Big auto shows are always fun. Especially the ones with crazy concepts. You know, the ones that won't get anywhere close to production. The Hondas that actually look good. The Toyotas that are exciting. The Audis that everyone slobbers over...wait they made those.
So Frankfurt is big. Real big. Especially for the Germans; probably something to do with home turf and "Heil Deutchland" and all. But lets cut to the chase. Germans don't mess around with engineering, and they've unloaded the offensive on the ever-pressing environmental (and related legislation) issues that are giving the auto industry so much hell these days. And unexpectedly, actually...it's epic.
Let's start with the rest of the world. Just about everyone is hopping on the hybrid bandwagon. Boring, underpowered, heavy cars. Sh-t, basically. And batteries will do a number on the environment too. Tell a hippie that. They'll literally eat their own brains. It's disgusting yet ever-so-slightly entertaining to watch. I'll make no secret of it. I hate hybrids.
But I like the BMW hybrid concept, and it has two batteries! I lavish this favor on the Vision EfficientDynamics mostly because it's very light and blasts to sixty from naught in 4.6 seconds. To save you the trouble of checking: yes, that's as fast as an M3 will run that sprint. The VED can do thirty miles on just electrons and uses a fuel-sipping, torque-rich diesel when you break out the heavy foot. It's drag coefficient comes in at 0.22 Cd, or, in plain english, uber low. Engineers say it's aerodynamics, but it all boils down to the fact that it looks sexy. And watching the designers gush about it, they'll say unabashedly that this is the vision they have for BMW in the future. I've already praised BMW's committment to environmental stewardship
and performance, and I'll amplify that praise having seen their new concept car.
Still in the BMW group, there's exciting expansions to the Mini lineup. The Mini philosophy: small, fast, well-built, efficient. More Minis results in a better world. Period.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost is uber-luxury done right. Modern, beautiful, advanced. No, its engine won't do the environment any favors, and about a million cows died to upholster the interior. But hey, cut it some slack. It looks good.
Mercedes unveils its SLS AMG Gullwing. Yes, it's a sucker retro throwback, but it looks like a Mercedes should. And it'll be good. And by good, I mostly mean fast. Combine that with 18 mpg in the combined Euro cycle, and you've got one of the most efficient supercars on the planet. That's an affirmative: that means no gas guzzler tax. Savior for the polar bears? Not really, no. Beautiful progress? Yes. As for the plug-in S550 hybrid, ignore it. It's useless. Ditto for the 7-series and X6 ActiveHybrids.
VW group. I don't know what sort of world-domination, Pinky-and-the-Brain thing they've got up their sleeves, but they pulled out all the stops for Frankfurt. I should clarify: VW hates hybrids, too. We're kind of kindred spirits on that subject.
VW unleashed two eco-friendly (that's ecosystem and economy friendly) concepts. The all-electric Up, the latest in the ongoing Up saga. It returns to the original philosophy for the Beetle. Cheap, do-it-all machine. So the Up's powerplant is in the back, and it'll be ruthlessly efficient. Not an exciting amount of power, but good steering and road feel. This latest Up is the most old-school Beetle-like yet, with the hood shape echoing the Beetle's trademark nose. Then, the L1 successor to the 1-Liter concept from a few years back. This sucker uses 1.3 liters to go a hundred kilometers. It weighs 838 pounds. 196 miles per gallon. And this isn't the Volt's fake, formula-generated number. This is real. Put a gallon in, go 196 miles. And the interior is like a jet fighter cockpit, even down to the tandem seating. This concept is testing the waters for a possible limited-production model. I know it only has thirty horses, but I'd pay real money for this thing. I love it.
Add the BlueMotion production models debuting, and VW is putting it's weight behind new diesel technology.
Way over at the other end of the spectrum, there's a Bugatti concept: the 16C Galibier. It's got four doors, and it's basically what the Panamera should have come out of Zuffenhausen looking like. This engine won't just club baby seals, it'll eliminate the species in one swift stroke. It's a supercharged, 16 cylinder, 8-liter chunk of sheer power. It's got eight tailpipes. Eight! I know it's a controversial-looking thing, but I love it. Again, ultra-modern global flagship model.
These are the new-tech highlights. There's more. The next-gen super-hot Golf, the R20, will show up. Think 280ish horses from a 2-liter turbocharged engine. Mid-20's combined mpg rating. And Golf VI is World Car of the Year. Not bad.
The point? Really, it's more evidence that the car as an emotive and passionate expression of design and engineering need not disappear. Great ingenuity has always addressed real problems with uncommonly inventive solutions. The car world is headed for enormous change, but we need not fear it. As consumers, we wield weighty input on what gets made. As we move to become better stewards of our little blue orb, let's move with a new generation of efficient, exciting cars. Porsche has contributed this great little tidbit: "Efficiency demands Performance." Let's take this concept party in a Frankfurt convention center out to the streets and all get in on the action.
The real successor to the original Beetle.
Hotter hot hatch.
There's nothing retro about the engine.
Can't quite ever get too over the top.
It's like a jet fighter, just more fuel efficient. All it needs is some missiles...
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