All Roads Lead to the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt

The International Motor Show in Frankfurt, celebrating its 60th year, broke records when the most number of visitors in its history came when it opened its doors to the public last Sept.13. It was not a surprise. After all, the show is one of the most important motor shows in the world attracting not only the most prestigious automakers, suppliers, designers but also people from all over the world. There were around 1,000 exhibitors from over 40 countries ranging from passenger cars, motorcycles, minibuses and special vehicles, telematics, tuning equipment, parts and accessories, workshop and garage equipment and automobile services.

The highlight of the show was the world premiere of several car models, 60 of which were new developments by automotive manufacturers, plus 13 European premieres and 35 premieres in Germany. Other attractions included the different stands of the automobile companies each offering a different ambiance, the concept cars, most of which were futuristic, the new technologies, the launches during the press days, the give-aways for the public and of course the beautiful models which just explained the pure excitement of it all. The cars displayed were not just there to be seen but were there to be tried. Each model’s engine could be inspected and there was always a car representative to entertain your queries or at least, they had their website onhand. There were also specialist events like safety, traffic and mobility training and off road circuits.

Mercedes Benz’s unveiling of its new SLR McLaren high performance sports car and its Vision CLS Coupé stole the show for its design and technology and especially when Formula One driver Kimi Raikonen and test driver Alex Wurz were there to grace the press opening. The SLR McLaren continues the legend of the SLR fullwing racing sports cars from the 50s. It is equipped with a 460 kW/626 hp supercharged V8 engine which catapults the two seater from standstill to 100 km/h in just 3.8 seconds. Not to be upstaged was of course Ferrari with its Formula One cars and new 575 GTC model and it would not be complete without their star driver, Formula One World Champion, Michael Schumacher visiting the stand. The 575 GTC is Ferrar’s most commercial 12 cylinder. It’s 5997cc engine can punch out almost 600 bhp and is coupled with a sequential gearbox. Sister company, Maserati introduced its long awaited flagship luxury saloon, Quattroporte. This highly sophisticated car punches out 800 bhp and owing to its acquisition by Ferrari, it now has a top speed of 275 km/h and 0 to 100 km/h in 5.2 seconds. Lamborghini presented its new Gallardo high performance sports car which has a V10 engine with 500 hp, aluminium space frame chassis and a permanent 4 wheel drive.

Porsche introduced five new models from the new ultra high performance Carrera GT supersports and the cabriolet versions of the 911 Turbo and 911 Carrera4S, a new six-cylinder Cayenne now complements Porsche’s third model series. The 911 GT2 is now even faster offering 319 km/h or 198 acceleration from 0-100 km/h in 4 seconds. It is also more powerful reaching 355 kW or 483 bhp at 5700 rpm — 15 kW or 21 bhp more than the older model. BMW aims to be the dream car of the year through its new 6 Series Coupé. It has a 4.4 litre V8 power unit with fully variable valvetronic valve management with maximum output of 245 kW or 333 bhp and a top speed electronically limited to 250 km/h or 155 mph. BMW also introduced its new X3, its first compact sports activity car with siy cylinder power units, six speed transmission and the new, electronically controlled xDrive all wheel drive system.

For the European market, the big buzz was the world premiere of compact cars Opel Astra and Volkswagen Golf, both of which match each others’ design and technology. The Golf is the most successful German car in the market today with over 22 million units sold. The new Golf is already the fifth generation model. The most striking features are its safety chassis including ESP and Dual Brake Assist with its newly developed multilink rear suspension, the new electro-mechanical steering system, the efficient direct injection technology, the six speed automatic transmission which they claim to be unmatched by its competitors and the modular door system featured for the first time worldwide on a passenger car. The Opel Astra on the other hand, boasts of being the first car in the world with an electronically integrated chassis control through the linking of sensors and control units continuous damping control, ESP and ABS. It also has an adaptive Interactive Driving System suspension with electronic continuous damping control, usually found only on larger luxury models and sports cars.

The Italian compact car, Lancia Ypsilon with its sensual 70s design definitely captures the female segment, They claim to be the smallest four-cylinder Common Rail diesel engine available on the market with a cylinder capacity of 1368 cc. It has a 1.3 16V Multijet, and offers a 95 bhp 1.4 16V. This Multijet engine can be combined with the Dual Function robotized gearbox that combines the running costs of a diesel with the vitality of a petrol engine; the pleasure of a manual with the convenience of an automatic. However, it is the coupé prototype car, Lancia Fulvia which turned a lot of heads with its 60s style. Its style is based on its legendary Fulvia Coupé Rallye 1.6 HF that won the Montecarlo Rally in 1972 as well as the World Brand Championship. The Lancia prototype is also equipped with a 4 cylinder 1.8 16V engine with variable valve timing and a McPherson front suspension layout with telescopic struts, coaxial coil springs and lower wishbones

Alfa Romeo exciting new models made their debut: the new Alfa GT coupe, the new 166 saloon with the sporting traits of a coupe, the new Alfa 156 and Sportwagon. The 166 has four petrol units which are the 150 bhp 2.0 TS, the 188 bhp 2.5 V6 24v, the 220 bhp 3.0 V6 and the 240 bhp 3.2 V6 24v. The two turbodiesels are the 150 bhp 2.4 JTD 10v and the 175 bhp 2.4 Multijet 20v. The Alfa stand also showed the new Alfa Spider and Alfa GTV with their new make overs and a revised range of specifications and power units.

Toyota made an impact with its new Prius hybrid being the most technologically advanced car and environment friendly seen in the show. Prius has an innovative Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain making its performance comparable to a 2.0 diesel, has fuel efficiency through aerodynamics and is sedan with the comforts of a station wagon.

Volvo unveiled their new sedan models — S40, S60 Sport and S80. They claim to be among the market leaders in terms of power output per litre of cylinder volume for their S60 and S80 R engines since it boasts of having 300 hp (220 kW) power output at 5500 rpm and the 400 Nm of torque between 1950 and 5250 rpm. Top speed is electronically limited to 250 kph and the S60 R accelerates from 0 to 100 kph in 5.7 seconds (V70 R, 5.9 seconds) with a manual gearbox.

During the press days, one can call it a battle of image where each car maker tried to beat each other with their own gimmicks for their stands and for their press conferences. If Mercedes Benz and Ferrari brought in their Formula One drivers, the others had theatrical performances a la Cirque du Soleil or dance performances. As stereotypes have it, a beautiful car almost always has a beautiful model beside it. Italian carmakers Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo followed the tradition. One wondered whether the press and the public were actually looking or rather gawking at the beautifully designed cars and stand with its matching car lounge or at those gorgeous models whose look projected the image of the car. It was amazing how those models survived 11 hours of standing on foot with their three-inch heels. At the very least they were compensated well, earning between 250-300 euros per day or around P13,500 to 15,000 a day.