Saab Aero X: Official Release

[CSpec]

Saab Aero X Concept Showcases Future Design Themes

• Inspired by aviation and Scandinavian brand heritage

• Previews more progressive design language

• Innovative opening canopy eliminates doors and windshield pillars

• 'Green Power' from 400 bhp BioPower engine using 100% bioethanol fuel

The Saab Aero X concept harnesses the power of Saab's aviation and Scandinavian roots to make a unique statement in performance car design. Conceived as a study to explore future design directions, its innovative features preview the development of an enhanced design language that will inspire future Saab products.

As you would expect from Saab, this dynamic two-seater sports coupé breaks with automotive design convention both outside and inside.

First, there are no doors…or windshield pillars. That's because the Saab Aero X adopts a cockpit canopy, just as you would see on a jet aircraft. It offers the Aero X pilot full 180 degree vision, and also facilitates entry and exit from its low-slung cabin.

Thrust for the all-wheel-drive Saab Aero X also comes from a powerplant with a difference. The 400 bhp, twin-turbo, BioPower V6 engine is fueled entirely by bioethanol, a sustainable energy source that is kinder to the environment by cutting fossil CO2 emissions. The 'green power' of this advanced engine gives new meaning to the phrase 'performance with responsibility'.

Inside, the Saab Aero X's cockpit also adds a new dimension to clean Scandinavian interior design by completely eliminating conventional dials and buttons. Instead, Saab has applied techniques derived from Swedish glass and precision instrument making, displaying data on glass-like acrylic 'clear zones' in graphic 3-D images.

All exterior and interior lighting is by LED (light-emitting diode), which has given the design team new freedoms to exploit the compact packaging benefits of a technology that will be featured increasingly in future Saab products.

With weight-saving carbon fiber bodywork, a lightweight powertrain, electronically-controlled suspension and all-wheel drive, the Saab Aero X is an exciting driver's car that promises a level of performance to match its looks. Computer simulations anticipate zero to 100 kph in just 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 250 kph (limited).

Despite being so tightly driver focused, the Aero X still offers surprising practicality, again, a quality you would expect to find in all Saab designs. That dramatically sculpted tail conceals a useful twin storage facility, with a conventional hatch opening and sliding drawer underneath.

"This study shows how the strength of the Saab brand heritage can inspire bold, innovative design," says Bryan Nesbitt, Executive Director, GM Design Europe. "As we move forward with new Saab product, we will remain focused on carefully cultivating this brand equity in the context of Scandinavian design values."

"This concept shows the exciting possibilities that are open to us as we evolve a more progressive design language for the brand," says Jan Åke Jonsson, Saab Automobile's Managing Director. "Our designers, engineers and marketers in Sweden are ideally placed to nurture and communicate the unique DNA of the Saab brand. Their work will ensure that future product proposals express core qualities, such as progressive design, sporty performance and emotional functionality, in a way that is specific to Saab."

The Saab Aero X is the latest in series of concepts from Saab, each accentuating different brand qualities. These include the 'four-dimensional' 9X (IAA Frankfurt 2001), the 9-3X Cross-over Coupé (Detroit 2002) and the 9-3 Sport Hatch (IAA Frankfurt 2003).

[CSpec]

I see a lot of this:

[pow]

Maybe Saab can sell the rights to Koenigsegg... have them make it.

[Northstar]

Damn, 0-62 in 4.9s? That's sweet.

The interior is really cool without pillarless, but they'd have to device some sort of rollover protection if that was to be a production feature of some car in the future.

I think Saab has a good shot at growing in future years if this concept foreshadows future styling.

[Drew Dowdell]

Yoi! That think looks like it'd be a bitch to get in and out of. I'm always banging an arm or a leg on the dog leg of my friend's '57 Century with Skew-View windshield. That thing would take your leg *off*!

[Bimmer325]

I'm in LOVE with that interior.

Something about it says Audi, only cooler.

And who would've though teal guage lighting could look so hot?

[AAS]

So, is this the Sonnet concept that we have been waiting to see?

I like the interior, and the cockpit idea is cool (but can you imagine opening it when it's raining, ie. never see it in production). And... I also see tons of the Saturn concept in the front end.

[KaliRover]

This car make's me smile. Love it!

[PurdueGuy]

so much for rolling down a window... but overall it's sweet.

[balthazar]

Chrysler had a few concepts with the same 'lift-canopy' design back in the '60s. Those didn't see production either. I do like the stator-blade wheels, but those will also never see the light of day.

This one is exciting overall for this 'class', which is why saab-philes will reject any major portion of it which reaches the showroom. But since that's an ever-dwindling group, perhaps it's a risk worth taking (may bring in a whole new customer base).

Saturn Curve still looks a whole lot fresher.

'61 Chrysler TurboFlite:

Edited March 4, 2006 by balthazar

[regfootball]

love the interior but i actually prefer the saturn concept exterior to the Aero x's.

[sciguy_0504]

It would be cool if Saab's cars were actually close to this. I mean, even 5% would be a huge difference.

[!!!TED!!!]

Be sure to check out the official webpage also: http://www2.saabusa.com/aerox/US/en/index.html

And this awesome video: http://www2.saabusa.com/aerox/common_files..._Exhibition.mov

[Aerodynamic]

This one is exciting overall for this 'class', which is why saab-philes will reject any major portion of it which reaches the showroom. But since that's an ever-dwindling group, perhaps it's a risk worth taking (may bring in a whole new customer base).

to bad everyone in the saab community loves it!

-Kaylan Marie

[Croc]

to bad everyone in the saab community loves it!

-Kaylan Marie 

Heh...obviously you're seeing some of our members' tendancies to project their own biases on people they know nothing about.

Glad to hear a REAL representative from the SAAB Community to set the record straight!

[Sixty8panther]

Croc:

It either case it's just ONE person's oppinion. I think the concept is great overall but I do agree that SAABs of the past decade have not come far in terms of styling. The current Gen. 9\3 has fantastic proportions and a very good sense of how a European car should look, outside of that SAAB is in Dire Straights, and I'm not talking about the band that beat out Jackson's "Thriller" in the UK charts in 1983.

So yeah, I say build it, I even like the Subaru-ish grille... someone send a memo ot SAAB and tell them Subaru now belongs to Toyota.

P.S. That mouse-interfface-i-Drive-shifter-B.S. is horrible!!!

[Sixty8panther]

[ZL-1]

I love the concept, and I'm in love with those wheels: they look just like jet engine blades!

Still have some doubts about the concept:

Is it a rolling concept? Did they borrow a Corvette/XLR architecture for this?

[corvettekidc6]

I love the concept, and I'm in love with those wheels: they look just like jet engine blades!

Still have some doubts about the concept:

Is it a rolling concept? Did they borrow a Corvette/XLR architecture for this?

I noticed that too, they do look like the front of a turbine engine. I bet they did borrow the architecture from the Corvette or the XLR, it would be a good base for it if it was a producton model. This in my opinion could be the thing that saves Saab. They should make all their cars as cool as this one.