The 2010 Saab 9-5 will be in a unique and critical position once it launches, being the flagship of a company in transition and in desperate need of a renaissance. These leaked, uncovered photographs (courtesy of Auto.cz) of the new 9-5 suggest that it will be well-prepared for success in this role.

Stylistically, the next 9-5 is handsome and clean. The side sheetmetal is devoid of superfluous creases, and the car as a whole boasts a simple, slightly swollen look, which is spiced up with a tapering greenhouse mirrored by a chrome-lined scallop just above the rocker panel. Blacked-out A- and B-pillars give the 9-5’s glass the sort of Aero X–inspired jet canopy for which Saab marketers would sell their children, while the roof’s gentle decline from windshield header to softly sloping rear window lends the car a hatchback-like profile that will set longtime Saab aficionados’ hearts aflutter