Saab unearths Subaru Tribeca-based 9-6 prototype from the archives

Filed under: Concept Cars, Crossover, Saab, Subaru



Go back a few years ago to when Saab and Subaru were the quirky stepchildren in the General Motors family. That was before GM sold its stake in both, and when the beancounters in Detroit wanted to try something different. They took a Subaru Impreza wagon/hatchback, gave it some new bodywork and presto! the Saab 9-2x was born.

That wasn't the only tie-in between the two that was mooted, however. A second Saabaru was under consideration, based on the maligned Subaru Tribeca. The planned vehicle was scrapped before it had the chance to live, but following much demand from the Trollhättan faithful, Saab has taken the resulting 9-6 prototype out of hiding, put it on display at its own museum and published these photos through its Inside Saab blog for all to see. As you can see, the prototype (like the 9-2x) received an extensively reworked nose in line with the Saab look, but the interior would've been largely carried over had it reached production.

The emergence of the 9-6 prototype has some interesting timing, as Saab itself recently confirmed plans for an expanded lineup that includes a 9-6x - a model that we don't see sharing anything with the castoff crossover seen here. Scope it out in our high-res image gallery.Saab unearths Subaru Tribeca-based 9-6 prototype from the archives originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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Just seen a Saabaru today, and I have to say, this thing looks about a billion times better than a tribeca. Every time I see a tribeca, I always think "WTF, Subaru? Why the tiny grill?"

Hoping to see more Saab-Subaru stuff in the future

 

I agree... this thing is pretty ugly