Biopower Saab in Oz demo; TiD for convertible
Saab begins 'real-world' E85 demonstration in AustraliaSaab's Biopower 9-5 has arrived in Queensland as part of an evaluation program involving government, industry and fleets.
The Biopower is an ethanol-powered version of the Saab 9-5 vehicle, running on E85 (85 per cent ethanol fuel) or petrol, in any combination, from the one fuel tank.
The Saab Biopower 2.3t generates approximately 154kW and 310Nm of torque on E85, compared to 136kW and 280Nm for petrol.
Saab hopes to stimulate demand for renewable fuels with the launch of the Biopower and says drivers can reduce their fossil fuel carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to 80 per cent with the use of E85 fuel.
"Saab is currently a step ahead of the industry. BioPower is a market-ready ethanol powered vehicle that we want to launch in Australia as soon as possible," says Parveen Batish, Director Saab Australia and New Zealand.
Local ethanol producer the Manildra Group provided E85 fuel for the trial.
In other earth-saving news from Saab: the 9-3 Convertible is now available with a diesel engine. The 1.9-litre common rail turbodiesel engine is rated at 110kW and 320Nm of torque, as fitted to the 9-3 SportSedan and SportCombi models.
Saab says that the official consumption for the 1.9TiD -- between 5.8lt and 6.3lt per 100km -- makes each model the most efficient in their segments.
The 9-3 Convertible TiD starts at $67,400 for the manual model.
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