Saab 92, the Swedish MINI Built with BMW

All those voices who have been asking for a smaller Saab, one which could fit well on the city's streets, appear to have been heard by the Swedish carmaker's new owner, Victor Muller. The answer to all those voices: Saab 92, a car which is to be built together with German manufacturer BMW.

The preview of the 92 was given by Muller in an interview with AutoExpress. According to the CEO, the future mini-Saab will be based on the front wheel drive BMW platform the German carmaker will use on a new MINI, as well as on the future 1 Series.

Under the hood of the car will be small capacity engines, for low fuel consumption figures, all turbocharged for better performances. A possible hybrid or electric version is not entirely ruled out, given the fact that Saab will begin testing 100 electric units of Saab 9-3 next year.

The car is part of Saab's mid-term product plan, so it's likely we'll hear some more of the smallest Saab in the months to come.

Coincidentally or not, last week we brought you a few photos depicting the Saab 91. Not quite a Trollhattan-sanctioned project, but an independent preview of a possible Saab A1 contender. Created by Italian designer Fabio Ferrante together with a few Saab fans, the 91 is intended to be an open-source project, to which anybody can contribute.

Of course, this is probably not how the future 92 will look like, but given the not so conservatory approach Victor Muller has when it comes to his newly acquired company, we wouldn't be surprised to see some of the design cues integrate into the 92.