If anyone had asked my what my favourite Saab concept car was prior to last weekend I probably would have tossed a coin between the Saab 9-3x concept and the Saab Aero-X. I’d find it very hard to split them and rightfully so. The 9-3x was exciting, full of utility, good looks, speed and promise. The Aero-X was just flat out amazing – and both cars were much better in the flesh than in pictures.
Now, having seen images only of the Saab 9-X Air in it’s natural surroundings (the Saab Museum in Trollhattan), I think I might have a new favourite.
The Saab Aero-X
The Saab Aero-X is a stunning vehicle and if I’m to be objective, it probably deserved the mantle as Saab’s best concept car prior to this. The Aero-X was so unexpected and so radical that it literally took the world by storm and for a brief period, it put Saab’s name front-and-center before the entire automotive world.
The car’s sweeping, aggressive lines and that brilliant canopy top were truly a sight to behold. There isn’t a single angle from which you can view this car and avoid melting like a silly, hormone driven teenager.
The Aero-X is all the more significant because the styling used on that car will define much of the visual language we see from Saab in coming years. It will be the mother of all Saabs for some time to come.
But the Saab 9-X Air is coming to mean more to me. And here’s why…..
The Saab 9-X Air…a message from the future
The Saab 9-X Air incorporates all the important styling cues from the Aero X concept car and takes them a step further, incorporating new interior elements from the 9-X BioHybrid concept.
It’s got the Nesbitt nose:
And the Aero X’s signature tail lamps across the back:
Above all that, it’s also got a brand new roof system that Saab have been working on for some time now. We haven’t seen it yet, much to our own dismay, but I first heard about (and mentioned) this new convertible system around mid-2007. This is something Saab have been working on for some time and are serious about bringing to market. Only they know when it’ll be ready for viewing, and I hope it’s soon.
…..and a nod to the past
One of the things that I love so much about the 9-X Air is that it combines two elements that have bought a great deal of success to Saab in the past: the convertible vehicle and Sixten Sason design.
To say that one of the world’s most popular convertibles coming from Scandinavia is a surprise would be an understatement, but Saab made the convertible their own back in the 1980s and it’s been an iconic model for them ever since. To see the Saab convertible range continue based on this concept vehicle in a few years from now would be a dream come true.
Not only does it look fantastic (I mean, seriously, is there any way you could resist driving one of these if you had a chance. Seriously.) it continues the tradition of the ragtop. This is just my humble opinion, but a cloth top is what a convertible’s supposed to be and it brought me undiluted joy when I first saw pictures of the cloth top on this car – even if does look a little like it’s wearing a hairpiece.
And the Sason thing? Let me show you those two photos again. It’s actually there for all to see in the background of this first one:
That red car you see in the background is Sixten Sason’s proposal for the Saab Sonett II, a car called Catherina. Several people have commented on it in comments, and I can only assume it was intentional that the rear end of the 9-X Air 
shares the same rear characteristics with the winged rear deck (you Saab designers reading this will have to forgive my lack of design vocabulary).
There’s not many images of the back of Catherina on the web and sho wasn’t on display when I visited the Saab Museum last year, so you’ll have to make do with this small shot. The 9-X Air’s rear deck and it’s similarity with that of Catherina, even on this small thumbnail shot, is quite pronounced and I’d find it very hard to believe it was accidental.
This, to me, is a wonderful gesture from Saab’s designers toward the pioneering work that Sason did in defining the Saab design language. That they’ve been able to combine it so fluidly with the Aero-X’s design cues make it the perfect blend of past and future – and all tied up in one of Saab’s iconic model lines – the convertible.
But maybe even more important than that……
The Saab 9-X: very buildable
The Aero-X, as much as we all wanted one, was always going to be a million-to-one-shot to get built. It was a statement, a commitment, a pointer to the future. The 9-X Air is something else all together.
The 9-X Air employs a real-world convertible mechanism that Saab have been working on for ages and it’s my understanding that it’s one they’re serious about bringing to market.
The 9-X Air was designed to be a convertible compliment to the 9-X BioHybrid, which was originally conceived as a smaller Saab, most likely to be built on the Delta architecture and called the Saab 9-1. Since then, we’ve learned that the 9-1 is up in the air, somewhat, and that the 9-3 will be ‘rightsized’ down from Epsilon to Delta. The 9-3 must have a convertible, so I can easily envisage the 9-X Air being re-size to suit and added to the range.
The bottom line: where the Aero-X was designed purely to inspire, the 9-X Air has its roots in a realistic need for Saab and therefore must be a real possibility for production.
The Saab convertible of the future?
Only time will tell. Saab don’t have a great track record for bringing concept cars to production. It’s my sincere hope that that record improves with the 9-X Air.
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Just point it towards my place and let it go!
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Just point it towards my place and let it go!
Mate it won’t get down your mountain of a driveway
a.
Swade, you’re right on.
I especially like the fact that 9-x Air has some futuristic/revolutionary aspects (e.g. the canopy top) but on the other hand it is very realistic concept car.
When the 9-3 Air comes out (would I dare top hope), I will buy myself one.
Lets see :
2010 : replacement of the car of my wife. So I won’t need any car expenses untill 2014.
2014 : If Djup Struppe is right, the next 9-3 will come out in 2011. So it will probably be on sale in 2012. The convertible then probably will be presented in 2013 to go on sale in 2014.
Yes ! I know what my next car will be !
Note to GM : please, please, please, please, …
The EV-1 is my favourite, and still looks modern some 20-odd years since it was produced.
I reckon Saab should quit producing waste-of-time concept vehicles that they lack the balls to make reality, and instead focus on getting new models into showrooms.
I think the 9x Air really captures the essence of Saab which is in part the ability to «go where no other car manufacturer has ever been» – a major achievement in today’s context where there is much more competition than in the old Saab days. Just think of the premium Asian manufacturers which weren’t event present back then. Sure the Aero X is even more Saabish in that regards but it is really confined to the show car circuit whereas the Air passes the «productionability» reality check.
Unfortunately, the latest bad news about the sinking mother ship is that they delayed the introduction of the most crucial car for it’s survival, and I’m not talking of the ego-pumping Volt. I’m talking a real global car for real people for today’s real situation, the Chevy Cruze. Delaying a much needed bread and butter product sure doesn’t bode well for costly sideline experiments like Saab.
Let’s build it GM. Go with what you know and it will work. LET SAAB HELP YOU. Little brothers DO teach big brothers from time to time. NOW would be a good time to give it a try.
Maybe this calls for a poll? Was there a poll like this already? I have a bad memory.
It’s election time in the U.S. so I’m sure that yet another poll is necessary…
I guess list every Saab concept car from the EV-1 to the 9-X Air. Include minor ones like the “BioPower Beast” and the BioPower 100.
It’s funny to me that of the 10 or so concept cars (I’m guessing on the final count) Saab has ever done, 90% of those have come in the past eight years…
Off the top of my head:
EV-1
9X
9-3X
9-3 BioPower Hybrid Convertible
Aero-X
9-5 BioPower Concept (“BioPower Beast”)
BioPower 100
9-4X BioPower
9-X BioHybrid
9-X Air
I would have said that my favourite is the Aero-X, or the 9-X Air coupé-photoshop which i would I-M-M-E-D-I-A-T-E-L-Y buy!!!!
Hands down the Aero X is my favorite 10 times out of 10. Then it’s the 9X. Next would be this 9X Air.
If given the choice I would take the Aero X and/or 9X over this concept.
If either of the 9-X twins make it to production they’ll be my favorite Saab concept car, both of them have the potential to be a real segment-buster the way the TT was for Audi and the Mini was for BMW. They have that “wow” factor that should pretty much ensure that they’ll never clog Saab’s lots, especially as sporty 200hp hybrids.
Otherwise, my favorite concept is the yet-to-be-seen NG9-5, because it should be the first time we’ll see a heavily Aero-X looking Saab product that’s actually destined for the dealerships where it can actually HELP Saab sell cars. Hopefully it has the same “wow!” factor that the 9-X twins have.
My favouite concepts are:
1, 9-3X Crossover Coupe
2, 9X
3, EV-1
4, 900 SVO (The birth of the Viggen)
4, Aero-X
5, 9-X Air
6, 9-X BH
My least favourite and the only one to make it into production this decade) was the 9-3 Sport Hatch concept. It was just an overdue wagon and not much else.
The Donkey!
Saab was an icon, when it was affordable and a turbo donkey.
If saab is gonna expand in Asia (probably the only growth
market the next 3 years), it needs to improve its street cred
by racing with the japs, and not cruising with the germans.
9x-air has the potential to do just that, but the price has to
come down in the same way as the body size now is shrinking.
If the canopy top can cut cost as well as weight, make
an entry model affordable for the common man.
If due to the clever folding, the canopy-top can give a proper
boot, then the “donkey” factor has been resurrected.
Opposite to the idea that it needs to be a premium brand,
selling for premium dollars, the brand needs to be truly
scandinavian in content not only by its look;
Make 9x-air, a turbo convertible for all, making the newly
poor-professionals of the post stockmarket world, dream
of saabs.
Dont make saab into an overpriced arty mini cooper, the
world has moved on.
If I had to vote for a favorite concept (okay, two favorites), I’d vote for the 9X (Michael Mauer), followed by the 9-3X (also Mauer). These two cars (IMHO) could have been brilliant successors to the classic 900 and the first-gen 9-3. Although I’d love to see an Aero-X (shaped) halo car for Saab, Saab needs a stunner of a real-world performance car. If you have to garage it the first time the snow falls, it’s not a Saab! Anyway, what the hell are you going to put in that little underwear drawer in the back of your Aero-X?
The Aero-X is a beautiful car, but to me a Saab concept has to demonstrate brilliant utility. A concept car is (to me at least) more exciting when it’s not too far-fetched to become a production car. And since we can’t go back in time, I’m hoping the 9-X BH will be the one to see the light of day. Just as a side note…the brilliant EV-1 has technology which would still be relevant if implemented today. It’s stuff that people can use in the REAL WORLD!
Saab should make a 2009 EV-2 based on the original concept car EV-1.
Its a brilliant 80s style design that actually feels more modern than the
“air” that looks like a pimped up Catherina.
Publicity vice, it would be a no-brainer to show that saabs environmental credibility
is not a fashion for the day, but a deeply rooted thinking, displaying the old and new
EV on the car-show circuit.
Imagine the evolution of the grill of the EV-2, into an electric super car. A tesla beater.
The original EV-1 was a technological driven concept with its solar panel roof, in
the same way as the 9x-air, is derived from the innovation of the canopy-top, and
aero-x its wrap-around window.
Before saab gets back to making production cars, please give us one more prototype.
The Saab Aero-X
What a great car !
The best of human intelligence
What happens if it is raining and the passenger wants to step out of the car
This car has a reserved place in the museum of human idiosy.