Saab Brings BioPower to Australia

With its future not even close from being decided, Swedish manufacturer Saab continues to test drive its BioPower 9-3 SportCombi vehicle, this time in Australia. Saab has provided the car to the Queensland government to be used as a promotional vehicle for a full year. The 9-3 will become Australia's first E85 powered vehicle. The car will be presented to the public during the country's largest green festival, Greenfest 2009, in June.

“With Saab BioPower, the first vehicle to run on E85 in Australia, Saab really does deliver on our promise of performance with responsibility,” Parveen Batish, GM director of premium brands, said.

Saab BioPower combines turbocharging with the use of E85 fuel to deliver increased engine power and improved performance, as well as reduced CO2 emissions. It is available in 9-5 and 9-3 vehicles in Sport Sedan, SportCombi and Convertible body styles. By mid 2009, Saab Australia plans on making its entire range E85 capable.

The particular model provided to the government has already travelled around 5,500 km in testing stage. The 2.0l BioPower engine delivers peak power of 147kW (197 hp) and 300Nm of torque running on E85, an extra 18kW and 35Nm of torque compared to running on regular unleaded petrol.

The 9-3 will also pay a tribute to the facility which will produce ethanol. It is being used for promotional purposes by the Queensland government at the Dalby BioRefinery, the state’s first large scale grain-to-ethanol production facility, in preparation for its opening in the following months.

The promotion tour of the BioPower will continue throughout the year with the participation in the EKKA Queensland Show in August as well as ethanol informational displays at V8 Supercar series races in Townsville, Willowbank and the Gold Coast.