With leaked pictures of the car making its way into the Internet a week before its official launch, the Saab Aero-X became one of the most highly anticipated concept cars in the 76th Geneva Motor Show. And when officially unveiled in the auto show, the concept car did not fail any expectation. The vehicle is simply gorgeous, with a very simplistic yet extremely stylish appearance. Beyond all those gorgeous looks, however, is a deeper explanation of its design—because the Saab Aero-X is representative both of Saab’s heritage and of its future design plans.
According to Saab, the Aero-X concept has captured in its design the aeronautical roots of the auto manufacturing company. While others cannot figure out how, the aeronautical theme is actually very evident on the vehicle’s design, which can be better characterized by its lack of components than the presence thereof. The concept car, for example, doesn’t have doors and windows. Instead, those two components were replaced by a wraparound cockpit canopy, reminiscent of those used on Saab jet planes in the past. Inside, the vehicle’s dashboard is also devoid of too many dials and buttons. Instead, driving information is displayed on glass-like acrylic ‘clear zones’ in graphic 3-D images.
Despite capturing Saab’s aviation heritage in its design, the Saab Aero-X concept never lost its futuristic touch. For one, the canopy and dashboard in themselves are already very futuristic. And so are the interior and exterior lights that make extensive use of light emitting diodes (LEDs)—something that we can expect to see on future Saab products.
On the technical side, the Saab Aero-X concept is equipped with a 400 bhp Biopower 2.8-liter V6 engine that is capable of running in pure ethanol. The vehicle is also relatively lightweight (1,500 kg), thanks to its carbon fiber body. Other advance components that can be found on the vehicle include a seven-speed gearbox and steering wheel-mounted paddles for sequential-shift mode.
Indeed, the Saab Aero-X concept is one of the best concept cars showcased in this year’s Geneva Motor Show. Too sad to learn, though, that Saab has no plans of getting the vehicle into production. On the brighter side, however, Saab revealed that some features of the concept vehicle will appear in their future products.