Only two years after production of the Saab 99
started, work was begun on a new project - X14. It might not have been
quite as exciting as the X designation suggested, but it did have a
revolutionary effect on the approach to motoring in many quarters.
Essentially, it was a hatchback - a cross between a comfortable family
saloon and an out-and-out station wagon - called the Combi
Coupé.
The Saab 99 Combi Coupé entered the market just after the New
Year in 1974. Shortly before, Saab had wondered wether the Combi
Coupé hatchback concept might not be a good idea for the Saab 96 as
well.
The Saab Design Centre, under the leadership of Björn Envall,
produced sketches for the 1974 Saab 98, on the floorplan of a Saab
95.
The prototype was manufactured by the Italian Coggiola. But the Saab
management did not think the Saab 98 was worth developing. Apart from
that, there was already the Saab 95 as
a practical family car of a size just below that of the Saab 99
Combi Coupé.
The experimental Saab 98 was painted in one of the 1974 new colours,
Sienna brown, and had the same model years new front grille of plastic. A
neat, driveable tin box of which only one exists.