The Saab that never was, blurry rendering of the 9-3

The low-resolution rendering you see below is the work of Jason Castriota and this would have been the Saab 9-3 that could have saved the brand. Sadly the marque did not survive. Saab declared bankruptcy back in December 2011 and the hopes of the brand's fans became as blurry as the image you see on here.

The rendering of the Saab 9-3 will just be that, a rendering of the Phoenix-based vehicle. The image shows a 9-3 that shows semblance to the bigger 9-5. For sure, to Saab fans, this version of the 9-3 looks quite good.

If this car was built, a punchy gasoline engine with a turbocharger sourced from German car manufacturer BMW would have been under its hood. But there can still be a glimmer of hope for the 9-3.

NEVS or National Electric Vehicle Sweden bought portions of the estate of the befallen Saab Automobile last August. The company plans to use the last production version of the 9-3 as the basis for its electric cars. The carmaker also hints that it will replace the 9-3 architecture with a new one in the next few years.

It is still uncertain though if NEVS will use the rendering done by Castriota or if it the 9-3 will be taking a new shape. This will really depend on the production plans and business model of the company. The platform of the Phoenix is actually designed to be used for different types of vehicles so it is not yet certain if NEVS has to come up with a platform that may be better suited for its Evs.

If NEVS will be able to tap good people to man its top executive posts and if the company will be able to use the Phoenix platform for its electric car, and if that will be the 9-3 shown here then it will be released as a Saab. This will be the case since Saab owns the right to the name of the vehicle. The platform was licensed to Youngman, a Chine company, in 2011. Spyker, which formerly owned Saab is now a partner of Youngman. Spyker is also planning to use the Phoenix platform for an SUV due by 2014.