Would you fancy a good old Saab 9-3 with a Fiat engine? If Youngman gets to buy the bankruptcy estate from Saab and restarts production of the current 9-3 in Trollhättan awaiting the arrivial of the next generation Saab vehicles, that can be the case.
From earlier we know that Saab has rights to most of the technology in the current Saab 9-3. Only parts of this technology is owned by GM. I assume that e.g. the engines, and especially the new direct injection petrol engine, is GM unique technology and thus technology GM wants to protect. But now news reports say that Youngman wants to source engines from Italy instead. And who else than Fiat could be the supplier? VM Motori? I think Fiat and the reason is as follows.
The diesel engine used in the Saab 9-3 was originally developed by Fiat-GM-Powertrain before the two companies decided to end the partnership. Fiat uses the same engine in both Fiat cars and Alfa Romeo cars. Maybe even in Lancia? Anyway, since this engine is more or less similar to the diesel engine Saab has sourced from GM, a engine swop should be doable.
I am not sure if a swop is just as simple when it comes down to petrol engines. The engine mounts should be more or less the same, but the engines are very different I guess. But nothing is impossible, right?
So if everything goes well, we might be driving Italian powered Saabs the next two years or so!
A blog fueled by enthusiasm about Saab, the greatest car company between the North and the South Pole. And their cars, which probably is the only cars that would start on a cold and crispy South Pole morning.
