GM’s inevitably doomed purchase of Saab resulted in a number of unusual and unexpected vehicles from the brand, such as the “Saaburu” 9-2X, a badge engineered Subaru Impreza. At least it was compact, sporty and fun to drive, like genuine Saabs of yore. But none of that applied to the strangest Saab ever, the 9-7X, essentially a Chevy Trailblazer SUV with a full frame and an available V8 engine. The Frankensaab, in this case spotted and shot by Hyperpack.
It was the ultimate repudiation of the foundational elements laid down by the Saab 92 (prototype pictured here): aerodynamic, lithe, FWD, efficient cars that were also sporty and fun to drive. Admittedly, Saab always had to do a bit of borrowing along the way in its independent days, not surprising given its small size.
The 92 was heavily inspired by the 1939 DKW F9 prototype, including its two-stroke engine.
But then Saab was hardly the only one guilty of a bit of plagiarism, and the 92 had a number of unique aspects, the most significant one being the first car to have a transverse front engine with the transmission inline with the engine.
The fact is that the 92’s two stroke engine was the only truly new engine ever designed by Saab, and even it closely followed the formula of the DKW’s. In 1967 Saab started buying Ford Cologne’s compact V4 for their 96, as the smoky two-stroke era was obviously needing to end.
Just one year later, Saab’s very ambitious new 99 appeared, but again, the engine was not a home-brew effort. Saab bought 1.7 L inline fours from Triumph, which were a bit less than trouble-free in their early years. Saab did eventually develop this engine into the much more robust 2.0 L “B” family of engines, which went on to have a long and illustrious life in the 900 and 900 Turbo models.
In 1984, the new 9000 arrived to augment and eventually replace the 900. This was one of the Type Four platform cars developed jointly with Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Fiat. Saab continued to use variants of the 2.0 L B-Series fours in the 9000, although in its last couple of years the Opel/GM 54° V6 was also used, after GM had become a 50% owner in 1989. A portend of things to come.
GM exercised its option to buy the rest of Saab in 2000, and although some wondered how well this was all going to end, there was still some hope with the 9-3, a Saaburized version of the Opel Vectra (GM Epsilon 1 platform). Some of that hope was unfulfilled if not destroyed.
The “Saaburu” 9-2X was both cause for concern as well as…a good time, as it was essentially an Impreza WRX. And when GM started offering huge discounts on them during the dark days of Saab’s (and parent GM) demise, knowledgeable buyers readily picked up the leftovers. I was quite tempted at the time.
And that brings us to our featured car truck, the Saab 9-7X. It was during those crazed and desperate last years of GM, when it was throwing anything on the walls to see if it would stick. Saturn was turned into a full-line brand with minivans and SUVs. And Saab became…the new Oldsmobile? After Olds was euthanized, the Olds Bravada’s role in the GMT-360 family was essentially taken over by the Saab 9-7X and the Buick Rainier. Saab’s first truck arrived for the 2005 model year and soldiered on through 2009, although sales that year were down to 2,492. In its best year, 2006, all of 5,486 9-7Xs were sold. The lifetime total was 19,286. In other words, an unsurprising flop.
The interior also shares very heavily with the Buick Rainier.
The two versions were the 4.2i and the 5.3i, named after their respective engines. The 4.2i used the 285 hp 4.2 L “Atlas” inline six, and the 5.3i had the GM Generation IV V8, rated at some 300 hp.
In 2008, a high performance Aero version appeared, with a 390 hp LS2 6.0L V8 beating under its hood. It was analogous to the Trailblazer SS. Now that might be a genuine collector car before long, if it isn’t already. It almost surely is.
The 9-7X was just another of those many footnotes during Bad Old GM’s declining years, when desperation was the watchword and brands were being prostituted. It’s easy to forget those dark and dismal days during the GM Deathwatch, but seeing these photos triggers unhappy memories.
Of course it’s even easier to forget the ultimate late-Saab unicorn, the 9-4X. Less than 700 were ever built, but CC’s Tom Halter found one. At least it didn’t have a V8 and a full frame.
Related CC Reading
Saab: The Eulogy by me
CC Capsule: 2011 Saab 9-4x 3.0i XWD Premium – The Saab (un)Holy Grail by T. Halter
COAL: 2005 Saab 9-2X Aero: I Prefer My Sushi With A Side Of Lingonberry Sauce by Jim Klein
GM seemed to think the essence of Saab-ness was having the ignition key on the console. Take a Chevy, move the keyhole, make the grille look like a 900’s, and now you’ve got a Saab!
Other forgotten Saab-related badge-engineering jobs include the Cadillac BLS (a restyled 9-3 sold in some countries) and a Saab 9=6X three-row crossover that would have been based on the Subaru Tribeca, but when that crossover’s design was criticized and sales poor, the planned Saab was launched as a facelifted Tribeca instead (it sold even worse).
Additional evidence GM had no idea what to do with Saab.
I knew a single person who owned one of these; she was a longtime Saab aficionado. Hated the truck with a passion, traded it in early, and moved to Lexus. A sad end to a truly interesting company.
A friend of a friend had one of these. Referring to the hometown of Saab, he called it a “Trollblazer.”
The 9-7 may not be a great Saab, but it was indeed the ultimate Trailblazer!
Same deal with the Saabaru, nicer interior and cheaper insurance than a WRX for about the same price used.
Same deal with the Saabaru, nicer interior and cheaper insurance than a WRX for about the same price used.
At one point in the late ’70s there were talks of a merger between Saab and Volvo. My feeling was that I wouldn’t mind seeing a Volvo 99, but I’d hate to see a Saab 240. At that time I subscribed to the newsletter of the Chicago Saab Club, edited by the late Dick Grossman. One day I was talking to another club member, and I said, “We may see a rear-drive Saab.”
He said, “No, we may see a rear-drive car with a Saab badge.” Touché!
It was a wise decision for Volvo not to take on the millstone of Trollhättan. They already had enough problems of their own at that time.
A Chevy Trailblazer with the ignition key between the seats. I nominate this as a GM Deadly Sin.
As part of their purchase of SAAB, GM inherited a whole bunch of franchised SAAB dealers that, at the time, were maybe selling a dozen cars a month each. It didn’t cost much to modify Subaru and Chevrolet vehicles into “SAAB” models, and increased the total number of units sold at those dealerships. It was almost definitely better than just selling a handful of 9x cars.
“It was the ultimate repudiation of the foundational elements laid down by the Saab 92 “
Kind of like the Porsche Cheyenne, BMW X line, Lamborghini Urus, Ferrari Purosangue, Lotus Eletre, Mustang Mach E, etc, ect.
I doubt there is a copies of the Frankensaab (9-7X) or Saabaru (9-2X) or Saabexico (9-4X) at the Saab Trollenhattan museum.
Certainly GM used existing components from its own parts bin when developing the new SAAB models. Nothing wrong with that.
What else could they reasonably have done? Develop entirely new platforms for a handful of orthodox weirdos who, at most, only buy a few hundred vehicles a month?
Was the 9-7X only sold in the U.S. or North America? Did GM attempt to sell it in Europe or other parts of the world?