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From http://www.autocar.co.uk:
Bosses at Saab have been forced back to the drawing board to redesign the company's long-awaited 4x4. After two years of intense development, plans to base the car on the US-built Pontiac Aztek and Buick Rendezvous platform have finally been scrapped by GM bosses. The 4x4 will now use the all-new Vauxhall Vectra/Saab 9-3 platform.
To keep interest in the project alive, engineers and stylists are busy working on a concept to appear at January's Detroit Motor Show, as the US market is expected to be the biggest for the new model. The four-wheel-drive all-roader, called 'the 443' within Saab, will now be launched in 2004.
The spacious and luxurious interior will be designed for five, rather than offer the seven-seat capacity of rivals. And there will be an emphasis on high visibility and flexible cargo room, as in the 9X concept seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show last month. The model will not be a true mud-plugger like a Land Rover Discovery, but promises a more off-road bias than car-based rivals such as Volvo's V70 XC. GM bosses have set a benchmark of BMW's successful X5.
The Saab's 4x4 system is a variation of the electronically controlled 4Matic seen on the Aztek and Rendezvous, while power will come from a variety of sources. Ideas include GM's new all-aluminum naturally aspirated 3.0-litre V6, the 300bhp twin-turbo version expected in the 9X, or a four-cylinder Saab Combustion Control (SCC) turbo. The 443's platform is also used on the 9X, Alfa Romeos, Vauxhalls and several of GM's marques in America.
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