Saab 9-X Bio Hybrid is an Award Winner

The Saab 9-X BioHybrid has been voted “Best Concept” by the editors of AutoWeek. It's a hybrid that runs on E85 bio-fuel.

The revolutionary design was introduced at the auto show in Geneva earlier this month, and it's the latest in a series of bio-power concept vehicles from the Swedish auto manufacturer, which is a division of General Motors.

Clean, uncluttered lines wrap a package that features an ultra-efficient 200hp 1.4-liter BioPower turbo engine, mated to GM’s next-generation hybrid system.

The outside echoes Saab's roots as an aircraft designer. This is a truly aerodynamic design. No door handles or visible door mirrors stick out and break the flow. But, unlike those windows the size of postage stamps at 30,000 feet, this aero-design has a sweep of glass for unobstructed views of the great scenery of your great drives.

Inside, the traditional floor-mounted console, with its angled controls and displays, is gone. Instead, controls sweep out from the top of the door moulding, arching across the driver. Displays are visible as 3-D graphics which seem to be ‘frozen’ in ice, entirely appropriate for a company which also operates an ice driving school in Sweden.

There is a wireless hook-up for what Saab calls "nomadic" devices -- things like your iPod, BlackBerry, iPhone and Treo. Also new is that the wireless function lets passengers in the back use a different device than what's operating in the front. True multi-media on four wheels.

And heavier nomadic devices such as luggage, infant strollers, skis, kayaks and surfboards, slide in and out of the cargo area easily thanks to an electrically-powered slide-out floor, which is activated when the bottom half of the split tailgate drops down.

There's mood lighting, too. This concept lets you change the cabin light from bright and cold to warm and soft. The feature can even be programmed, for example, to reflect the pattern of the changing seasons, or if you want to set the scene for a hot date.