also respond well to lifting off half way round a corner with the front tucking in or the rear stepping out depending on what you wanted-very impressive for such a big car.

My 9-3 on the other hand should not have had a Saab badge on it. It was a Vauxhall Cavalier under the skin and it showed.. Handling was vague, build quality was not a patch on the 9000 and parts were, if anything, more expensive than the 9000. The fact that the bulkhead on these commonly separates from the body (due to Saab trying to strengthen the old Cavvie floorpan but not strengthening where the steering rack mounts on to it enough) says it all

Best of luck to Koenigsegg, here's hoping they can create a quirky and interesting, but also competitive, range of cars out of the crap they've got to work with.

Brian

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

I wish them luck. Lets be fair to them, there are a lot of ppl who want to make a supercar, and the very vast majority fail to make anything decent. These ppl have managed that, so they clearly have engineering skill. They also have some business acumen, as most new supercar makers go bust v quickly indeed.

Lets just hope they focus on the right "thing" and then go and make it. No way can they come up with a whole range of cars. They have to do one at a time, and get each one right as they go.