A cool V8 against the zeitgeist - a new Saab 9-7x!

The ultimate antidote to the zeitgeist? A real American V8! Exotically delicious garnished and dressed in Swedish clothes. A combination that was only available from Saab. The Saab 9-7x was originally intended to be an Oldsmobile Bravada and shared its genes with the Buick Rainier and the Chevrolet Trail Blazer.

New Saab 9-7x in the Saab showroom
New Saab 9-7x in the Saab showroom

The big family of the Saab 9-7x

The relationship also includes the GMC Envoy and the Isuzu Ascender, which makes for a fairly extensive family. The technology is more or less the same for all derivatives, it is the subtleties that count. GM really tried and approved Saab a few extra dollars to make the Bravada look like a Swedish car.

The ignition lock went where the fans would like to see it in a Saab. On the center console, of course. The dashboard maintains the typical Saab style, the filigree cup holder is known from the 9-5. Those who enter the 9-7x for the first time will find their way around straight away. Everything is clear, self-explanatory, the log book could have been saved.

New, and a 5.3 liter V8 under the hood
New, and a 5.3 liter V8 under the hood

Of course, the Saab 9-7x can never deny its GM roots. It doesn't matter whether there is a Saab logo on the steering wheel, the leather is more valuable and the furnishings more loving than that of the relatives. Many details come from US shelves. This is not a real disadvantage and helps today with the search for spare parts. Much to keep a 9-7x alive is available from dealers across the pond for little money.

A cool V8

The Saab 9-7x with the V8 under the hood is really fun. Even the small block from the Vortec family pours a lot with 5.3 liters. 300 HP and 447 Nm are completely sufficient to create a feeling of sovereign locomotion. There would then be a 6 liter engine, also with 8 pots, like the one found in the Corvette back then. But it really doesn't have to be.

The Saab is a rarity
The Saab is a rarity

A fabulous specimen has now appeared in Italy. A new Saab car with only around 500 miles (approx. 805 km) on the clock. A US specification 9-7x 5.3i sold by a Saab partner of many years. Zanetti Omero is a fixture in the Saab scene in Italy and one of the companies that is still not thinking of catching the flag with the griffin. The company has a real showroom in the Saab Unlimited style, for this reason alone you would have to travel across the Alps immediately.

A new car for less than € 15,00 a kilogram

The new car has the right color combination, dark outside, light inside. It has a sliding roof and its equipment leaves nothing to be desired. The 9-7x was also preserved, so the worst problem of all 9-7x, rust, should no longer play a role.

In fact, it should have been an Oldsmobile Bravada
In fact, it should have been an Oldsmobile Bravada

The price idea is less than € 15,00 for a kilo of Swedish-American sheet metal. In one piece at exactly € 32.000. Not too much when you consider what new cars you could get at this course. A short-range electric car from a company on the Mittelland Canal, for example.

Lean furnishings and an interior quality that the accountants at GM would have rejected as too poor.

But as a Saab, he also cuts a good figure
But as a Saab, he also cuts a good figure

From today's point of view, the Saab 9-7x 5.3i is politically highly incorrect. Even the thought of an Ami V8 is reprehensible. It easily consumes its 15 to 16 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers, but it offers a lot in return. If need be, the Saab pulls almost 3 tons from the field and the technology has the potential for an eternal life.

As long as there is a gas station somewhere, or a pharmacy that sells the owner some gas, he will do his job. Unshakable and without great demands.

6 thoughts on "A cool V8 against the zeitgeist - a new Saab 9-7x!"

  • Such a V8 would have its appeal, an ideal train car to bring the 96 to one or the other remote meeting if you don't want to drive on your own

  • gas plant

    Not only reduces costs, but actually also reduces CO2 emissions - at least marginally.

    Methane (CH4) is THE hydrocarbon of all hydrocarbons with the highest possible proportion of hydrogen.

    If it were biogas, you would even be CO8-neutral on the road despite the V2. But we decided otherwise. So the future belongs to China.

  • @ Tom: there we have no dissent, the usual rust prevention is necessary is beyond doubt, I've already visited a grotty 9-7x with a lot of rust. With the bonnet, however, special attention should be paid to the front edge with precautionary measures.

  • Fine car from another time. I think the 9-7x is still based on a ladder frame, like all the GMC models back then. You really can't break something like that. Recommended to everyone who is really annoyed by the electronics fuss today!

  • When it comes to rust, you should keep an eye on the bonnet, this is the only place where problems arise. Otherwise, a Kenwood navigation system would be recommended, which harmonises with the steering wheel buttons (fits through double DIN slot). This enables Apple Carplay and Android Auto, + Dashcam, reversing camera and / or sensors, you are almost up to date. ;-). At the front it is a bit confusing, sometimes I would have liked sensors, but you get used to it over time. always reliable, otherwise it is the workhorse in my fleet, saved my life, you rarely come across another 9-7x and presumably the only positive product that came across the pond from the GM-SAAB marriage. Oh yes, with a gas system, the fuel costs are only half!

    • @Bergsaab I don't like to disagree with a passionate 9-7x driver. Rust is an issue, especially because a number of vehicles have been severely neglected. Then the 9-7x rusts everywhere, a rescue is financially beyond the vehicle value. Particular attention should be paid to well-tended previous ownership, if you don't accidentally stumble across a new car.

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