Los Angeles, California – Saab has unveiled the 9-X BioHybrid Convertible Concept, the vehicle’s North American debut, at the Los Angeles auto show. The company calls it a “design vision exploring what a future open-air Saab could look like.”

The four-seater concept features the close-coupled proportions of a sports car, with a unique Canopy Top that the company is patenting. The car’s bodywork incorporates rear pillars that curve up to mount the flat-folding fabric top, and anchor a wraparound glasshouse with separate recessed rear screen. With the top up, the 9-X Air looks like a coupe.

Designed in parallel with the Saab 9-X BioHybrid concept, the 9-X Air uses a 1.4-litre turbocharged engine that runs on E85 fuel and produces 200 horsepower, with zero to 100 km/h acceleration in 8.1 seconds.

“Like the 9-X BioHybrid, this car is all about efficiency in design and performance, and that includes the Canopy Top,” said lead designer Anthony Lo. “It offers important benefits in weight-saving and packaging, as well as giving us the freedom to take convertible design forward in a very Saab way.”