The New/Old Saab is Now Electric
Did you know that the Swedish manufacturer Saab was still producing cars? Since GM axed the brand, the Trollhättan company’s future has been more than uncertain: it was bought by a consortium that wished to save the storied brand, before risking going under when one of the investors backed out at the last minute. A few months ago, Saab’s future was more than uncertain.
It would seem that the remaining investors found some way to keep their brand going, since Saab just unveiled their first prototype of the electric drivetrain they plan on using in all their future vehicles.
For now, that drivetrain is fitted to a brand-new Saab 9-3 built using the factory’s old tooling, but there are supposedly more models coming in the next years.
This electric 9-3 can go from 0 to 100 in 10 seconds, hit a top speed of 120 km/h, and pumps out the equivalent of 140 horsepower.
The batteries are all under the floor of the car, giving it perfect weight distribution (50/50).
The 9-3 can currently go 200 kilometer between charges, but Saab believes they can fine tune the drivetrain to get even better numbers.
We wish luck to Saab, and hope they can come back to the forefront of the automotive industry!