The Frankfurt Motor Show is now well underway with manufacturers showing off their gleaming prototypes, concepts and production models to a captive audience.
There's a pretty impressive display of metal on offer too, with both the great and the good showcasing everything from city cars to hybrid hypercars. The problem, however, with motor shows, especially ones as large as Frankfurt, is that, with so many cars on show, it's difficult to see everything on show.
So, with another two days to go until the Frankfurt show opens its doors to an eager public, we thought we'd cobble together a list of some of the most important and interesting new models from this year's show.
Here, in no particular order, are ten of our favourite new models and concepts from this year's Frankfurt Motor Show.
Jaguar C-X17
For us, Jaguar's new SUV concept was the highlight of the show. With a brand-new 'iQ' aluminium architecture and stunning Ian Callum-designed looks, the C-X17 should be on British roads within the next few years and will be offered with a range of engines including the V6 from the F-Type.
Audi Sport Quattro Concept
Audi's new Quattro concept pays tribute to the legendary Quattro rally car of the 1980s and previews a future production model which will sit above the R8 at the very top of the Audi range. Power comes from a petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain which develops 690bhp.
Citroen Cactus Concept
Citroen's brilliant Cactus concept will go into production next year as the new Citroen C4 Cactus and previews a new design direction for Citroen's C-line of cars. The Cactus is refreshingly different thanks to its clever compressed air engine technology, its air-filled bump-resistant doors and, above all, its raw simplicity.
Mercedes S-Class Coupe
The new S-Class Coupe is the replacement for Merc's opulent CL model and will go on sale in the UK in the middle of next year. It's not the most innovative car on this list; however, it earns an honourable mention for two reasons: 1) It looks fantastic, and 2) It's based on the new S-Class saloon, which could just be the best car in the world right now.
Toyota Yaris Hybrid-R
On paper, the Toyota Yaris Hybrid-R seems an odd choice for our top ten -- after all, hybrid-powered Japanese superminis are not traditionally the most exciting cars in the world. However, with a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and two electric motors chucking out a total of 414bhp, the Yaris Hyrid-R is anything but dreary.
Ferrari 458 Speciale
With the 458 Speciale what Ferrari has done is take the very light, very powerful and very fast 458 Italia and made it lighter, more powerful and faster. We'll ditch the prose here and simply reel off some stats: 1290kg, 597bhp, 398lb-ft of torque, 0-62mph in 3.0 seconds, 0-124mph in 9.1 seconds.
Volvo Concept Coupe
Volvo's new Concept Coupe not only previews the look of Volvo's future model line-up, but it also echoes that most iconic of Volvos, the P1800 of the 1960s.
(Hover over the image to open the gullwing doors)
Vauxhall/Opel Monza
The new Monza concept offers us a glimpse of what Vauxhall/Opel's future model line-up and must easily be one of the best-looking cars to come from GM's European division for decades. Plus, it revives the Monza badge which has been lying dormant since the eighties.
Porsche 918 Spyder
Porsche's stunning new 918 Spyder is the Germans' attempt to wade into the McLaren P1 - LaFerrari battle. With an 875bhp hybrid drivetrain, a top speed of 214mph and a 0-62mph time of 2.8 seconds, it looks like putting up a pretty good fight too.
BMW i3
The new BMW i3, Munich's new electric city car, is already available to order from some BMW dealers for £25,680 (including the Government's plug-in car grant). It impressed us with its level of technical innovation, its eye-catching design and its beautifully-designed interior.
And an honourable mention goes to the...
Rolls-Royce Celestial Phantom
Okay, so it's a Rolls-Royce Phantom with a new paint finish and a starry, night-time design theme. "So what?" I hear you ask. Ah, well the Celestial Phantom has one feature which is so mind-bogglingly, wonderfully pointless that we thought we had to share it with you again.
Into the headlining are woven thousands of fibre-optic lights which mimic a starry night sky. Not that interesting on its own, we admit; however, Rolls-Royce claims that the lights provide an accurate representation of the night sky on 1 January 2003, the day the first Phantom rolled off the production line. Rolls even consulted the South Downs Planetarium to make sure it got the constellations just right.
Would it have mattered if the nightscape depicted had been that of the 2 January 2003? No, of course not, but Rolls-Royce had to get it bang on, going to ridiculous lengths in the process. And for this, we commend them.
Motor show images: Newspress
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