The launch of these models, unveiled at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show, reinforces Saab’s leadership in the emerging flex-fuel segment, where the Swedish premium brand will now offer ‘eco-friendly’ variants of all its core products.

The Saab 9-5 BioPower is already Europe’s best selling flex-fuel vehicle and the addition of BioPower to the 9-3 range will significantly broaden customer choice. The 9-3 BioPower Convertible becomes the only premium soft-top on the market to offer open-top motoring with eco-friendly performance.

“The success of the 9-5 BioPower has encouraged us to extend this concept to the 9-3 range,” says Jan Åke Jonsson, Saab Automobile’s Managing Director. “This means we can now offer BioPower variants throughout our core product line-up.”

Saab 9-3 BioPower models, in Linear and Vector specification with manual or automatic transmission, go on sale with immediate effect in Nordic markets, the UK and Ireland. Sales in other European markets will commence later this year.

Enhanced Performance
By using turbocharging, Saab BioPower is the only flex-fuel technology on the market that offers the enjoyment of ‘greener’ motoring, together with more engine power and performance.

Running on E85 fuel (85 per cent bioethanol/15 per cent petrol), the new 2.0-litre 9-3 BioPower engine delivers 17 per cent more maximum power (129 kW v 111 kW) and 10 per cent more torque (265 v 240 Nm).

In the 9-3 Sport Sedan, that translates to projected zero to 100 km/hour acceleration in 8.4 sec and 80 to 120 km/hour in fifth gear in 13.9 sec, compared to 9.5 sec and 15.0 sec, respectively, on petrol.

E85 has a higher octane rating (104 RON) than petrol (95 RON) and turbocharging with Saab BioPower allows the use of a higher boost pressure and more advanced ignition timing than is possible with petrol. This gives more engine power, without risk of harmful 'knocking' or pre-detonation. In contrast, a naturally-aspirated flex-fuel engine has only a fixed compression ratio and cannot realise the true performance potential of bioethanol fuel.

Saab’s 32-bit Trionic 8 engine management system controls the throttle setting, ignition timing, fuel injection, air mass and turbo boost pressure. It is a powerful platform that has facilitated software re-programming to accommodate the different ignition timing and fuel/air mixture requirements of E85. The only hardware modifications necessary to the all-aluminium Saab 9-3 engine are the fitment of more durable valves and valve seats. Bioethanol-compatible materials are also used in the fuel system, including the tank, pump, lines and connectors.

Trionic monitors fuel quality after every visit to the filling station and automatically makes any adjustments necessary for running on E85 and/or petrol in any combination. That means Saab BioPower drivers can also use petrol, should E85 not be available.

Bioethanol fuel is produced from a wide range of agricultural crops and biomass. Unlike petrol, its consumption does not significantly raise atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main ‘greenhouse’ gas that contributes to climate change. This is because emissions during driving are balanced by the amount of CO2 that is removed from the atmosphere when crops for conversion are grown. Bioethanol is sold in Sweden and a growing number of other European markets, as E85 fuel.

BioPower Success
The extension of BioPower demonstrates Saab’s commitment to exploiting the potential of bioethanol as a sustainable and renewable fuel for road transport. And the commercial success of Saab’s current 9-5 BioPower models - now available with 2.3-litre and 2.0-litre turbo engines – also demonstrates its attraction in providing enhanced performance, together with greater environmental responsibility.

The EU is committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and a directive currently requires member states to ensure bio-fuels account for an increasing proportion of energy needs in the road transport sector, with a target of 5.75 per cent by 2010. A further directive on energy taxation also calls on member states to apply reduced taxation, or a complete exemption, for bio-fuels in pure or low blends.

In Sweden, where the Saab 9-5 BioPower is the top selling environmentally-friendly vehicle, a growing network of more than 650 E85 fuel pumps is already established and a total of 800 pumps, covering 25 per cent of the country’s filling stations, is targeted by the end of 2008.

Other European countries are now following Sweden’s lead. E85 has already entered the market in Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Holland and Belgium, with other countries expected to follow.

And in France, the government has targeted the establishment of 500 pumps this year throughout the country. With increasing E85 availability in the United States, bioethanol is now established as the world’s fastest growing alternative fuel.