Saab 9-5 Convertible Design Study: What do you Think?

Courtesy of SaabsUnited, the people who provided pics of the nice but ill-proportioned 9-5 Coupe rendering (see here) we recently showed you, here is a look at a second possible 9-5 variant. It's a computer generated image for a large, 4-seater convertible that could compete with the Audi A5 Cabrio in the future world of what-ifs.

Using a traditional soft top and nicely-equipped with a turbo-six and all-wheel drive, this car could be a wonderful option for families looking to buy into the Swedish design scene and who also want a unique mid-size convertible that comfortably seats four.

Even better is the potential for Spyker to move itself down-range a bit and receive its own coachbuilt version of the car (and maybe even the 9-4X crossover).

What say you, dear readers? Is this 9-5 'vert an interesting niche vehicle for the Swedish niche brand, or is it simply a waste of time to hope for this?

By Phil Alex

Source: SaabsUnited , Via: Autoblog.nl

Saab Reveals its First-Ever Pure Electric Model: 9-3 ePower to Debut in Paris

This month's Paris International Motor Show will host the world premiere of Saab's first ever EV, the 9-3 ePower. Based on the SportWagon variant of the current 9-3, the prototype model will lead to a test fleet of 70 vehicles that will participate in field trials in Sweden early next year.

The car is motivated by a 184HP electric motor driving the front wheels through a single-speed transmission. Energy is provided by a compact 35.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack located in a modified floor-pan, in a space occupied by the exhaust system and fuel tank on the standard 9-3 SportWagon

The Swedish automaker says the EV can accelerate from zero to 100km/h (62mph) in a respectable 9.5 seconds and continue on to a top speed of 150km/h or 93mph.

The projected driving range on a full charge is approximately 200 kilometers or about 124 miles. Saab said the battery can be fully recharged from a domestic mains supply in three to six hours, depending on depletion status. However, the company claims charging times can be reduced significantly if the voltage of the electrical feed is raised.

The only noteworthy styling changes over the regular gasoline/diesel models concerns the new gearshift lever that provides selection of 'drive', 'neutral', 'park' and 'reverse', the revised instrument cluster that gains read-outs for battery status, power consumption and driving range, as well as the addition of an electric park brake.

Jan Åke Jonsson, Saab Automobile's CEO said: "By 2015, annual global sales of electric vehicles are expected to reach 500,000 units and Saab is determined to be represented in this important, growing segment."

"The 9-3 ePower programme is our first step towards developing a potential production vehicle that will deliver the sort of advanced performance our customers expect."

The 9-3 ePower is the result of a co-operation between Saab Automobile, Boston Power (batteries), Electroengine in Sweden AB (electric power trains), Innovatum (project management) and Power Circle (Sweden's electric power industry trade organization).

Saab Elektrisk: An Artist's Take on the Swedish Volt

Even if Saab remained under the umbrella of General Motors, we seriously doubt that there would ever be a rebadged, remasked -call it whatever suits your fancy- Saab version of the Chevy Volt. Maybe in a perfect world Saab could have built a Volt spin-off with an entirely different body but with the Opel Ampera covering the European market, a remasked Saab wouldn't make much sense. Still, it's interesting to see an artist's take on a fictional proposal for a Saab Volt. Created by photoshop wiz Theophilus Chin, the rendered Swedish Volt has been baptized for apparent reasons 'Elektrisk'.

Via: Theophiluschin

Saab Fashionista Concept: Design Proposal for a Volt-Based Hybrid Coupe

More often than not, we think that the American automobile industry may have been in a much better state if only the people who are actually engaged in the creation of cars had a say in the decision making. This conceptual proposal for a Chevrolet Volt-based Saab coupe from Mayeul Walser, a 4th year Car Design student in Creapole-Esdi, is a good example. You may or may not like the design, but the idea of an aggressively styled hybrid Saab coupe is more than engaging.

According to Mayeul's description, the concept behind the Saab Fashionista's design was to create a luxurious four-seater coupe that blends the futuristic feel of sci-fi movies with the elegance of products from renowned fashion houses such as Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel.

The 24-year-old design student also claims that while based on the platform of the Volt, he designed the Fashionista to be equipped with a hybrid powertrain coupling a V6 gasoline engine to an electric motor for a (purely theoretical) output of around 300HP.

If it was our choice, we would have opted for a more powerful version of the Volt's plug-in hybrid powertrain to make the project more feasible, but then again, since this is only a pipe-dream concept, why not go for a V6.

Infiniti Future Cars thanks Mayeul Walser for the high-res photos

Video: Saab 9-X Air Convertible Concept

Revealed ahead of its Paris show debut, the 9-X Air concept previews Saab's upcoming 9-1 premium hatch that will rival the likes of the Audi A3, BMW 1-Series and Volvo C30. Equipped with a fabric top that automatically folds in three sections behind the rear seats, the 9-X Air is powered by a 200 HP 1.4-liter turbocharged engine that runs on E85 biofuel and is matted to a hybrid electric motor. Hit the jump to check out the first official video of the 9-X Air that includes an interview with GM Europe’s Vice President of Design, Mark Adams or click here for more details and a high-res image gallery. -Continued

Saab 9-X Air Convertible Concept: 32 High-Res Images and Official Details

Set to make its global premiere at the Paris Motorshow in October, the Saab 9-X Air Concept is the convertible version of the 3door 9-X BioHybrid that was revealed at the Geneva Show in March. And despite its name, this concept is not just a lot of hot air as the Swedish firm intends to use the 9-X models as a base for their forthcoming 9-1 premium hatch that will rival the BMW 1-Series, Volvo C30 and Audi A3. Essentially, the 9-X Air is giving us an idea of what a convertible version of the 9-1 could look like. -Continued

The most unique feature on the 9-X Air is the clever roof system that Saab calls the ‘Canopy Top’. The flat-folding fabric top was developed from a Targa roof principle, hence the prominent C-pillars, or as Saab calls them, buttresses, that provide the rear mounting for the Canopy Top.

The fully automatic fabric top folds into three small sections under a rear tonneau cover in the trunk deck. The rear screen between the buttresses retracts automatically into the underside of the raised tonneau cover to allow stowage of the Canopy Top. The screen then moves back into position to provide a complete glass surround for the cabin in open-top mode.

This ‘surround glass’ feature, together with an active wind deflector on top of the windshield header rail, essentially create a ‘wraparound’ wind deflector net, promising to cut turbulence for all four passengers.

As you may have noticed in the photos, the 9-X doesn’t actually have a boot opening. And indeed, Saab’s designers have replaced the traditional boot with a storage compartment, big (or rather small) enough to accommodate two golf bags, that slides out from underneath the rear light bar.

Inside, the 9-X Air boasts a futuristic design with a row of five display screens illuminated in green 3-D graphics that we probably won’t see going into production for another decade or so, but hey, what did you expect from a concept car.

As with its three-door sibling, the 9-X Air Concept is equipped with a hybrid powertrain that comprises a 200HP 1.4-litre turbocharged biofuel (85% bioethanol - 15% petrol) engine matted to a dual-clutch six-speed semi-automatic transmission and an electric motor with a lithium-ion battery pack. According to the Swedes, the 9-X Air can sprint from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.1 seconds and on to a top speed of 231 km/h or 143 mph.

Finally, Saab says it has projected an average fuel consumption on gasoline of 5.0 lt/100 km (57 US MPG) and 119 g CO2/km while on E85, CO2 emissions are projected to be even lower, at just 107 g/km, with estimated fuel consumption of 6.5 lt/100 km (36.2 US MPG).