Another BioPower-badged Saab? They’re making a lot of these, aren’t they?
They certainly are. This new 9-5 BioPower 100 Concept will be unveiled at next month’s Geneva Motor Show. Stop yawning at the back, because Saab claims it’s the first production car designed to run on pure E100 bioethanol, the clean – and powerful – fuel that’s a buzzword in the industry now. Most bioethanol cars on sale today use E85 (a blend of 85 percent bioethanol, 15 percent regular unleaded), but pure E100 has a higher octane rating. So the 9-5 concept produces a muscly 300bhp from just 2.0 litres. Torque is equally high at 295lb ft, for a rapid 6.6sec dash to 62mph. Of course, the main benefit of flex-fuel vehicles is that the CO2 emissions created during driving are balanced by the crops grown to make bioethanol, making them potentially carbon-neutral. But UK buyers, in particular, will struggle to find garages at which to fill up. When’s the last time you saw an E85 pump on the forecourt?