Sydney show: Saab goes Aero

NAMED the best concept car at this year’s Geneva motor show, Saab’s Aero X made a stunning debut in Sydney yesterday.

The radical two-seater AWD concept combines Saab’s design pedigree, aviation history, Scandinavian heritage and environmental credentials to create a performance car with a difference.

It uses a Holden-built 2.8-litre V6 twin-turbo engine running on 100 per cent bioethanol fuel that delivers 298kW/500Nm, providing the car with 0-100km/h acceleration of 4.9 seconds via a seven-speed sequential automatic.

Saab also unveiled the revised 2007 9-3 range, dropping the Arc model and replacing it with the Linear Sport and previewing the 1.9-litre turbo-diesel.

The dashboard, instrument displays and controls in the 9-3 models have been given a cleaner, sharper look.

The close-ratio, six-speed manual currently found in the 9-3 Aero range has also been extended as standard across the 9-3 range. Only the entry-level $39,900 Linear Sport sedan retains the five-speed manual.

Linear Sport retains the 129kW/265Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo engine and luxury appointments such as heated leather seats, and gains the six-speed manual transmission and 17-inch alloys.

The Arc Sport was previously priced from $47,900 for manual and $50,000 for automatic. The Linear Sport undercuts the Arc Sport and is priced from $45,900 for manual and $48,400 for automatic.

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