Saturday, April 5, 2025

Opel stopped the rare Saab at the last second

It would hardly have saved Saab from bankruptcy – mostly because it happened years ago – but Opel prevented the Swedes from building a special edition of the 9000 model.

Saab was not allowed to steal customers. At least not from Audi and BMW. Opel believed that they themselves should. Therefore, the Germans prevented the Swedes from building a special version of the 9000 model.

The model, which should have had the nickname Ecosport, was presented at the now closed Geneva Motor Show in 1992.

That's what Saab Cars Magazine writes.

However, Saab was never allowed to do anything other than show off a prototype. According to Opel, Saab was not allowed to sell a version of the 9000 with four-wheel drive and 280 horsepower.

READ ALSO: Ferrari crushed 400,000 fakes last year

In fact, the German brand, which at the time was related to Saab via General Motors, prevented the Swedes from ever starting production. Even if Saab didn't actually go after Opel's customers at all.

By contrast, in the early 90s, the Swedes would fight for customers against brands such as Audi and BMW.

Opel wanted to be first with the technology that Saab had. So at the last second the Germans stopped all development work. In fact, the assembly line had already been geared for the top-spec 9000.

– The posters were printed. Everything was ready. Instead, the car went into the container when the four-wheel drive was scrapped, writes the media.

In a hurry, Saab had to produce a front-wheel drive model in order not to waste all the development work on the floor. However, that model received almost no attention. Neither internally at the factory nor from the customers. It all ended up being a very expensive flop.

The front-wheel drive car had to do without a large number of technical innovations, which Opel insisted on being first with. Among other things, a way to adjust ground clearance, UV headlights and thermal technology in the engine compartment.

Today, one cannot exactly claim that Saab has taken revenge on Opel. Because Saab no longer exists. But Opel is – at least in Denmark – just a shadow of itself.

With 2,050 cars sold during the first half of the year, brands such as Kia, Chinese Volvo and French Renault sell much better. Last year, Tesla smashed Opel's 37-year-old Danish record completely. Read more about it here .

Read more exciting news from and about the world of cars right here

Latest

Don't miss

Norway to ban cars from driving over 30 km/h

Several places in Norway will now consider making zones...

Disappeared in Denmark – now they have lost 6 billion

Nio, which last year fired its Danish CEO and...

Elon Musk leaves the White House – will return to Tesla

The dialogue between Elon Musk and Donald Trump appears...

Police are on the lookout after a new attack on Tesla

Police in Germany are without conclusive evidence after a...

Revealing sad news – Michael Schumacher has lost

The public knows very little about Michael Schumacher's condition...
Boosted Magazine
Boosted Magazine
Boosted in Denmark has over a million unique users, surpassing two million sessions, and accumulating over seven million page views each month, and our platforms has become a hub for automotive enthusiasts. Now you can enjoy our content in English too! Enjoy our free car news - every day. Want to talk to us? Write an email to boosted@boostedmagazine.com
spot_img

Controversial repair shop chain loses 12 million

Skorstensgaard, which has been in the media spotlight for suspicious business practices on several occasions, has been in deficit for the fourth year in...

The battery in every fourth Danish car is too bad

New figures from the company Carly show that every fourth Danish car is driving around with a battery that is in poor or even...

He bought the world's last Golf GTI with a manual transmission

Cars with manual transmissions are, in the eyes of many, a dying breed. And now Volkswagen has built the latest Golf GTI. The last...

VW's BMW with W10 engine has received license plates

A few years ago, we wrote here at Boosted about Volkswagen's secret W10 project with a BMW E39 M5. Now the car has been...

Tax Minister on new rules for car taxes – this is how it will be

New rules need to be put on the table. At least when it comes to car dealers' tax settlements with the state, says Tax...

Important Tesla number is the worst in 3 years

Analysts had expected Tesla to deliver at least 370,000 cars in the first quarter of 2025. That is far from the case, the car...

Won Porsche and 340,000 DKK – now the car is completely damaged

The joy only lasted a few months for a man from Nevada, USA, who won a Porsche 911 GT3 RS and $50,000. Now the...

Motoring scandal costs Ulrik Linnemann European Championship points – and money!

Ulrik Linnemann lost both important points and money in Portugal – now he is fighting to save the season . A burnt engine proved...

The hyped electric car has lost over 50 percent of its value

Rimac Nevera has set several world records. And all at once. But the owners are now suffering huge losses in value. The owners of...

31 percent of Danes will never buy a Tesla

Just a few months ago, 8 percent of Danes said they would not buy a Tesla, that number has now grown to 31.8 percent....

Volkswagen panics – stops immediately

Volkswagen is immediately halting the delivery of all cars for import into the United States. This comes after the government's new tariff wall takes...

124-year-old auto giant lays off every sixth employee

German Webasto, which makes its living by making heaters for cars, is now set to embark on a major round of layoffs. Reportedly, this...