by: George Achorn

The company known as Rinspeed is a staple in the Swiss automotive realm. From its line of tuning for Porsche automobiles to its always pioneering and often avant-garde concept cars that the firm loves to introduce each year at the Geneva Motor Show. Traditionally though, Rinspeed hadn’t worked its wonders on a Saab. That was until the 2007 Geneva Motor Show when the company paired a Rinspeed-touched bioethanol-powered 9-5 SportCombi with their similarily-fueled eXasis concept car for the 2007 Geneva Motor Show.

Alas, the 9-5 BioPower you see here is not the first in a new line of Saab-focused tuning from the Swiss firm. Rather, the Rinspeed Saab 9-5 BioPower was a collaborative design between Rinspeed and Saab to emphasize the value of bioethanol in an energy driven economy rapidly moving away from fossil fuels.

Mechanically, the Rinspeed 9-5 is identical to the latest-generation 185-hp E85 (85% bioethanol blended with 15% gasoline) capable BioPower offerings from Saab – technology introduced the same year as this design study. However, looking at the car it is easy to see this is no run-of-the-mill 9-5 SportCombi.

For a distinctive appearance made to visually match the Rinspeed eXasis concept’s yellow-tinted transparent plastic body, the 9-5 was painted in a satiny chrome-yellow enamel finish. Normally chrome trim around the headlights and door side moldings have also been changed – replaced with fibgerlass pieces featuring an aluminized amber finish with diamond weave pattern over-laid on top. The car’s suspension was lowered for a more aggressive stance while 19-inch AEZ Excite Dark wheels were fitted and shod with 235 35 19 Pirelli P Zero Nero tires.

Inside, the gold and diamond patterns continue. Insert trim on the doors and dashboard continue the fiberglass with diamond weave from the outside, while diamond stitched material featuring Technogel tabs and yellow stitching cover the seats and accent the door panels. The yellow stitching continues on the steering wheel, complimented by gold anodized trim on the wheel, shift knob and door handles. Even the floormats are touched, with yellow dots. The overall look is clearly made to catch eyes – something Rinspeed has never had a problem doing.

With the Rinspeed design study, Switzerland cements its status as a major player in the world of Saab even further. Already home to the uber-clean line from Hirsch Performance, this Rinspeed 9-5 takes a more decidedly in-your-face route at communicating Saab performance and certainly helps raise the awareness of the Swedish car manufacturer’s bioethanol prowess and the BioPower sub-brand. Alas, it’s still too bad Rinspeed won’t be adding Saab alongside Porsche to the tuning side of its business.