The Saab Aero X concept was officially unveiled at the 2006 Salon International de l'Auto to huge accolade, 16 years on, it seems to continue to inspire and influence numerous marques, which just shows once again how magical Saabs are.

I’ve been meaning to share a few photos of this astounding Saab for a while now, and seeing recent images of both the Polestar 02 Concept and Koenigsegg Jesko, both having strong design associations with the Aero X, reminded me to share them.

And of course, being a Saab, they were already focussing on lower emissions with a 400 bhp, twin-turbo, BioPower V6 engine running entirely by bioethanol; ‘performance with responsibility’. The Aero X Concept was also designed to be permanent all-wheel-drive.

The Saab Aero X concept harnesses the power of Saab’s aviation and Scandinavian roots to make a unique statement in performance car design. Conceived as a study to explore future design directions, its innovative features preview the development of an enhanced design language that would have inspired future Saabs.

Rather than rewrite what’s already been written on the Aero X Concept, this is a link to an excellent Saab World article which goes into a lot of detail. Suffice to say, I’ve admired this concept for many years, a Saab that never was. Luckily however, it appears to continue to inspire present and future marques and gives us all a reassuring glimpse of what a Saab might have looked like today.