Shrunken Samurai - Saab 9-2x Aero (1:18)

They are brave, at DNA Collectibles. A shrunken samurai rolls towards the model car collectors. The 9:2 scale Saab 1-18x Aero, which is none other than a Swedish Subaru. He is certainly a piece of Saab history as well. But is this miniature also a collector's item for the showcase? Everyone should answer that for themselves. Let's talk a little bit about the story behind the car. It's pretty gloomy. But the car has it all.

No Saab - certainly not

Unfortunately, the Saab 9-2x represents a low point in the history of the brand. In 2000, GM took over the helm in the Stallbacka, staged mass layoffs and installed an ex-Volvo manager as CEO. Strange decisions were made at this stage. To cut costs and increase profitability, GM played the badge engineering card.

Vehicles like the Saab 9-7x, which was just a GM product in disguise, and the 9-2x emerged. While the 9-7x still made a reasonable effort with a limited budget and transferred the ignition lock to where every Saab fan thinks it belongs, the 9-2x was more lax.

The Saab 9-2x was just a Subaru Impreza with some Saab decals on it. It was nothing more and if you are looking for something Saab specific on this vehicle, you will only find it on the front mask and the generously distributed badges.

Saab 9-2x Aero - CO₂ = driving pleasure

And because this strange little car might have seemed a bit spooky even to GM managers, the market was limited to North America, and the 9-2x was not even offered in Germany.

Another wrong decision was made.

Because this badly disguised samurai has it all. At regulars' tables you can gossip about this car for ages. At the latest when you have driven it, you forget the Saab camouflage and take the Saab 9-2x Aero for what it is. A really great piece of sports equipment that goes straight into the heart of the automobile with the Subaru-typical symmetrical drive and divine boxer sound.

Forgotten is the sober Nippon interior and the Japan plastic. The Saab Subaru is addicting, burns an obscene amount of fossil energy, and converts CO₂ into driving pleasure. All of this is improper, should be banned and censored, and fortunately only a handful of these devices made it to Germany.

And we also officially distance ourselves from them.

Less reprehensible are the miniatures that DNA Collectibles offers of this automotive unreasonable model. The Saab 9-2x Aero is designed in Switzerland and produced in China, which doesn't make it an environmental angel either. But the 1:18 copy is guaranteed to be greener than the original.

1:18 miniature in 4 colors

Because they are brave at DNA Collectibles, the Saab 9-2x Aero comes in 4 colors. Silver, black, red and blue, with the silver variant having the largest edition with 499 pieces. A piece of dark and at the same time crazy Saab history. It's quite honestly a drama that the 9-2x was never offered through German Saab dealers. If you ignore the Subaru history, you have a car that offers driving pleasure at a sporty high level.

In contrast to the original, the miniature is also officially available for German customers. Pre-ordered can be from now on. Delivery is announced for the fourth quarter of 4.