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2011 Saab 9-5 takes to the ‘Ring [Spied again]
04/27/2009, 11:52 AMBy Drew Johnson
General Motors announced earlier on Monday it will cut ties with Saab by the end of the year, but development of the next-generation 9-5 is marching on. Our photographers recently caught up with the 2011 Saab 9-5 at Germany’s famed Nurburgring.
Saab has done quite well so far in keeping the 9-5 out of the public eye as well as the spy photographer’s eye. Since it’s still undergoing testing, a lot of camouflage covers most of the important bits of the car such as the character lines, shape of the rear and so on. Nevertheless it can be made out that the roof flows much smoother into the rear, making it look almost coupe-like. Also some styling cues from 9-4X BioPower concept should appear in the final design.
The 9-5 will gain some extra weight, height and length over the current model. The wheelbase is also being increased by 14 cm to make the car a large one indeed. It should fit in nicely within its competition cluster which consists of cars like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Cadillac STS and Volvo S80.
Our spy pictures portray a prototype fitted with a 2.0L turbocharged flex-fuel engine, making 210 hp. It will be sold with a choice of manual and automatic transmissions. A higher-output 2.8-liter V6 will be available in the European market while the U.S. gets an even bigger 3.6-liter V6, the same one found in the Buick Lacrosse. An all-new 1.6L turbocharged engine will also see duty in the next-gen car, with Euro-spec 9-5s seeing a diesel engine option. A hybrid powertrain hasn’t been ruled out.
The public unveiling of the next Saab 9-5 will happen at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
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