24 Jul 08 12:31
Saab is planning a '9-1' supermini closely related to the Vauxhall/Opel Corsa.
Such a model has been rumoured for some time, but chairman Carl-Peter Forster told the media this week that using the Corsa architecture was very much 'imaginable', and that the strategy for the brand was to downsize. 'We don't want Saabs to grow in size, but rather keep them more compact,' he told Automotive News Europe.
The next-generation Saab 9-3, due 2011, will also be downsized. This will be built on the new GM 'Delta' platform, shared with the Chevrolet Cruze (replacement for the Lacetti) and next year's new Vauxhall/Opel Astra. The saloon is thought to be around the size of the Volkswagen Jetta, with Sportwagon estates a similar length.
A '9-1', also on the Delta platform, had been discussed, but this model - a Golf-style hatchback - is now expected to take the name '9-2', leaving '9-1' for the supermini.
There are a number of possibilities for production of the 9-1; it could be built alongside the Corsa in Zaragoza, Spain, or at Eisenach in Germany. It will be clearly differentiated from the Corsa, however. Besides distinctively Saab styling, it will get a series of more powerful engines, including turbocharged four-cylinder units, and it will be positioned (and priced) further upmarket.
Styling will be influenced by that of the 9-X Biohybrid concept car, we hear, and that concept's ethanol-compatible, 200bhp turbocharged 1.4 may well feature in the finished product, ultimately with the supplementary electric motor and full hybrid system.
