Never built. SAAB 9-5 NG hatchback.

It was December 2009. Saab was once again close to the abyss in Sweden, and GM had already commissioned the gravediggers from Alix Partners to handle it. The Saab employees had - again - a sad Christmas in sight, and a car transporter was arriving from Germany in Sweden these days, with a prototype that was never to be built.

SAAB 9-5 NG hatchback, in front of the SAAB factory © 2014 saabblog.net
SAAB 9-5 NG hatchback, in front of the SAAB factory © 2014 saabblog.net

In addition to the new Saab 9-5 sedan and the 9-5 sports trolley, there should also be two other variants. The one version would have celebrated its premiere in the fall of 2013 and would have met roughly what we know as Insignia Country Tourer or Audi Allroad. The other variant would have been a hatchback.

This Trollhättan would have made a connection to the Saab 9000 and would have had in its class finally (almost) a unique feature. From size, image and price only the BMW 5er GT would have been comparable, the hatchback Insignia ranks with its by 11 Zentimer shorter wheelbase not only the image of a class lower, as well as the Skoda Superb. There were two prototypes that were built and whose development was well advanced. After the December 2009 both vehicles disappeared, and the plan to build a luxury hatchback was not pursued.

Why? The facts are poor. Some voices say they wanted to take care of Opel again. Which hardly makes sense, because the Insignia, sitting on the same platform but with a shortened wheelbase, has a different audience in focus than Saab had. Others are of the opinion that the expected quantities would have been too small and the production would not have been worth it. Okay, dear readers, openly and honestly: what would we have preferred to buy? A notchback sedan, which is also beautiful, or a hatchback? No question for me! Clearly - Saab hatchback.

In the first months of 2010, the two prototypes are said to have been in the press, and the dream of a large Saab with a tailgate was finally at an end. We thought. Til today…

Because both vehicles not only survived the GM era, but also the era with Victor Muller. In spring 2012, Mark and I met both prototypes again, outwardly intact. Since the same rims were still mounted on the vehicles as in 2009, it can be assumed that there were no more activities related to the 9-5 hatchback in the Spyker era either. The vehicles were secured on the gravel yard in front of the plant and we didn't notice them at the time.

Many months later, looking through the pictures, I noticed the missing hatchback. Behind it stands, you barely see it, prototype number 2. A glance at the license plates confirms that vehicle number one is the Saab, which was photographed on the transporter in December 2009. The quality of the pictures is unfortunately not the best. The recordings were made partly with the mobile phone, and also the telephoto lens used by my good Nikon was not optimal and got a better successor.

We do not know what has happened to the vehicles in the meantime. Three forecasts are possible. Like many other prototypes, these vehicles also went to the recycling company with a high degree of certainty. Then they could either have been scrapped or they are among the prototypes that NEVS bought back and saved with the consent of the administrators at the last second. Or - that is also possible - someone recognized what was there and saved the vehicles in a dry hall.

If they are still there, then someday we will see them again. I'm sure !

20 thoughts on "Never built. SAAB 9-5 NG hatchback."

  • So far the prototype has actually passed me by. Exciting story!

  • WE - and that reads above as if I were not alone with this opinion - want to drive COMBICOUPE Saabs again!

    @ Tom: Could you probably initiate a vote in this regard? Maybe somebody from NEVS will be reading here too and will forward the message / request for CCs to the decision makers * * hoping for a newCombiCupset *

    @Vorstadtcasanova: D´accord! The 9-5 station wagon is UGLY - in our eyes. I can well imagine that a number of other potential sellers will not buy it precisely because this fat C-pillar and camouflaged D-pillar is neither fish nor meat. If they absolutely want to sell a station wagon, then the buyer also expects a distinctive D-pillar * inmyopinion *

    Speaking of the Skoda Superb: I think the split tailgate on the Superb CombiCoupe is superb: it can be opened small - especially for weaker people who don't always want to lift the whole large flap - but it can also be opened very large if you don't like the Passat CC- Driver also wants to transport hardware store purchases IN THE car 😉

    So, keep your fingers crossed that NEVS ties in with the Saab history (also) in this regard and brings a CombiCoupe on the market.

    Sesi

  • A strong 4-cylinder turbo with> 2 liter displacement and> 400NM would not have been bad either ...

    • Saab has always had a good “nose” for trends and innovation, but the marketing of these highlights has never been Saab's strength.
      Maybe things will get better under NEVS. ... ..

  • The longer I think about the 9-5 ll,
    Such a dick ship, which is with its over 5 meter length, yes as big as the old S-class!
    The 9-5 was guaranteed not only for 4 and 6 cylinder engines built, as was certainly something planned with V8, perhaps in the stag version of an engine from the Vette

  • I opted for the Saabrio, as there was no hatchback in the 9-3er anymore. Now I enjoy the Saab driving all the more.

  • Is the license plate known? You can check if the car is still registered.

    • Yes, the license plates are known. Good idea, let's do it!

    • The one license plate currently drives as Volvo V40 through the area, the other is not registered. So the current state.

  • I think globally, sales figures for a 9-5II 5 door would have been modest. The Chinese and Americans want the classic notchback sedan, just like the 9000CD, which in turn was unpopular with the CS in Europe.

    The 9-5 5-door would have been something for the European markets. In addition to a missing 9-3 Coupé and 9-3 5-door, another model that would have done the Saab portfolio good ...

  • I would have decided without a doubt for the hatchback. Although the limousine does not look bad, but the larger trunk access is the rash. Please do not lynch: But the combination of 9-5 I think not quite so smart. And the hatchback looks sportier than the station wagon.

  • The whole thing is always in the eye of the beholder.

    If I had had the choice between 9000 versions of my successor to the 3 CS years ago (notchback, hatchback or normal station wagon), I would most likely have gone for the 9-5 with so-called hatchback - it just doesn't look as bulky as a large station wagon and offers actually enough space.

    For my current 9-5 I in the estate version, the purchase decision was not as clear as it was for the 9000 for much longer - the reason was only to be found in the design.

    I could imagine that at least the SAAB enthusiasts worldwide would prefer a variant called hatchback or hatchback to the normal station wagon.

    For this reason, it would be desirable if all versions were soon available - both for the 9-3 series and the 9-5 series (9-6 series?).

  • Exciting! I would like to see it without camouflage.

    But I have doubts whether it would really have been a hit. As much as I like the 900 and 9000 hatchbacks, one mustn't forget that there were no station wagon versions of either. The move to the hatchback was the buyer's move to the more practical car with better, even quite astonishing, loading capacities ...

    And yet, with the 9-5 II in three versions, this would be the handle to the station wagon. This should have been brought to market much earlier!

  • ... a shame, the flap would have been useful. We still use the advantages with our aero9000, in the aero9-5II it is borderline to penetrate deep into the trunk. Would have been first choice, as nice as the lemonade is!

  • Wow….
    that would be the best Saab ever ... a real Saab a lá 9000/900 1 ...
    Now you can only see from BMW, Audi and all the models already mentioned above that the GM's were very, very wrong with their adaptation to the American market... a shame...

  • That would have really been it and so the 9-5 would have become the hit. Maybe something similar will come from NEVS in the future?

  • Moin dear fan community,
    that would have been the hit a hatchback as the 900er Combicoupe. What is not can still be, because who is already optimistic than we Saabfahrer.

  • Hello dear Saab fans, Saab always did the right thing at the wrong time. Back then, many smiled at the turbo and everyone has it today. When the 9.5 / 1 came out, the question to Etehad was, why not another hatchback like the 9000? “That no longer fits the premium class” Today: A 7, A5, BMW GT etc. You know what has become of it. Many Saab fans were surprised, they didn't want a soda - or the station wagon. Best regards, Jens Lübberstedt, Stade

    • Hello, Jens! how right you are….
      I also remember an answer from the SAAB employee at the time, Mr. Bauer, why the hatchback should be omitted with the introduction of the new 9-3 in 2002. At the time, it was said that they wanted to win the customers of the 3-series BMW and DB C-Class - that's why the classic limousine.
      Well ... We all know painfully what became of it ...

      But it was nice to hear from you through your contribution again from you

    • What is the right thing at the wrong time? Especially the turbo, came just right and Saab saved then, otherwise 1981 would have gone out the lights at the latest.

      A small manufacturer does not have the possibility of a large corporation, other long-gone manufacturers were always more innovative than the mass-produced. Just think of glass, with tailgate and timing belt in the 60igern.

      Saab was usually always at the right time. There were a few turbos ahead of Saab, but Saab came just at the right time, just the nose before the mass-production competition needed. It was the same with the 16 valves. Or earlier in the dual-circuit brakes, the disc brakes, the hatchback with flap. The convertibles were in the air, but Saab was the necessary tick faster.
      But much could not be achieved because of lack of money and the tragic thing is that under GM, where the resources were available, everything was smashed, which did not correspond to the mainstream, from Saab just became an Opel for the higher class.

      Whenever Saab has swum with the crowd, they have fallen on their noses. The most serious mistake in the pre-GM era was the 9000 CD, which then necessitated the entire sale to GM. Never before has Saab had so many customer surveys and car clinics as on the 9000 CD, with the result that it was just the wrong car for Saab, which was clearly shown in sales.

      GM has handled it the same way, the 9-3 / 2 only as a sedan was only correct for US, the funds for the station wagon did not promote then Saab into the abyss.

      That's why I hope the electric Saabs could be the right time. The mass production has not started, but it's in the air.

      By the way, Tom, great that you've unearthed that with 9-5 CC!

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