Saab History

Photo Credit: Saab Automobile

The Saab Experimental Vehicle (EV-1) was introduced at the International motorshow in Frankfurt, Germany between September 12th through the 22nd of 1985. It was at this event where Saab introduced the first experimental vehicle or concept car in Europe that was based off of the Saab 900 Turbo 16.

This vehicle was designed by Björn Envall at the Saab Design Center. The sheet metal and painting was done by Mellberg Custom in Nyköping, Sweden, the same town where Saab maintains a rather large parts & accessories facility.

The purpose of this vehicle was for Saab to test materials, components and technology in the real world. Unlike many concept vehicles, this vehicle was built similiar to a production vehicle in that it was extremely capable as a daily-driver vehicle in even the most extreme conditions.

The design is of the EV-1 is quite progressive with cutting-edge technology deployed throughout. One of the most significant integration of environmentally sensitive technologies in the EV-1 was the roof being built almost entirely of solar cells that produce electric power for the fans that provide ventilation in the car when located in close proximity to direct and indirect sunlight.

The front and rear parts of the EV-1 are built out of a lightweight aramid fibre reinforced plastic which can absorb impact and resume their original shape. The interior of the vehicle consists of lightweight seats that are electrically controlled, very progressive for the time.

The engine is a standard, 16-valve Turbo engine that has been tuned to provide 285 horsepower.

The chassis and suspension include standard components that were adopted from a standard Saab 900 Turbo model and tweaked and modified slightly.

Here are some more of the original photos from the press release:

Photo Credits: Saab Automobile

I have recently received news just shortly after the release of the Saab Aero-X and 9-7x scale model concept cars being offered by Elkparts that there is new vendor in the United Kingdom making two additional concept cars that Saab Enthusiasts have been eagerly awaiting. Although these photographs are quite basic, they clearly show that some definite progress is being made on them. I am very excited to see the final highly detailed scale models as soon as they become available for purchasing.

The company that is developing these concept cars is called “The Essence of the Car” and the Saab scale models they will be offering are the Saab 9-X as well as the Saab EV-1 way back from 1989.

The Saab 9-X

Photo Credit: The Essence of the Car

Saab 9-X
The Saab 9-X was a concept to take Saab’s heritage and move it forward to accomodate the changing values and needs of sophisticated and demanding customers. These people were viewed as being busy professionals who needed to combine their own businessactivities and with increasing active leisure and sporting activities. Therefore, whilst the design language of the Saab 9X was new, it inherited the Saab sporting tradition combined their reputation for real-world versatility.

The Saab EV-1

Photo Credit: The Essence of the Car

The EV-1 was a sports coupé based on the 900 Turbo 16. It was developed as a fully functional and roadworthy future design study and was never destined for production. It incorporated many advanced features such as a glass roof with interior cooling, solar cells to provide extra electrical capacity, aramid reinforced glass fibre front and rear sections with the capability to resume their original shape after impact and lightweight carbon-fibre side impact protection within the doors. Combined with these, was a performance comparable to some of the best sports cars.