Marching Through Frankfurt: Design Thoughts on the 2011 Frankfurt Show

The 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show is without question the biggest auto show in the world, in terms of distance hiked. We’re talking more than 2,000,000 square feet of convention floor space spread out in at least 11 buildings (though Audi built its own, separate 12th building, and there were tons of tiny SEMA-style shows tucked up into the rafters). Point is: Wear sensible shoes. One poor booth babe from Mazda had to march a bunch of us journalist types from one hall to another and got her spiked heel caught between cobblestones, thrice! The upside is all that marching leads to cars. Lots and lots of cars. Here are some thoughts on some of what I spied.

Porsche 911 (991)

The new 911, AKA the icon’s icon. My first reaction to seeing it in the flesh is, “Big!” The 991 simply strikes me as big. Wide, thick, long — but really just big. All two of the 991s I saw on the floor were sitting on massive 20-inch wheels that dwarf the relatively puny-looking brakes. Kim Reynolds said it much better and more articulately than I’ll ever be able to, but while the 991 looks good it really no longer resembles a 911. A claim that’s all the easier to make because Porsche thought to bring along the “Ur 911” from its museum. Looking at the 1963 original compared to its 2012 offspring, it’s plain a link is missing. The fact is, the 991 looks more like the Panamera than the OG 911. Is that sad, or does it matter at all? Dunno. Will it be any good to drive? Here’s hoping!

Jaguar C-X16

The new Jaguar coupe is a little… fussy. I’m not sure how else to term it, but there’s a beautiful shape in there somewhere (it’s a proper Jag, there has to be) but the C-X16 has a lot of secondary visual noise grafted to it. It’s as if the actual, well-formed car is sitting atop an abstract expressionist plinth. For whatever reason, all the extra flutter seems to be affixed to the base of the body, giving me some hope that the busyness is just show car flair and that the production car can be de-fuss-i-fied by the time it hits showrooms. Here’s hoping, at any rate. I will say — in the parlance of the U.K. — that the front end is smashing. Worlds better than the 1996 Ford Taurus snout found on the XK.

Hyundai i30

Here we have a good-looking car. I still remember seeing the current Sonata for the first time two years back at the L.A. show and not knowing quite what to make of Hyundai’s striking new design language, the ill-named “fluidic sculpture.” However, this here i30 – which we’ll be calling the Elantra Touring when it makes its way Stateside – is a wonderful take on the theme. I particularly like the headlamp and foglight treatment, which is more masculine and less childlike than on the sedan version of the Elantra. And really, at the end of the day, can we have too many station wagons? I think not.

Land Rover DC100 and DC100 Sport Concepts

Big bossman MacKenzie and I stood and stared at the new Land Rover concepts (DC100 three-door hardtop and the DC100 Sport, an open top version (pictured at top) for a good 30 minutes. We had a particularly unique view, as between us and the two concepts stood the ageless, indefatigable, and really just fantastic Defender 90. Looking at the two design proposals next to the hulking, carved-from-British-steel original, it became immediately clear (to paraphrase Lloyd Bensten) that they’re no Defender 90. The DC100 Sport falls into the will-never-be-more-than-a-show-car file, while the three-door hardtop comes off as what a Toyota FJ Sport would look like. I won’t name names, but a fairly high ranking Land Rover dude assured me and MacKenzie that these two are really “just concepts.” Phew.

Mazda CX-5

Now here’s a good-looking little crossover. If you remember all the way back to the Geneva show, you’ll remember the Mazda Minagi concept. Basically, the CX-5 is the Minagi, minus the show car rearview wing cameras and that long strip of chrome that ran around the front and bisected the headlights. Taller than the CX-7, but smaller, the CX-5 is a good and solid-looking entry into a very crowded and competitive field. The difference will be in the application of Mazda’s new SkyActive tech, which should meld great performance with high MPG – especially the diesel with the manual, which our own Todd Lassa said is the SUV you want now. Trouble is – at least in the U.S. – you (probably) can’t get it. Shame, that.

Maserati Kubang

Uh… no.

Peugeot HX1 Concept

Well, hello there! At the end of the day, I’m a sucker for any car that’s long, low, and sleek, with a huge amount of space between the wheels. And Peugeot’s HX1 people-mover delivers that sort of shape in spades. But more than that, this six-passenger minivan alternative shows off a nice smattering of smart thinking. First off, there’s active aero everywhere.

The headlights pop out to create drag coefficient lowering turbulence (0.31 cd to a slippery 0.29 cd). Beyond that, the funky wheels (my personal least favorite part) kick up some MPG-helping air. But the real active-aero highlight are the three spoilers found at the back of the roof. One sits up top, while the two others flank the D-pillars. Again, they not only help with reducing drag, but when you slam the brakes, they pop up Veyron-style to form a triple-blade air brake. Cool!

But that’s not all. Underneath the double (and suicide!) slanty gullwings sits a six passenger cabin. Two plus two plus two, with a twist. The middle row seats slide into the fronts seats when they’re not in use, giving the back row occupants Maybach-levels of legroom. This strikes me as particularly brilliant, because it doesn’t use up an ounce of floor space like a Stow’n Go type solution. Is it safe, legal? Who cares — pure concept! Great use of wood throughout, too. And this, friends, the Peugeot HX1, is why I love auto shows.

Kia GT Concept

Not content to sit back and let kissing cousin Hyundai reap all the RWD Korean fun, Kia has taken the gloves off to give us the GT Concept, an extremely stylized four-door that should swim in the same water as cars like the Audi A7 and Mercedes-Benz CLS. Overall I like the design, though I’m curious to see what a de-blinged non-show car version looks like. I’m just not that into the front intakes that flank the headlights. The Aston Martin One-77 features similar venting, but on the uber-car Aston, those intakes actually go into the carbon-fiber frame and feed the intake plenums. Here? Brake cooling, maybe?

The GT Concept’s best angle is from the side, though I do see some cribbed notes from the Jaguar XJ. I’m fine with that because as Woody Allen says, if you’re going to steal, steal from the best. I also like the copper accents that start in the A-pillars and then trail down the roof because, hey, show cars are supposed to be adventurous. The back is nice and tidy, though perhaps a little too slabby. I do like the big diffuser, however. Still, it works better than the busy, insect-like nose. Will they build it? Time (or a very friendly company insider) will tell. That said, I hope the twin-turbo 390-horsepower V-6 makes it into something.

Citroen Tubik Concept

Look, if you love Citroens — the classic, awesome Citroens of yore — then your fancy was very much tickled by the hulking Tubik concept truck. Not only does it elicit warm fuzzies because of the resemblance to the tres hip Citroen H van, but it owes more than passing debt to the never-produced VW Microbus concept from a decade back, the one car Volkswagen really should’ve built. If you couldn’t care less about the distant past of European vanery, well, then the Tubik is not for you. As for me, I dig it, though I wish they’d spent a bit more time resolving the sides.

BMW i3 and i8

The first thing you need to do when looking at the i3 Concept is to imagine what it will look like with non-transparent doors. Do that and you’re left with quite a nice-looking city car. Especially as the global small CUV craze shows no signs at all of slowing down. The neatest attribute shared by both cars is the way the kidney grilles are three-dimensional, curving up and onto the hood. The effect is more dramatic on the larger i8 but it’s definitely present on the i3. Also, you’ve got to love the i3’s floating taillights. Reminds me of the ghosts from Pac-Man. I find the sleeker, sporty i8 much more attractive, and I also find it refreshing that it’s somewhat restrained. BMW could have slapped on 24-inch wagon wheels. They didn’t because A) they’re serious about their i sub-brand and B) they’re going to build this car. Just try and visualize what real doors will look like.

There’s a load of clever design on hand with both cars, but the big take away is that while they don’t look like conventional cars, they don’t look preposterously far-fetched, either. The two represent a new milestone in production car materials. BMW had both the i3 and i8 concepts perched on a platform high above the rest of its products. I’m stealing this line from Moray Callum, but it was like looking at the future of the car, and then looking down on the past. The two concepts seem to be from a different century compared to the rest of BMW’s lineup. And peering into that future, these might be the two most significant cars of the entire show. Not so much for their electric powertrains, but because they just might usher in a new era of high-tech composite construction for the masses.

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