It truly is the end of the end for Saab. The last car sold in America was in 2011, and it was the rather handsome 9-5. NEVS, National Electric Vehicle Sweden too over the defunct Swedish automaker with Chinese funds and planned on turning the 9-3 into an electric vehicle. That idea was scrapped, and the 9-3 is no more. Now, the last Saab 9-3 ever built will head to auction, and it's a rarity. NEVS, National Electric Vehicle Sweden, actually made the last one in Trolhättan, Sweden, in 2014, and this 9-3 Aero Turbo will head to the auction block with only 3.1 miles on the odometer.
GM sold off its stake in Saab to exotic carmaker Spyker Motor Cars back in 2010, but Spyker went belly up in 2011, at which point NEVS took over the manufacturing plant and started building 9-3s in 2013. A little bit of interesting history behind this car sheds some light on its current status. In December 2013, NEVS took the silver 9-3 Aero Turbo that would've gone to a customer and allocated it for crash testing purposes. Well, NEVS never used it for the intended crash tests, and it sat unused for six years in perfect condition.
Now, the company wants to send it to a lucky owner. The 9-3 Aero Turbo has a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 217 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque, wonderfully mated to a six-speed manual transmission. It will be auctioned off later this year, and it's hard to tell how much it will command. Though we wouldn't exactly pony up top dollar for it, it'll be worth a good sum to a Saab collector.
The last batch of Saab 9-3s amounted to only 420 units before NEVS ended production. NEVS showed off this particular model at Trollhattän last weekend during the annual Saab Car Museum Festival. The car will be auctioned off in August of this year, and it will be interesting to see how much money it commands.
