2011 Frankfurt: Upstairs at the IAA – Just Say Yo, Yo

Because most of the A-list cars at the 2011 Frankfurt show are sprawled out on the first floors of nine halls spread out on about as many acres, most journos never venture up to see what’s upstairs. What’s there is mostly a mash-up of SEMA tuner stuff and SAE show supplier stands, but in between you can find nascent or far-flung bit-player car companies that can have some cool stuff.

Just say Yo

That’s how this Russian upstart pronounces its name, which is simply a Cyrillic letter that looks like a lower-case e with an umlaut on top. This so-called “nëw symbol of Russia” plans to begin production next year of a hybrid crossover cleverly named “Crossover,” and a commercial vehicle called Furgon. But at the center of their display was a show-stopping design for a fastback four-seater, called [yo] 7. Unlike the Chinese, these Russians aren’t copying anybody on the engineering or design fronts.

Designer Andrei Trofimtchouk was schooled in Belarus and these are his first automotive designs. The 7’s doors cleverly slide backward and up, curving over the roof and crossing like an insect’s wings. When closed they leave one helluva B/C-pillar blindspot, but hey, it’s a concept, right?

On the engineering front, this hybrid uses no batteries. Instead, it works like a locomotive, with the engine powering a motor-generator that routes surplus electricity into an array of supercapacitors, which then give it back under heavy acceleration. We’re skeptical that this is indeed a better idea, given that none of the mainstream players has seized upon it, but we’ll try to keep an eye on them.

Chang’an a Minute…

Next door to the Russians, Chongquing China based Chang’an Automobile — an independent company with no foreign automaking partner — showed some fetching models that appear to have borrowed heavily from Fisker and Peter Schreyer’s Kia repertoire. The big Sense concept car is a styling exercise aimed to fulfill the IAA show theme “Foresee Fashion in the Future.” The Clover hybrid concept, with its ‘80s Gandini obscured rear wheels, looks decades out of date. The SUV (that’s its name) reminds of the Kia Sportage, and the Eado sedan nicks a few Hyundai Elantra cues. The latter uses a conventional 1.6-liter 93-hp Chang’an four-banger.

Mechatronik

One of my favorite cars on the second floor was a beautifully restored Mercedes 280 SE coupe with an AMG 55 engine tucked neatly under the hood. Nearby was a Pagoda SL running a 3-valve V-6. Mechatronik will do whatever you like, from accurate nut-and-bolt restorations to wild-n-crazy restomods like the 280 AMG.

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