Koenigsegg buys Saab: The automotive gods may smile upon us once again

Koenigsegg CCX

The news came out earlier this week that the tiny Swedish supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg, which makes the beautiful and ferocious CCX supercar, has purchased the ailing Saab, which is also a Swedish automaker but has been under the ownership of GM since 1991.

This is huge news. In fact, this is unprecedented in all of automotive history.

In every previous example of automakers changing hands and answering to new owners, it has always been a large automaker that typically mass-produces cars for the general public that buys out the smaller and more obscure automaker that produces exotic or quirky cars that appeal only to a small part of the driving population. The smaller automaker, which started out as an innovative company with fresh ideas, was usually absorbed into the bigger company; its unique methods exploited and its intent redirected solely at improving the bigger company's bottom line instead of advancing technology.

In this case, Koenigsegg, an automaker which employs all of 45 people, which builds cars that exceed 200mph that cost over $1 million each, at a rate of 18 a year... has purchased Saab, an automaker that employs over 3000 people, and while its sales are at record lows this year, thus requiring restructuring aid from the Swedish government and forcing bankrupt GM to sell it... they're still way ahead of Koenigsegg at 98,000.

Regardless, if Koenigsegg injects some of its own remarkable automotive insight and engineering prowess into Saab, then I truly believe we will see one of the greatest resurgences of intelligent and progressive automobile manufacturing of the 21st century.

Saab 900 Turbo

I like Saab. Well, I did anyway. I liked Saab when they used to build quirky, anti-status-quo, and well-engineered cars. I admit that the original Saab 900 of the 80s and early 90s was a bit too quirky with its backwards engine (yes, the engine was backwards... the clutch was easier to change than the drivebelts), but I like the things that made Saab unique: for example, their dedication to turbocharging technology (which has been proven time and again to not just boost engine power but overall efficiency as well) and their center-console-mounted ignition switches (since many front-impact injuries occur from the driver's knee hitting the ignition switch, Saab relocates it as a safety feature).

Unfortunately, under GM's horrendous leadership, Saab is forced to rummage through GM parts bins and blueprints, slap their own badges on them, and claim they're "born from jets."
 

Saab 9-5

The only Saab design remaining in their current lineup is the 2.3L 4cyl "Ecopower" engine in the 9-5. That is actually a very old Saab design that hearkens back all the way to the aforementioned Saab 900. Although a 2.3L 4cyl engine doesn't sound like much in a high-end car like the 9-5, it's healthily turbocharged to 260hp. While a 9-5 doesn't post quite as good of 0-60 or top speed numbers as its BMW and Mercedes competitors, it is notorious for one thing: midrange power. A Saab 9-5 can accelerate from 40-70mph in 2nd gear faster than a Porsche 911 Turbo. If your commute to work involves merging onto the highway, no luxury sedan is more capable of the task.

Unfortunately though, that's the only shining star in Saab's lineup. The 9-5, regardless of its magnificent engine, is built on a European GM chassis, the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, which is known as being one of the worst-handling front-wheel-drive cars of all time. The 9-3 is a GM Epsilon platform, shared with the Chevrolet Malibu, Pontiac G6, and Saturn Aura. Decent cars they may be, but they're no world-class sports sedans. The base engine in the 9-3 is a 2.0L turbo 4cyl which is essentially an GM Ecotec engine; the Aero has a 2.8L turbo V6, again a GM engine, and an old one at that. The now-defunct 9-2X sports wagon was just a rebadged Subaru Impreza, reminiscent of GM's interest in Subaru a few years ago. Finally, the biggest blunder of all... the 9-7X SUV, which is a Chevrolet Trailblazer with $14,000 of Saab badges on it, really demonstrates the death grip GM has on Saab's operations - although they did allow the Saab engineers to relocate their ignition switch to the center console just to make them happy.

Clearly, Saab needs help, and it's not going to come from Government Motors.

Koenigsegg was founded in 1994 by Christian von Koenigsegg, a 21-year-old entrepreneur who was inspired as a child to manufacture supercars by a puppet film about race cars. In 2002, Koenigsegg introduced its first supercar, the CC8S. Powered by a supercharged 4.7L Ford 'Modular' V8, it accelerated to 60mph in 3.5 seconds and achieved a staggering 242mph, which made it the fastest supercar in the world until the 253-mph Bugatti Veyron was introduced in 2006.

But Koenigsegg wasn't out of the game by any means. It did something virtually unheard of in the modern automotive world: it developed its own engine. The new 4.7L V8 is designed from valve covers to oil pan by Koenigsegg, is force fed by twin centrifugal superchargers, is lubricated by an externally-cooled dry-sump oil system, and is capable of producing an astounding 806hp on US-issue 91-octane pump gas. Even more impressive, however, is its ability to run on an E85 ethanol blend, which increases its horsepower figure 25%, up to an unimaginable 1018hp. That's no typo. One thousand eighteen horsepower.

Koenigsegg CCXR

That engine appears in the CC8S's replacement, the CCX. The E85-burning version of the engine appears in the CCXR.

The CCX's body is a composite of carbon fiber and Kevlar, and its chassis is an aluminum honeycomb structure that boasts extraordinary strength while being extremely lightweight. The entire car weighs less than 3000lbs, and is extremely aerodynamic with a 0.30 drag coefficient. Much technology from Formula 1 racing is utilized, including using the engine and transmission as a stressed weight-bearing member of the chassis, and traction control borrowed straight from F1 that helps the driver keep the car under control without detracting from the driving experience.

The CCX is currently the world's third-fastest supercar, behind the Bugatti Veyron and the SSC Ultimate Aero. But only the CCX can claim that it is designed from start to finish in-house by its parent manufacturer, as Bugatti is owned by VW and uses a VW engine, and the Ultimate Aero uses a heavily modified Corvette engine.

Clearly, Koenigsegg has the expertise, resources, and technology to be one of the world's greatest supercar manufacturers.

Now, with its new Saab subsidiary, it has the opportunity to pass down some of that automotive excellence to everyday cars that you and I can afford.