SPY PHOTOS: All new Saab 9-4X

The new Saab SUV

SAAB has some busy days now. The company is celebrating its 60th anniversary this summer and the 9-3 is coming with both a facelift and 4-wheel-drive. And within a period of 2 years there will be another three completely new cars: the smaller 9-1 based on the new Astra, the all new Vectra - based 9-5, and the entirely new compact SUV 9-4X. The 9-4 X will symbolize "the new SAAB", and will be loaded with all that new SAAB-DNA design and technology. Instead of those "wanna be " SAABs like the 9-2X and the 9-7X , the 9-4X is developed from the start to be a SAAB. The design is developed by the SAAB designers in Rüsselsheim/ Germany together with a smaller design group in Trollhättan/ Sweden, but it will still share some technical parts with its GM-family members. The new 9-4X will be a sporty looking SUV with a lot of the Aero X look in the front, low side windows and short overhangs. We will probably see a concept version at the Car Show in Frankfurt during September, and maybe the real car will be ready to show up in Detroit in January 2008. Rumours are saying that some dealers in the US already have seen the finished car and they were very excited about it. Expect the engines to be both petrol and diesel as well as E85. These are the first pictures showing a mule for the 9-4X, using a mixture of a SAAB 9-7X and Chevrolet Trailblazer body with a clearly shorter wheelbase. An additional computer image is suggesting how the new 9-4X could look like upon its release.