Even though this Saab Sport-Hatch is a million-dollar concept, it feels uncannily like a production car. A quick scan of the interior reveals A-pillars with airbag tabs built in, a distortion-free windscreen and dashboard and door trim straight off a regular 9-3 production line, save a few Flash Gordon touches.
That's hardly a surprise, as the 9-3 Sport-Hatch is a mildly fussed-over 9-3 from the A-pillars forward, and the rest of the car is about 80 percent representative of the five-door sports estate that should arrive in our showrooms 'within two years'.
It's a car that Saab and its beleaguered dealers are desperate for. Saab needs more product if it is to boost volume and help reduce the huge losses - $500 million last year - that hang like a question mark over its future. And more importantly, it needs a car that the Saab faithful can regard as the real thing - it's still unclear as to how the marketplace will react to the upcoming stopgap Saabs, the Subaru Impreza based 9-2 and the Chevrolet SUV based 9-7X, both of which are due to go on sale before the 9-3 Sport-Hatch.
The Sport-Hatch would also give Saab an invaluable competitor in the lucrative sports-estate segment currently dominated by the likes of the Audi A4 Avant, Alfa 156 Sportwagon and BMW 3-Series Touring.
Clearly conceptual...
A quick prod of the red starter button on the centre console and the 250bhp 2.0-litre HOT turbocharged four-pot grumps into life and settles into a rock-steady idle. None of the usual concept car histrionics here, either, as this engine is the familiar old device deployed in Aero models in the Saab range. Knock the automatic Sentronic gearbox into drive, release the brake and move off - the car responds positively, surging on the first breaking wave of torque from the humming engine. My Saab minder in the passenger seat grimaces, making downward stabs with the palm of his hand, urging me to get the Saab back down to its 'agreed' maximum test speed of 30mph.
And then, the concept car cues begin to intrude. The Sport-Hatch has a roof made entirely of green tinted glass, which sweeps all the way back to the tailgate. It creates a marvellously light and airy atmosphere in the cabin, but it also allows the sun to lightly grille the car's occupants. Which wouldn't be a problem if the windows could be wound down, which, of course, they can't. Likewise, all of those beautifully wrought alloy controls on the air vents are simply stuck on - because concept cars are never meant to be driven more than a few feet, the idea of fitting functional vents or air-conditioning is plainly absurd. And to firmly establish its concept car roots, the Sport-Hatch emits a worrying clonk from the region of its brakes.
Otherwise, the Sport-Hatch is an awfully convincing package. Gently flared wheel arches and those Max Power 20-inch wheels give it a squat, powerful stance. And that single sweeping graphic of the sideglass - the B and C-pillars are hidden behind blacked out glass - looks terrific and gives the car a real sporting profile.
"In contrast to the lines of a conventional wagon, we have tried to move the focal centre of gravity forward, away from the rear area," explains the Sport-Hatch's exterior designer Taras Czornyj. "The tapering side window zone and the prominent 'hockey stick' line, which ends by pointing forward, emphasises the slope of the roof, helping to create an impression of forward motion."
...But practical possibilities
The sideglass treatment is just one of the details inspired by the 9-3X cross-over coupe concept car, which first appeared in Detroit back in 2002. The other is the clean, uncluttered treatment of the nose. Switch on the headlights, though, and another neat bit of detailing appears. Between the conventional headlamp lenses, illuminated 'blades' create distinctive waves of light.
"Brand identity is such an important factor these days," explains Czornyj. "We want people to know what the car is even in the dark. It's something that works brilliantly well for BMW with the 5-Series headlights, for example." With its sidelights on, the BMW is distinguished by highly distinctive LED light rings that surround the four round headlamps.
Equally cool are the foglamps, each one comprised of 120 individual LEDs. Czornyj reckons the technology to make such 'white light' fogs a reality is about five years away.
The rear end of the Sport-Hatch is also extremely close to how the production car will appear. It, too, is a clean and uncluttered surface, broken by a very classy strip of matt aluminium below the tailgate glass. The tailgate itself is powered, a feature that is fast becoming the norm in the crucially important American market, much the way electric windows and air conditioning are in the UK.
Another really neat touch at the back of the car is the hidden bike carrier. There are a couple of lugs just below the rear screen, which take the detachable brackets that hold the rear wheel of the bikes. Then the cycles' front forks attach to swivelling brackets on the trailing edge of the roof. It's a much more compact solution than traditional carriers, and the boot can be opened with the bikes in place because they swing up with the tailgate.
When will we see it?
Inside, the Sport-Hatch is very obviously a concept vehicle, although designers insist that everything we see is production-feasible. Echoing the 'transparency' theme established by the roof, the dashboard and centre console, which runs back between the individual rear seats, are made of a smoke tinted glass-like composite material. To keep the fascia clean and simple, knobs and switches are replaced by a touch-screen menu for controlling major functions. And on top of the gearshift lever is a tiny joystick for navigating functions.
It's all very media savvy, with an in-car fibre-optic network that is meant to work with 3G technology. We're talking mobile internet with downloadable entertainment, on-line navigation, in-car diagnostics and the ability to Google on the go. Add to that plug-in capability for your MP3, PDA and laptop and you may never have to get out of the car again.
On a more practical note, the Sport-Hatch offers a wet-box under cover in the boot, as well as flush, integrated roof rack adaptors, all evidence that point to a car ready to roll down the production line - I can't recall a more detailed concept car than this Saab.
Saab could lay claim to being one the smallest mainstream car manufacturers in the world - just 135,000 units will be sold worldwide this year - in company with outfits such as Lancia, which doesn't even sell cars outside of southern Europe. Saab needs more (and good) product desperately, which is why it must be such a frustration that this car is still two years away.
Or is it? Insiders think we might see the Sport-Hatch very early in 2005, which would make it a shade more than one year down the road. That would be a good thing, because here is a handsome, individual and practical alternative to the knee-jerk Audi/BMW buying decision. Even if it doesn't get 20-inch wheels.
Bron: Channel 4 Car by Gavin Conway
