Rendered Speculation: Chevrolet Volt-based Saab Fashionista
by Jeremy Korzeniewski on Apr 29th 2009 at 6:57PM 
Saab Fashionista concept - Click above for a high-res image gallery
At this point, it's not a certainty that Saab or even parent company General Motors will still be in the car business in the year 2012, but let's not let that tidbit get in the way of an interesting concept car. Authored by Mayeul Walser, a fourth year design student at Creapole-ESDI, the Saab Fashionista is a 2+2 sport coupe that is reportedly inspired by the designs of Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel.
More importantly, this concept is based on the underpinnings of the Chevrolet Volt, which means there's a range-extended electric powertrain hiding under its shapely bodywork. Since it only exists on paper, Walser took some liberties by ditching the eco-friendly drivetrain's stock four-cylinder engine and replacing it with a more powerful V6.
In reality, a more powerful internal combustion engine wouldn't make the Fashionista any faster than the Volt since the electric motor is the only power source driving the front wheels. No matter, it's an interesting concept nonetheless. We especially like the nine-spoke blade-like carbon fiber rims.
Gallery: Saab Fashionista concept
[Source: Mayeul Walser via Carscoop]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jake B 7:09PM (4/29/2009)
It has been proven time and time again that it is not hard to make a sexy Saab. I do not understand how some pinhead at GM fumbled around with this brand for so long.
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P.V. 7:19PM (4/29/2009)
Nevertheless, it is downright sexy.
Chad 2:26PM (4/30/2009)
I expect to see this car in the new TRON movie.
wolfeman18 8:13PM (4/29/2009)
WOW...that is the ugliest car..in the world..
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BigMcLargeHuge 7:29PM (4/29/2009)
Saab is still around?
:P
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jinsei888 7:59PM (4/29/2009)
...not anymore...
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AMcA 8:20PM (4/29/2009)
Ummm, that's not a Saab Volt. Not even close. All the proportions are wrong, the hard points are wrong. Sorry, couldn't be done for under a billion dollars.
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Taglane 11:52PM (4/29/2009)
It *is* a render. You can't get everything right.
Alex 9:22AM (4/30/2009)
But he didn't get anything right. Mr. Walser seems to know very little about what he is designing. As AMcA pointed out, all the hard points are wrong. He simply added weight by putting in a V6, if you wanted to be impressive, claim it has a high efficiency 2cyl. Not to mention that the design itself is full of awful proportions that do nothing to compliment or honor traditional Saab styling cues.
Steve 8:48PM (4/29/2009)
As someone in the field of design (and working towards being a full fledged automotive designer) I find this car to be downright... ugly.
It reminds me of this:
http://www.floridaholidayreview.com/i/american-white-pelican1.jpg
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Richard S. 9:50PM (4/29/2009)
GM made a big blunder by introducing the Volt as a Saab. Sure they needed the bread-and-butter Chevrolet to be first to introduce a plug-in hybrid, but the Volt makes more sense as a Saab.
GM could have positioned Saab as an advanced, quirky, Swedish IKEA-type company who is going green. Selling a Saab Volt for $40,000 would be easier on buyers than paying $40,000 for a Chevrolet. The new Saab Volt could have spawned a coupe, wagon and convertible.
Also being a Saab would have made sales in Europe easier as Saab is considered upmarket while Chevrolet is Daewoo by another name. Given high prices of gas in Europe, it does not take a rocket scientist to realize that the Saab Volt would have been a best-seller.
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Alex 9:25AM (4/30/2009)
Problem is that Saab could never sell enough of the Volts to ever turn a profit if sold at $40,000. It would be priced so extremely high as to be completely unreasonable.
BoxerFanatic 10:05PM (4/29/2009)
Wow. That is disturbingly ill-proportioned. The pieces aren't unattractive as pieces, but they are not put together well at all.
The windsheild placement and angle pointing downward behind the front axle line, and the over-all stubby and tall length and height dimensions, respectively, make for an ungainly looking car.
Not graceful at all, especially after Saab's previous jet-fighter looking Aero X concept, that was actually decent looking, and properly proportioned.
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Erik Tomlinson 10:18PM (4/29/2009)
This is the kind of crazy thing "badge engineering" should look like, not those damn Chevy/GM/Saab/whatever Trailblazer variants that you can't tell apart without being close enough to read the badge.
That said... it is sorta funny looking.
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pickles 12:38AM (4/30/2009)
Really? Ick. I love my [allegedly antiquated] 2008 9-5 and eagerly hope Saab survives. However, as someone in the fringes of the fashion world, professionally, the name 'Fashionista' -even as a 'working' name is so horribly repellent that I'm sort of mortified. Saab needs no tacky label to attend to its odd/stylish roots. The car itself looks like that Fiat that Chris Bangle designed. Rough. Over-designed. No thanks.
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k.w.a 2:59AM (4/30/2009)
that thing is UGLY!!
luckily, Saab never actually builds its concepts anyway. it'll start off as this and end up being an Impreza with a saab grille
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ds 8:58AM (4/30/2009)
I like it. Don't think I could buy one with that name plate, though. Saab is fine, but Fashionista sounds like it would only be available in pastels, all the sharp edges would be smoothed out before production, and the options list would contain a choice of fragrance.
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LegacyB442 10:54AM (4/30/2009)
Make it more like a 96 or 99 with the cues that this Fashionista has and it would be a nice retro-electric SAAB like SAAB.
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MJL 12:14PM (4/30/2009)
Ridiculous. Maybe some research into Saab's heritage is in order. "Fashionista"?? Seriously??
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