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SAAB Press Release on 9-3 Aero (Vector/US) Posted by Ian Glenday [Email]  (#95)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ian Glenday) on Mon, 17 Mar 2003 23:08:22
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2003-03-10
An icon of desire:
The new Saab 9-3 Aero Sport Sedan
A new Saab Aero makes its debut in March: the all new Saab 9-3 Aero Sport Sedan. As you would expect, it’s a car for people who are passionate about driving. The new, all-aluminium 2.0T engine develops breathtaking mid-range torque, which makes this car one of the fastest on the road between 90 and 120kph – that is, at typical highway overtaking speeds. And the 9-3 Aero’s exemplary aerodynamics, braking and stability systems give drivers all the control they need in such a high-performance car.
But the 9-3 Aero is about more than sheer performance. Catch sight of one and you see a dynamic, modern sedan whose sporty looks generate a powerful emotional response in owners and onlookers alike. The Saab design team has given this car an extra dimension: desire.
More than precision engineering
The Aero is the icon for the 9-3 range, and as such its exterior and interior design have been refined to give the car a certain aura – a sense that at the heart of the 9-3 Aero is something more intense, with more feeling, than precision engineering alone.
“It’s all about emotion,” says chief designer for the 9-3 range Aamer Mahmud, “and emotion comes principally from the aesthetics. That is, the Aero’s proportions, how it sits on the road, the relation of the wheels to the rest of the car, how it looks from the side, the front, the rear, and sometimes even from above. The pure silhouette will tell you a lot, in fact. For a Saab it should always suggest movement, and for the Aero it has to go even further. Look at one and you’ll see how its silhouette conveys real attitude and forcefulness.”
A key element is the car’s sports chassis. Lower than on other cars in the 9-3 range, the Aero has an aggressive, close-to-the-road stance that gives an immediate sporty profile and a powerful sense of purpose.
“The sculpture of the car, or the language of the surfaces, if you like, is very important, too” continues Mahmud. “How does light catch the surfaces? Where do the shadows fall? Look at the new 9-3 Aero, and the light falls on the roofline, on the side crease, and right to the bottom, to the rockers underneath, which gives you the feeling that the car is sitting as low as possible, really hugging the road. It also matters that the Aero’s surfaces aren’t too complex, and that lines don’t stop suddenly where there’s a break, or too much shape, in the surface. It’s like the movement of a river – where the flow is broken, there’s turbulence and confusion.
“Take the Aero’s sports kit. The airdam, side skirts and rear spoiler are integrated and clearly visible, but don’t shout at you. There’s continuity and calmness in the lines to complement the forcefulness of the overall outline. That combination is pure Saab.”
The colours of Scandinavia
Inside the Saab 9-3 Aero, meanwhile, the emotion of the car springs first from another source.
“The strongest feeling comes directly from the interior colours,” explains Maria Thunberg, chief designer, colour and trim. “They’re chosen to have a Scandinavian feel, of course, which is part of the sportiness, the progressiveness, of our cars. The slate grey and parchment used in the Aero seats, for example, are clear, crisp, even a bit coldish on first sight. But the Aero is a Saab, so it’s essential that its Scandinavian heritage shines through.”
The Scandinavian characteristics of the 9-3 Aero extend far beyond its interior colours, however. “Yes,” agrees Thunberg, “although Saab design draws a great deal on the natural world, the Aero in particular is more inspired by architecture and technology than other cars in the range. There’s more metal, and more black. But people’s emotional response to the Aero is also because it’s a very modern and understated car. In many cars these days, there is simply too much stuff, which is not the Scandinavian way. It’s important to have the courage to be selective, rather than piling one expensive material on top of another. Less is more.”
Satisfaction guaranteed
But there’s no question of ‘less’ under the bonnet. The 9-3 Aero’s new, all-aluminium 2.0T engine generates a muscular 210bhp and torque of 300Nm at 2,500rpm. Better yet, Saab’s unique Trionic 8 engine management system combines with this gutsy engine to produce unbeatable driveability. To deliver smoother turbo input, for instance, Trionic 8 brings the turbo in slightly earlier, and electronic ‘sleight of hand’ at low revs briefly opens the throttle slightly more than requested in order to spool up the turbo more quickly.
Completing the major powertrain innovations is a new six-speed manual gearbox, which features improved syncromesh for smoother, more positive gear-changing, and double output shafts to make the box lighter and more compact.
Fun to drive? You bet
A car aimed at owners in search of a satisfying, high-performance driving experience needs a strong, dynamic powertrain, of course, but the chassis engineers were determined to give it something more: best-in-class handling. But how?
The first step was to create a stiff, sports chassis that minimises body-roll while cornering and gives the driver excellent handling and ‘feedback’. Further handling refinements come from the new four-link rear suspension layout, with the unique ReAxs passive rear-wheel steering characteristic – ReAxs prevents excessive understeer and optimises the car’s balance, helping it turn with absolute precision and respond more closely to steering inputs.
And if a high-performance car is to be genuinely fun to drive, it must have outstanding aerodynamic properties. Saab’s aviation heritage means it has always paid closer attention to aerodynamics than its competitors, and the new Saab 9-3 Aero is a clear demonstration of Saab expertise.
The aerodynamics team at Saab Technical Development has reduced lift forces – and thus much greater stability at high speed – by means of a front airdam, side and rear skirts, and a discreet rear spoiler. “By allowing more air to flow over rather than under the car,” explains aerodynamics manager Håkan Danielsson, “you reduce lift forces dramatically.”
Long hours collecting wind-tunnel data and running complex computer fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations enabled the experts to get the airflow exactly right for the 9-3 Aero, and to cut lift forces by an amazing 70 per cent at the front and 40 per cent at the rear compared to the base 9-3 production model, which already possessed excellent aerodynamic characteristics. The end result is a car that has to be driven to be believed.
The Aero pedigree
The new Saab 9-3 Aero is the latest in a long line of high-performance Saab models, which began in the late 1950s with the Saab 93 Gran Turismo 750. The Aero name, however, was not launched for another 25 years – at the 1984 Brussels Motor Show, when the Saab 900 Turbo 16 Aero made its debut.
Since that day, the Aero variants of the 900 and the 9000 have been firm favourites with the motoring public, and today Saab continues to produce Aero versions of both the 9-3 and the 9-5. The Saab 9-5 Aero is available as a sedan or a wagon, and the Saab 9-3 Aero is manufactured in sedan and convertible body styles.
The new Saab 9-3 Aero Sport Sedan takes the long and proud Saab Aero tradition to a new level.
posted by 24.170.177...
_______________________________________ Ian 1959 93b 1967 96V4 1968 99 1974 99L 1988 900S 1988 900 1994 900S 1996 900S 1999 9-5SE, 2.3lpt 1995 9000 CSE 2006 9-3SC, 2.0T
, Mon, 17 Mar 2003 23:08:22 <-- Viewing This Message
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