There’s been some news out of Turkey this week that should make Saab fans happy… sort of. Turkish newspaper Hürriyet Daily News has reported that the Turkish government has purchased the rights to build a version of the Saab 9-3 in that nation, though it won’t actually be called a Saab at all.
“The brand will be a Turkish brand, it will not be Saab. We’ll develop the technology in Turkey,” said Fikri Isik, Turkey’s Minister of Science, Industry and Technology. Once the car hits mass production, a minimum of 85 percent of the parts used for the car will be produced in Turkey, he said.
The Turk-Saab looks set to become a part of that nation’s initiative to promote more environmentally-conscious cars. Isik said that the Turkish endeavor will work in cooperation with NEVS, which previously developed an electric drivetrain for the 9-3. He said Turkey’s main goal was to advance in the field of extended-range electric vehicles.
The car will reportedly wear a redesigned front face, based loosely on the Cadillac BLS. And that, when you consider how pretty the original 9-3 design looks, is something we find slightly alarming.