Saab likes to brag that its cars are “born from jets.”
Guess that makes Anthony Lo a jet.
We’ve been watching the cars leap off the auto designer’s sketchpad and wind up on the turntables of the world’s major auto shows. And it seems that, more often than not, the concepts Lo’s team comes up with — like the stunning Aero X — win critical and popular acclaim.
Ditto for the General Motors Europe studio chief’s latest project: the Saab 9-X Air BioHybrid concept.
Hinting at what a future open-air Saab could look like (rumor has it that would be the 2011 Saab 9-3 convertible), the 9-X “Air” was unveiled at last month’s Paris Motor Show. It features a patent-pending “canopy top” and rear screen that Saab claims lets occupants enjoy open-air motoring without being buffeted by wind.
Designed in parallel with the Saab 9-X BioHybrid concept that was named “Best Concept” at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, the 9-X Air shares its sibling’s distinctive frontal styling and powertrain. The small, 1.4-liter Saab BioPower engine employs turbocharging, biofuels and hybrid technology for what Saab calls “responsible performance.” Running on E85 fuel (85 percent bioethanol, 15 percent gasoline), the engine delivers 200 horsepower.
Recognizing the priorities of youthful customers who expect easy access to multimedia both inside and outside the car, Saab teamed up with Sony Ericsson to provide seamless in-car connectivity for a range of multiple mobile devices.
At the rear, the cargo deck features an electrically powered slide-out floor, which is activated when the bottom half of the split tailgate drops down. Both the floor and the backs of the folding rear seats are covered with high-friction rubber carpeting that holds items securely in place. For easy loading and unloading, aluminum bars automatically rise up and down as the tailgate is opened and closed.
Lo’s team worked with the Saab Brand Center in Sweden on the concept. “Like the 9-X BioHybrid, this car is all about efficiency in design and performance, and that includes the canopy top,” Lo said. “It offers important benefits in weight-saving and packaging, as well as giving us the freedom to take convertible design forward in a very Saab way.”
At the helm of GM Europe’s advanced design division since 2004, Lo was named “Asian Designer of the Year” at the 2007 Elle Magazine Style Awards. One look at his stunning, earlier concept for Aero X will tell you why.
The General ought to seriously consider turning Lo and his team loose on the next-generation Impala. In a few years, Chevrolet could find itself partying like it’s 1965.
Look under the hood and you'd discover that Jeff’s lifelong interest and passion in all things automotive was practically genetically encoded. An award-winning journalist, he served on the staff of the San Jose Mercury News and the Los Angeles Times. Today he contributes to many news outlets. Jeff is a graduate of Cal State Long Beach and earned his master's degree at Ohio State University, where he was a Kiplinger fellow. 
