The Norwegian designer and financier who controls much of Koenigsegg and who is seen by many as the driving force behind the Swedish super car manufacturer’s offer to buy Saab from General Motors, says he wants to return the small brand to its glory days.
“ Saab has to refine their quality level, their soul and spirit and we believe that this is something we can help with,” Baard Eker said in a telephone interview with Reuters.
Eker, a major figure at Koenigsegg , helped secure financing to purchase Saab . Eker’s design firm owns 49 percent of Koenigsegg.
Though he said it was too early to even speculate the specific changes he wants to make to Saab, he says that the company will need to work to create a more environmentally-friendly automaker, albeit one with the high margins necessary of a small company.
“So far we haven’t seen much in terms of environmentally friendly cars from the big (players),” he said. “That is something the smaller companies can more easily attend to because it is much quicker to turn around a smaller company.”
Ironically, he says that his vision is not far off of what GM hoped to do with the brand.
“The most interesting thing is that GM thinks the same,” Eker said.
