X-ACTLY; Saab concept reverts to the company's aircraft roots.

Byline: ROGER HART

GM hopes to steal the spotlight at the Geneva motor show with the Saab Aero-X concept that, well, doesn't really look like it comes from Saab. At least not in this century. In an attempt to create some buzz for its troubled Swedish brand, GM designers Anthony Lo and Bryan Nesbitt went deep into company archives looking more at old Saab aircraft than at cars.

Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Swedish Aircraft Co. Ltd.) was founded in 1937 supplying aircraft to the Swedish Air Force, then made planes for civilian aviation use before making its first car-the Saab 92-in 1947. (Saab 91 was a plane.)

"We didn't have any one thing in particular we looked at, but the main idea-the big idea-is the aircraft heritage that is pretty unique to Saab,'' says Lo, director of advanced design for GM Europe. "Jets are so different-looking than cars... so I guess that is where the inspiration comes from.

"Our starting point for this car was that we have to do something different for the show. This could just as easily have been a fighter jet as a car,'' Lo adds.

Okay, the Aero-X two-seater doesn't have wings or tailfin, but it still looks like it could fly along the autobahn at warp speed. Under that long hood is a twin-turbocharged 2.8-liter V6 that, according to Lo, is "highly tuned.'' The bioethanol-powered engine making 400 hp and 369 lb-ft is longitudinally mounted and routed through a seven-speed sequential manual gearbox with a double-clutch system that drives the four wheels-and what big wheels they are: 23-inchers in the rear, 22-inchers in the front. "I wanted 28-inch wheels, but everyone thought that a bit much,'' says Nesbitt, executive director of GM Europe design.

The engine sits behind the front axle and the 3300-pound car has a 50/50 weight balance. And yes, it is a runner. (Saab estimates a 0-to-62-mph time of 4.9 seconds.) An invitation to drive Aero-X should come following its U.S. debut at the New York auto show in April.