Following the unveiling of the “Saab Spyker 9+ Tribute Concept” a month ago, a second concept has been made by Eduard Gray, named “Saab 92010 Sixten”.
Eduard – Dutch/English Industrial designer working in Trollhättan – explained the background and vision of his second design to us:
When Sixten Sason drafted the lines for the original 92001 Saab, he created an icon that would engage the emotions, and in doing so created a tradition that would carry the brand into the future. The “92010 Sixten” concept echoes these legendary lines and reinterperets them in a design language that is both modern and familiar to the Saab brand.
The 92010 Sixten concept is a design born of the input and desires of enthusiasts around the world. Gathering feedback from diverse interviews, viewpoints on forums and blogs, and the opinions of leading car magazines, a design was created that tries to satisfy these various wishes whilst being harmonious in form.
Built as a three-door, four-seater compact hatchback, and running on Saabs new hybrid powertrain, the 92010 Sixten is styled to project the traditional sporting image whilst exuding an air of exclusivity that is becoming synonymous with the Saab brand.
The concept shows a new design phylosophy incorporated into a smaller vehicle with only two conventional doors and four seats. The sporty image of the vehicle is combined with the Saab heritage clearly visible in the nose. The lower side windows and rear section resemble Audi’s TT range.
Once you create a teardrop roof line it’s hard not to resemble other sloping roof hardtops. Personally I see Porsche but mainly I see the original 92 design carried forward. The whole persona of this car including the beautifully sculpted hatch with its cutout window, would but this city runaround in a league of it’s own. Many talk of limited vision however there are so many technological aids (rearview cameras and park sensors) that can be applied at little expense that would make for safe maneuvering. At under 4 metres in length SAAB could easily sit this on BMW’s next generation MINI architecture which will be both FWD and AWD. With a right-sizing philosophy of 150hp per litre cubic capacity, SAAB could well produce an entry level 75hp 2-cylinder model all the way to a range topping 240hp AWD version.