Its essence will also be distilled into a smaller, Audi TT-rivalling sports coupe - although not before 2009. That car should get the whole Aero X look with a long bonnet, chopped roof and tail plus a wraparound windscreen - albeit with side-opening doors rather than a Top Gun canopy. Future Saabs will also draw on the Aero X's interior, complete with a dashboard made out of floating acrylic layers on which graphics are displayed.

Inside and out, the Aero X is remarkable, and it's the same under the skin. In order to get the bonnet as low as possible, the front suspension is double wishbones rather than struts and its bioethanol-powered 400bhp 2.8-litre twin-turbo V6 is mounted longitudinally - as opposed to the traditional transverse Saab layout.

What's the Aero X like to drive? Good question, because although we travelled to Sweden for a stint behind the wheel, this is a true, fragile, show-stand concept car. With a 35mph electronic throttle cut-out and part-solid tyres, there was no chance of verifying its claimed 155mph top speed or 4.9sec 0-60mph time, much less the handling.
What is obvious, however, is the visibility afforded by that bubble canopy - with no A-pillars you get an uninterrupted 180 degree view, just like being a fighter pilot.

Range-topping turbocharged Saabs - including the forthcoming TT rival - will get the Aero X's DSG-style gearbox and its four-wheel-drive system, which engineers told us will be biased in favour of the rear wheels. Could this be a new dawn for Saab?