Geneva Motor Show - Saab

Supercar Saab?
This Saab Aero X concept has 400bhp and reaches 62mph in just 4.9 seconds.

A real no-holds-barred, go-wild kind of concept, the two-seater coupe has a wraparound windscreen that, in one big piece, lifts upward and forward with the side windows and doors of the car.

It's just like an aircraft canopy, which reminds you that Saab started off building aeroplanes (it still does).

Anyway, although the 2.7-litres V6 engine seems rather small, it packs a fair punch.

It runs on environmentally friendly, crop-derived ethanol, which has a higher octane rating than petrol. That, along with a pair of turbochargers, accounts for the high output of the engine.

So, on sale in 2008 then?
Hardly. Saab's a little strapped for cash at the moment, so it doesn't really have the luxury of being able to build a niche market sports car.

More pressing and potentially lucrative matters include the all-new 9-5, due in 2008, and a Land Rover Freelander-sized 4x4, which should arrive around the same time or soon after.

So the concept is nothing but hot air?
Not quite. Saab already offers cars that can run on ethanol, although not on pure ethanol like the concept. Instead it's in a mixture rich with 15% petrol (so it's called E85 as it's 85% ethanol).

The four-wheel-drive system on the Aero X should also be used on future high-power Saabs. The company realises that power outputs are already stretching the limits of current front-wheel-drive models, but it says it won't ever switch to rear-wheel-drive. So four-wheel-drive seems highly likely.