The 2011 Saab 9-5 SportWagon represents the end of an era at Saab. Its emergence is closely linked to complex industrial and strategic decisions within the General Motors Group and illustrates the structural problems that ultimately led to the brand's demise.
Plans for a successor to the first Saab 9-5 date back to the early 2000s. At that time, General Motors wanted to develop a new premium platform that would be used across the entire group – including for Saab, the smaller Cadillac and its sister model at Buick.
As part of the GM-Fiat joint venture, the technical implementation of this platform was entrusted to Fiat, specifically Alfa Romeo. There, the floor assembly was developed, which was later used in the Alfa Romeo 159, Brera and Spider (type 939). For Saab, this platform was originally intended as the basis for the second generation of the 9-5. However, GM canceled the project due to costs, as well as planned derivatives from Cadillac and Buick (eventually the infamous Cadillac BLS was based on the Saab 9-3).
This decision significantly delayed the development of the new Saab 9-5 in 2002. Instead of a true successor, the first generation, originally introduced in 1997, had to be redesigned twice – in the summer of 2001 and autumn of 2005 – in order to keep it on the market. It was not until July 2009 that Saab released the first photos of the new 9-5, followed by an official presentation on the company's website on 27 August 2009, before the car was presented to the public at the IAA in Frankfurt in September.
Due to Saab's economic problems, the sedan's sales launch was delayed from autumn 2009 to mid-2010, with prices ranging from €33.700 for the 1.6T Linear to around €70.000 for the top-of-the-line 2.8T Aero. However, due to the uncertain financial situation, production was interrupted several times in 2011, as several suppliers stopped supplying parts due to unpaid bills.
The start of production of the 9-5 SportWagon, also known as the SportCombi in some markets, was initially planned for the end of summer 2011, but was then postponed to the beginning of 2012. However, this did not happen: Saab's insolvency in December 2011 and General Motors' refusal to issue production licenses to the new owner prevented series production. Only 33 pre-series vehicles were built, which were sold at auction in Sweden at the end of 2012.
Only 11.280 examples of the second Saab 9-5 were built, a fraction of the original production run. The 9-5 SportWagon remains one of the rarest Saab models in history. It embodies the ambitions of a brand that was thwarted by corporate policy, economic constraints and time delays – a vehicle that promised much but barely got the chance to deliver.
