The engine offers the driver dynamic performance in the form of 198 kW and 340 Nm of torque - with emissions of fossil carbon dioxide dropping by as much as 80 percent compared with the same engine running only on petrol.

Presently, three of Volvo Cars' nine models - C30, S40 and V50 - are available on nine European markets with the bio-ethanol powered FlexiFuel alternative. These cars all have a four-cylinder engine.

"We believe that the FlexiFuel has great potential also for larger engine sizes and we are planning to expand our range of bio-ethanol powered engines in the coming years," says Magnus Jonsson, Senior Vice President, Research & Development at Volvo Cars.

The power train for the XC60 Concept uses the same six-cylinder, in-line petrol engine that was introduced in the new Volvo S80 in 2006. The engine has been optimised for E85 (85 percent bio-ethanol, 15 percent petrol). This gives 198 kW and 340 Nm of torque. Top speed is approximately 228 km/h.

Fuel economy when running on E85 is 12.3 litres/100 kms. This is a competitive figure for this type vehicle, since the energy content of ethanol is 40 percent lower than that of petrol.

Bio-ethanol is also an entirely renewable fuel that can be produced from just about any biomass source, such as corn, wheat, sugar-cane and cellulose. This means that emissions of fossil carbon dioxide drop by up to 80 percent when driving on E85 bio-ethanol, compared with running the same car on petrol.

In addition to the environmental benefits mentioned, on many markets the car owner is compensated at the fuel pump through the lower price of bio-ethanol.

Bio-ethanol on the move
Renewable bio-ethanol is a fuel that is on the move in Europe and Volvo Cars has launched FlexiFuel models in several new markets this autumn and will continue to do so in 2007. Markets to get Volvo's FlexiFuel cars outside Sweden are France, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland. Volvo Cars predicts sales of 7,000 FlexiFuel cars in 2007.

At present there are 23 plants producing ethanol in Europe and this figure is expected to rise to just more than 60 in 2008. All told, about 2.7 billion litres of ethanol are produced annually within the European Union, primarily from sugar beet and various grains. Capacity is expected to increase threefold by 2008.

As of August 2006, the United States had 101 bio-ethanol plants in operation and with a capacity of 18.2 billion litres per year. Thirty-nine bio-ethanol refineries are under construction and seven more are expanding, which will add more than 9.5 billion litres of capacity when complete. Ethanol is blended in 40 percent of the U.S. petrol supply and there are already about 1,000 filling stations for E85 in the United States.