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).

Concept rationale: Opening Up New Horizons

The Saab Aero X concept is a dynamic, two-seater sports coupé that showcases two core brand elements: Saab''s aviation heritage and its Scandinavian roots. Here designers Anthony Lo, Alex Daniel and Erik Rokke, who conceived this study at design operations in Sweden, explain its significance.

The muscular shape of the Saab Aero X clearly signals its role as a high performance driver''s car, while its looks and visual appeal show this is a design that could only come from Saab. With innovative features typical of the brand and thrust from a 400 bhp, twin-turbo BioPower engine, it opens up new horizons for Saab''s development.

"This car has given us the opportunity to push out the boundaries of Saab design, to explore new directions without any constraint," explains Anthony Lo, GME''s Director of Advanced Design. "It represents our vision of what a high performance car from Saab could look like. In making such a strong statement, it is probably the most self-expressive, emotional design Saab has ever produced.

"We have focused on harnessing the visual potential of Saab''s aviation roots, as well as introducing design elements in lighting and instrumentation that have been inspired by our Scandinavian experience."

The car''s most striking visual feature - the front-opening glass canopy - combines two themes, aviation and Saab design tradition. While parallels with jet aircraft are obvious, the canopy also ''stretches'' a more conventional Saab signature, the wrap-around windshield.

The first Saab 99/900 models introduced this feature, bending the glass screen round at its front corners to meet the A-pillars. The ''cockpit'' look is now taken to its extreme on the Aero X, with the A-pillars eliminated altogether. By contrasting dark, tinted glazing with the pearlescent white of the show car''s bodywork, the extended wrap-around screen is emphasized even further. The role of this feature as a key Saab ''identifier'' is also underlined by the familiar curvature of the top of the screen, where it meets roof section, which echoes the ''peaked cap'' look of previous Saabs.

The purity of the exterior design is reflected by the clean surfaces, notable for an absence of ''furniture'' such as door handles, rubbing strips or even spoilers. "To maintain the analogy of an aircraft fuselage, the lines had to be kept stretched and smooth flowing, without attracting the eye to any particular point," adds Daniel.

Glass theme
An innovative use of glass with illumination by LED (light emitting diode) is a recurring theme, both outside and inside the Aero X. "Apart from visualizing the brand''s links with aviation, this is the other main theme of the car," explains Erik Rokke, principle designer of the interior.

Inside, the Aero X continues a Saab tradition in refining the man/machine interface to clearly and safely present driver information. In a development of the Night Panel feature on current Saab cars, the entire front fascia and central console display is now a clear zone with layered, acrylic surfaces used to display selected information.

Techniques in sandblasting, polishing and laser-etching from the Swedish glass industry are combined with subtle LED back and side lighting to produce striking ''3-D'' imagery. Green illumination, another Saab tradition based on aviation practice, is retained for optimum clarity.

The design team has also fully exploited the advantages of LEDs - compactness, long life and fast response - in both the front and rear light detailing.

The headlamps incorporate single LEDs for full and dipped beam, previewing a development likely on production cars of the near future. These are located behind projector lenses, the details of which are highlighted in daytime running by green downlighting from small LEDs mounted in the top of the headlamp unit.

At the rear, there are no obvious tail-lights at all. Here, a slim, opaque white bar, resembling the body color, runs across the back of the car. It accommodates LEDs for all rear light functions and when a bulb illuminates its glow is diffused, disguising the pinpoint light source.