Saab will decide within the next few months whether to build a small car to compete with similarly sized premium models from Audi and BMW, said the chief of Dutch carmaker Spyker, which bought the Swedish company this year.
Victor Muller, the CEO of Spyker, said he was deep in talks with potential partners about procuring a platform for the '92', a revival of a tear-drop-shaped Saab model from 60 years ago.
The decision whether to go forward with the new model, which would be introduced in 2013 at the earliest and be the first car fully designed under Spyker's stewardship, would depend on economic conditions, partners and financing, Muller said.
"That is my job for the next 100 days," Muller said on Wednesday at a launch event for Saab's new 95 flagship model, the first since Spyker took over Saab in January in an audacious $400 million deal with General Motors.
Saab under Spyker is hoping to restore buzz and sales to the Swedish brand after it languished under GM and saw sales plummet to just under 40,000 cars last year from around 130,000 five years ago.
The new 92, if built, would be aimed at a fast-growing car segment for premium small cars, which includes BMW's MINI -- a revival of the English Mini Cooper -- and the new Audi A1 which launches this summer as well as Fiat's 500.
"The 92 has to be the most stunning looking, the most ingenious and the most premium car. It has to undeniably be a Saab," Muller said.
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