There have been no new spy photos and sketch design templates related to Saab cars for a long time, because there has been no production of Saab cars in Sweden for ten years. However, some enthusiasts or car designers give free rein to their imagination, presenting their personal vision of Saab cars from time to time.
We have followed and presented most of these Saab visions in our Saab Concepts section, and most of them are just artistic visualizations without real bases, but sometimes there are also really good sketches. Part of these concepts could be realistic models if there was a factory in Trollhattan, and part of them is an arbitrary imagination that has no basis in reality but in Saab’s design heritage.
Now we present you with a vision of the redesign of the famous Saab model Viggen. So, this is not an imaginary Saab concept, but a virtual modification of the existing model.
Behind this work stands automotive enthusiast and amateur car designer from the Chinese city of Hangzhou, who has done a number of similar car audits under the pseudonym “Sugar Chow“.
His concepts are based mostly on real car models, and he then modified them in the direction of rally cars. This was also the case with the esteemed Saab 9-3 Viggen model, which the author called “SAAB 9-3 Aero VIGGEN JET Edition” after the modification. Saab’s Wiggen received a virtual rally upgrade, and the car was inspired, of course, by Saab’s jets.
Viggen’s front and rear axle lines have been extended with fenders, and of course more protruding and wider wheels, with the aim of better stabilization. There are also a few unavoidable spoilers, so the rear end is dominated by a huge rear spoiler that follows the line of extended fenders.
In addition to this large spoiler, there is another one located above the rear window, which we can’t really determine the purpose of. It is similar at the front end of the vehicle. Next to the usual Viggen front bumper, below it is a double lip that almost touches the ground.
The large LED bar is located above the front windshield, and this detail could be imagined on a real Viggen rally car, and in addition to this there are a couple of LED lights whose purpose would be to further illuminate the road and surroundings in night racing conditions.
The anonymous artist added two more side mirrors to the front hood, which is transparent, in a retro spirit, but their usability is questionable.
In fact, this pair of mirrors should improve the view behind the car because the existing factory mirrors are almost unusable due to the width of the rear large spoiler. But these mirrors are an interesting detail, but they would have to be pulled even further sideways to benefit from them.
Certainly, the author’s work is undeniable, he invested a lot of effort in the development of details, so we could even compare him with Per Eklund’s Viggen, which won “Pikes Peak”. But at first glance, we can see details on the real rally car that have been forced by performance improvements, such as small narrowed mirrors and an additional large spoiler at the front end to improve front axle traction.
Some will like this redesign, some will not, but it is certainly interesting to see that someone else is dealing with Saab cars, even though he is not a real Saab enthusiast.
