Saab 9-X BioHybrid

There's a lot of collaborative technology employed in the Saab 9-X BioHybrid concept the Swedish company has announced at the Geneva Motor Show.

The concept has been developed to showcase Saab's long-standing expertise in clean and green combustion engines (which are, by nature, more fuel efficient too) and modern design for future models.

Saab took a 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine of undersquare design (long stroke, narrow bore) and kitted it out with a turbocharger, direct-injection fuel delivery and variable valve timing. This engine develops 147kW of power and 280Nm of torque (between 1750 and 5000rpm), when running on E85 fuel. On straight petrol, the engine develops just 125kW and 230Nm of torque.

E85 is a mix of conventional petrol and ethanol, refined from a crop such as corn. That's the 'Bio' part of 'BioHybrid'.

Saab then matched the internal combustion engine to a six-speed manual transmission with an automated clutch and sequential-shift facility. In lieu of a conventional alternator, the IC engine charges an electric motor that can do double duty as a generator and drive motor. Drive from the IC engine to the electric motor is via a belt coupled to the IC engine's crankshaft.

From a standing start, the electric motor provides additional torque, but on the overrun will recharge the lithium-ion battery that stores the car's recovered kinetic energy as electrical energy.

Despite healthy output from the small IC engine, the 9-X produces just 105g/km of CO2 and returns a combined cycle fuel consumption figure of 6.4L/100km on E85 or 4.9L/100km on straight petrol. Running on petrol alone (no ethanol mix), the engine produces as much as 117g/km. So, operating the car on the E85 'flex-fuel' is cleaner for the air, but requires more fuel.

Saab has also designed the 9-X as a complete package to capitalise on the drivetrain efficiency through radically clean aerodynamics.

For the Geneva gee whiz factor, Saab designers imbued the 9-X with an electrically powered slide-out floor to deploy when the bottom half of the split tailgate is lowered.

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