Saab Kalevala Concept

tags: Kalevala Concept, Saab | in: New Designers 14 October 2009

The Saab Kalevala is a design study of a four-door four-seater coupé with an aerodynamic design inspired by the aviation world and by the brand’s heritage. The author is design student Rubén Barrientos from Spain.

The Saab Kalevala is a four-door, four-seats coupe, with the back doors smaller than usual and are rear-hinged to facilitate the access to the cabin.

The body of the Kalevala has larger dimensions compared to the models of the same segment. This is aimed at offering enough headroom for the passengers.

The exterior design is characterized by volumes and surfaces defined by the doors edges and the cutlines and inspired by the aviation world and by the Saab 92 historic model.

The front end – dominated by the single, smooth volume of the hood/fenders – takes inspiration from the brand’s emblem and features a modern re-interpretation of the Saab ideographic grille with the U-shaped headlights surrounding two of the three typical front air inlets.

The aerodynamic design of the body has the goal of increasing the efficiency and stability of the vehicle in the back axis.

The name Kalevala derives from the Kalevala “Heroes Earth”, an epic poem based on an oral tradition of poetry, published in 1835 by Elias Lönnrot (1802-1884), which represented "a point of inflexion in the history of Finland."

As Rubén explains, "I have designed this concept car with the idea of creating a point of inflexion in the design of Saab" that could allow the company to widen its target audience and compete in the premium segment with other carmakers such as Audi and BMW without changing its core values.

About the designer

Rubén Barrientos is a 25 years student who has just finished a scholarship in vehicle design at the UPV (Polytechnic University of Valencia) as a prize of the design contest organized by magazine Autopista and Nissan.