27 Feb 06 17:39
One of the most-anticipated concept cars of the show, Saab's Aero X isn't, says the company, the precursor to a production model, but a pure for-show car, a brand-building exercise and an indication of a bolder future design direction. That'll be further exploiting - sorry, drawing upon - Saab's aeronautical heritage then, just in case you hadn't realised yet that the company was born from an aircraft firm.
This two-seater has, instead of doors or windscreen pillars, a wraparound cockpit canopy, as on a jet plane. This gives a pilot 180-degree vision, and with remote controlled opening upwards and forwards via articulated hinges, it also makes for easy entry and exit. Stylistically, it's also a stretched version of the traditional wraparound windscreen used in the 99 and original 900 models. Shown off to full advantage by the show car's white pearlescent paint and dark-tinted glass, the canopy - with a water-repellent coating and anti-UV protection - incorporates the typically Saab curve at the top where it meets the roof section.
The Aero X's exterior is almost ornament-free - no door handles, rubbing strips or spoilers - but there are a few nods to aircraft design in the front air intake ducts, the "turbofan" design of the 11-spoke alloy wheels (22-inch up front, 23-inch to the rear) and the wing-like design of the front grille and its central section. As the entire front section is a one-piece structure, the design is unbroken by shut-lines or panel gaps, giving an appearance similar to an aircraft fuselage. The only for-the-sake-of-it decoration is on the rearview mirrors, which have an aluminium bottom section meant to reflect the appearance of tiny wings.
Under the direction of GM Europe's Bryan Nesbitt, designers Anthony Lo, Alex Daniel and Erik Rokke were also keen to emphasise Saab's Scandinavian roots. "The glass industry and the manufacturing of precision instruments is very strong in southern Sweden where we are based", explained Rokke. "We have seen how glass surfaces are treated to give various optical effects, how light is used with glass and how instrument displays possess a very clear, precise imagery. It was very natural for us to use this as an inspiration on the Aero X." Techniques such as sand-blasting, polishing and laser-etching were used to create the instrument panel, a development of the current production "night panel" with similar green-lit displays and 3D images across acrylic screens; it has been totally stripped of any physical gauges or dials, with all lighting by LEDs, and there is no wood or chrome trim - it's all black or bare carbonfibre, contrasting with the white leather upholstery of the large, well-bolstered pair of seats.
"It was very important to keep the interior consistent with the exterior character of the car," added Rokke. "We have eliminated any frills or traditional luxury features because it is not part of our Scandinavian design tradition." The only showy detail is an aluminium handle to operate the canopy from the inside, though this is part of a unit which also contains a starter button and controls for sequential-shift gear selection. The only other buttons in the cabin are nearby: toggle switches for the air conditioning, sat nav and entertainment systems.
The front headlamps have single LEDs for full and dipped beams - to feature in upcoming production cars - and projector lenses, highlighted in the daytime by green down-lit LEDs. All the rear lamps are housed within a single white bar rather than in clusters. The main design feature at the rear is a black section below the rear window, a piece of exposed carbonfibre intended to resemble the exhaust and afterburner chamber of a jet. This covers a remote-controlled storage drawer for luggage, which also sits below a cargo deck accessed via the opening rear tailgate window.
The Aero X is just a showcase prototype, but it is fitted with a 400bhp/500Nm Biopower version of the Holden-sourced 2.8 V6, equipped with a pair of turbos and capable of running on pure ethanol - which allows for a higher compression ratio and thus a higher power output. The Aero X has not hit the test track, but Saab's computer simulations reckon the car could be capable of 0-60mph in 4.9 seconds and a top speed (electronically limited) of 155mph; not only is the engine powerful, the car itself is relatively lightweight at 1500kg, thanks to carbonfibre bodywork. Helping to make the best of the performance potential, it's four-wheel drive with variable torque-split, a 50:50 front:rear axle weight distribution and electronically-controlled suspension with continuously-variable damping (a front double-wishbone/coil spring layout and multilink set-up to the rear). The transmission is a seven-speed automated manual system with double-clutch - a similar system to the Volkswagen-Audi DSG gearbox - and steering wheel-mounted paddles for sequential-shift mode.
At just 50 inches high (1276mm), with short front and rear overhangs, the Aero X has almost supercar dimensions, though it's no tiddler at 4675mm long and 1918mm wide. The driver and passenger sit low down, too, which gives the benefit of generous headroom besides a sporting feeling. Saab says that the Aero X is "the most driver-focussed design" it has yet produced; it does look the part, but perhaps its main achievement is to successfully combine retro "heritage" elements with futuristic ideas. "The future is about looking back, as well as forward", said Lo, "so we can interpret the special qualities that go to make up what a brand stands for. However, in giving products a clear identity, we should not feel restricted by previous design conventions, and the Aero X explores new ways of expressing what Saab stands for".
Just to push the aeronautical theme home further, the show car is kitted out with "Soul Flyer" gear by sports kit-maker Salomon - wingsuits for free-flying, a type of sky-diving which allows the jumpers to glide around rather than simply falling to the earth. It's not all mad pie-in-the-sky, though; we'd guess that features showcased in this car, such as the active suspension management, the seven-speed automated manual gearbox and the four-wheel drive system, are all destined for production Saabs and other GM vehicles in the future.
