Saab's future style made its debut at the Detroit Motor Show on the new 9-4X luxury sports-utility vehicle. The VW Touareg-sized 4x4 features styling cues inside and out that will feature on all future Saabs, according to the company.

External features include a new, bolder treatment of the Saab grille and wraparound front and rear windscreens, while inside the driver's cockpit area is bolder, with a less vertical dashboard than on current Saab models. Interior trim colours feature distinctly 'Scandinavian' colours. Adams acknowledges that rival Volvo is also taking a similar approach, but believes that both brands will benefit.

The new Saab 9-4X is likely to be built in North America. Sales are expected to be roughly split 50:50 between Europe and North America. Saab believe that it makes sense to build it in America because of exchange rates, and because a Cadillac crossover will use the same architecture as the 9-4X.

The car is likely to go on sale "by the end of 2009". The prototype at Detroit has a flex-fuel 2-litre turbo petrol engine developing 300bhp. Its styling will carry through to future Saabs, including a small '9-1' concept expected at the London Motor Show in July. Saab's design team was looking at both Audi A3-sized concepts and smaller, Mini-sized cars. The plan is designed to re-establish Saab as a "cool" brand again, based on cars such as the original 99 and 900 Turbo of the late 1970s. Saab sales have fallen to just 127,000 units worldwide and just 32,700 in the US.

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