Model Years 1985 to 1998
Saab
had been planning a new model as long ago as 1974, but work did not
get fully underway until 1979 and the collaboration with Fiat/Lancia
in a project to produce a larger car. The project was known as Type
Four.
Styled
by Italian Giorgetto Giugiaro, the 9000 ultimately ended up significantly
different from its sister cars the Fiat Croma and the Lancia Thema.
Of the 155 or so part that made up the body just ten or so were interchangeable.
A front-wheel
drive with a transversely mounted engine meant that the interior was
more spacious than the Saab 900 despite a slightly shorter external
length.
The
combination of the folding rear seat and the estate/saloon opening
rear hatch made for superb load-lugging characteristics. The Saab
9000 was the only imported car, bar the Rolls Royce, to be classifed
by the United States authorities as a "large car".
