2000 Saab 95 Loaded Wagon on 2040-cars

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NEVS mulling electric Saab 9-3 convertible, looking for engine partners, too

Do you believe in reincarnation? Like how we hope that, maybe, all of our hard work as auto writers will result in an eventual return as a swarm of beautiful butterflies. If you are a Saab fan, the equivalent could be this bit of news: The 9-3 Convertible may rise again, as an electric vehicle.
Word comes from the Dutch version of Autoweek that Chinese entity National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) has indicated that it will bring an electric version of the 9-3 Convertible to market in the next 18 months. The EV droptop would first debut in the Chinese market, but could expand, as could the lineup to other 9-3 variants, such as the sedan and SportCombi. A NEVS spokesperson has stated, "NEVS basically no doors holds." We're not sure if that's the spokesperson or the translation from the Dutch report, but you get the gist.
NEVS also indicated that conventionally powered versions of the 9-3 could be produced as well. The internal combustion engines could be the originally intended General Motors engines. Regardless of powerplant, we would be very eager to see Saab return, potentially as an EV to boot!

Vampire Weekend burns for Saab

Or is it the other way around?
Could Vampire Weekend be trying to tell me something? A just-launched music video for the indie rock band's new single Diane Young features what looks like a pretty mint black Saab 900 Turbo Convertible being torched in slow-motion. In fact, with the exception of a brief, flickering cameo by a 900 three-door of a similar vintage, that's all that there is to the nearly three-minute long video. It's both sad and oddly beautiful.
Coincidentally, I have a similar-looking turbocharged black Saab convertible sitting in my garage, and I've been reluctantly pondering its sale this very week. Admittedly, mine is a later model (2001 9-3 Viggen), but tri-spokes and more tapered rump aside, it looks eerily identical. And while mine isn't mired in flames (I love it too much to torch it), through no fault of its own, it's been sitting motionless far too regularly. Thankfully, I see a better future for it than the droptop seen above.

Super sleeper Saab 900 does 174 mph in the standing mile

Somewhere behind Hennessey setting a new top speed record at this year's Texas Mile with its camouflage Ford GT, a stock-looking 1996 Saab 900T pulled up to the line to see what it could do. The dealer showroom wheels wouldn't offer any indication that the 2.0-liter four-cylinder under the hood was getting help from a Garrett turbocharger, a tuned ECU and E85 gas to put out 465 horsepower at the front wheels.
Knowing that, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that at the other end of the mile the sky blue Swedish wonder was doing 174 miles per hour. The four-cylinder class at the Texas Mile has plenty such rockets, too, this Swede coming just behind a Dodge Neon that did 175.8 mph. You can watch the Saab do its thing in the video below.