British International Motor Show - Saab

Green car No1 – a British first
Saab is pushing its green credentials hard at the Motorshow this week, with three environmentally friendlier cars on its stand at ExCel.

In pride of place is the 9-3 Biopower convertible hybrid concept car, the world's first fossil fuel-free hybrid. It uses a 2.0-litre engine modified to burn pure ethanol made from plants. It's also the world's first hybrid convertible.

It's vital statistics? Well, it is said to beat its equivalent petrol model comprehensively in the 0-62mph dash – 6.9 seconds compared with 8.8. Although it emits a certain amount of carbon dioxide, (but less than petrol cars), the plants that made the fuel will have already munched through an equivalent amount of the gas before-hand.

Green car No2 – a world premier
With Mayor Ken Livingstone aiming to reduce the number of high-polluting cars in the UK's capital, it's not surprising Saab chose this show to unveil a new 2.3t BioPower engine for the 9-5.

The engine can cut CO2 emissions by up to 70%, running on a mix of ethanol and petrol, but it is more powerful and has more pull than the petrol-powered engine.

Green car No3 – it almost didn't get here
Saab is also showing off its Aero X concept, a great-looking sports coupe which we first saw at the Geneva Motor Show in the spring. Again, it's fuelled by ethanol.

Getting to the show wasn't without its hitches, however. The Aero X suffered from a flat battery during a pre-show runaround in Weston-super-Mare. That glitch shouldn't take anything away from the concept, though. Low CO2 emissions, 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds and a limited top speed of 155mph.