The Most Badass Saab Isn’t a Car
Saab Group is still one of Scandinavia’s most powerful defense firms, just as it has been for 75 years.
It played out like a tragic Gothic saga. Saab, the quirky Swedish automaker with a cult following, gobbled up by General Motors—only to be chewed up and spit out, bankrupt. A parade of potential buyers, from Koenigsegg to a Russian banking combine, teased a buyout. No luck. In the end, Saab Automobile AB was consolidated as NEVS (National Electric Vehicle Sweden) in 2012, a joint venture between Chinese and Japanese investors. Since then: rumors, teases, false starts, lawsuits, prototypes, delays and more rumors. Now, NEVS says it'll produce five new models by 2018. Color us skeptical.
But just because the company isn’t building series production cars doesn’t mean it’s gone. Not even close. Saab Group is still one of Scandinavia’s most powerful defense firms, just as it has been since the Forties. Radars. Planes. Helicopters. Missiles. Saab builds or supplies components for all of ’em. So, in case you’d forgotten just how badass this company is, here’s a quick rundown of Saab’s work past and present.
