NAIAS 2007 Editor's Choice

Saab Aero X Concept Car

As the current Saab ad campaign tells us, the Swedish car maker got its start designing fighter jets for the Swedish military and with the Aero X concept, Saab's "born from jets" tagline is finally true. Nowhere is the jet influence more prevalent than in the cockpit of the Aero X concept. Instead of traditional doors, the Aero X boasts a jet-like canopy that rises up to allow passengers in and out of the car.

Carbon composite materials are used extensively in the manufacture of fighter jets, and true to its jet heritage, the Aero X sports a lot of carbon material as well and there is also a bit of jet influence in the wheels. Sized 22 inches in the front and 23 inches in the rear, these massive rims have a bit of a turbine fan shape to them.

The Aero X is also a green machine. It's not a hybrid/electric car, but instead it runs on 100 percent ethanol fuel made from corn. The Aero X sports twin turbo 2.8 liter V6 that makes 400 horsepower at the flywheel. Though it hasn't been officially tested, Saab says the Aero X can go from zero to sixty in 4.9 seconds.

The interior of the Aero X resembls the cockpit of a real fighter jet with a high-tech dash and gauges. All of the gauges are made from acrylic material and designed to display information on a 3-dimensional plane with the guages clustered together with similar ones in a wrap-around jet cockpit-like dash illuminated by blue LED light.