SAAB 9-5 DESIGN EVOLVES THE SAAB BRAND IN THE 21ST CENTURY
NORCROSS, Ga. - The Saab design team had a very clear objective: the Saab 9-5 had to have a substantial stance and look dynamic even when standing still. "It had to be more than just a good-looking car, it had to have Saab soul," explained Einar Hareide, head of design at Saab Automobile AB. "We certainly looked at what the rest of the market was doing, but as always were not unduly influenced by it," Hareide noted. "The world is full of look-alike cars. We don't need another one. You must have the courage to do the unexpected. At Saab, we do." As a result, the new Saab 9-5 is first and foremost an immediately identifiable Saab, with all the individuality and character a customer would expect. The front of the Saab 9-5 appears wide and low, with a fully integrated lower spoiler. The grille and headlamps flow together smoothly. From the side, the cars' lines rise slightly to create a wedge-like profile, with rounded and sloping flush-bonded windshield and rear window forms. Side glass is nearly flush with the sheet metal. The interior provides an intimate, functional and secure feeling, with obvious attention to detail and comfort. The trunk lid is relatively short and high, increasing the height of the luggage compartment, and reducing drag by preventing the airflow over the roof from detaching too early from the shape of the car. Extensive wind tunnel development has given the Saab 9-5 a lower drag coefficient than any previous Saab model. The Saab 9-5 has a Cd of only 0.29, one of the best figures ever recorded for a luxury car. With classic design elements from Saab heritage, such as the wedge shape, clamshell hood, and characteristic interacting concave and convex lines, Hareide and his colleagues have created a new car that is unmistakably a Saab. Hareide commented, "It's a car for people who are looking for much more than just transportation or a particular social statement. The new Saab 9-5 is what we believe to be the intelligent car of the future, full of traditional Saab values, integrity and safety."
Designed From A Clean Sheet
"The blank sheet of paper gave us a very exciting challenge," Hareide said. "It was totally
different from our previous new car programs, where we were basically updating and modifying
existing models. This time, there was more flexibility to produce an exceptional world-class
design, one that would evolve the Saab brand into the next millennium." To develop a true feeling
for the future, the design team collected a wide range of modern artifacts that represented
today's design influences, which they hung on the studio walls. "Everyone in the department
brought things of emotional value," explained Hareide, "including objects and experiences with a
story behind them-a beautiful piece of sculpted metal, a record sleeve or sheet of music, a
picture, a film, colors, fashions and, obviously, images of Saab's own heritage. The designer's
inner feelings were transformed into a display wall depicting scenes of our time." This
sentimental collage of the 1990s produced an environmental think-tank in the studio. It was
there that the design team would find the inspiration for a car that would continue Saab's
traditional character and virtues, but transpose these traits into the world of the 21st century.
"We talked a lot about today's society and why and how our target audience uses cars. We
discussed the subject of executives who spend more and more time in their cars and feel a need to
separate themselves from the harsh, surrounding world. We spoke of the increasing pressures on
time and a greater need for security," Hareide said. They came to the conclusion that today's
society is increasingly characterized by stress. So they set about creating a refuge with a
strong feeling of security inside the car, to provide a safe environment that is warm,
comfortable and well insulated from the turmoil of the fast-moving world around it.
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