Best in show

Newswheel staff :: 15 September 2005 :: Filed under AC Schnitzer, AC Schnitzer Tension, Audi, Audi Q7, Citroen, Ford, Ford Galaxy, Jaguar, Jaguar XK8, Mini, Rinspeed, Europe & UK, Trade shows, US

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Highlights from the Frankfurt festival

AC Schnitzer Tension
Winner by a country mile of this year’s Chintzy Chestwig Chariot Award, AC Schnitzer’s take on the BMW M6 coupe will no doubt soon be found flattening autobahns all across the Fatherland. The subtle and tasteful body mods aside, AC Schnitzer have squeezed an extra 50bhp from BMW’s already awesome 500bhp, 5-litre V10. Headline chassis tweaks include wider tracks all round, lowering to the tune of 30mm and set of ultra-light (around 10kg a corner) 20-inch alloys. If your name is Klaus, you wear tassled loafers with white socks, you like to drive everywhere at 150mph and you have €260,000 burning a hole in your stay-creased action slacks, then this is surely your new weapon of choice.

Only in Germany: apparently, people are going to pay lots of money for this…

Audi Q7
Audi showed off a hybrid concept derivative of the beastly Q7 soft-roader. Poke comes courtesy of a petrol-electric combo involving the 4.2-litre FSI direct injection V8 plus a Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) powered electric motor which packs enough punch to completely take over the motive responsibilities in stop-start driving. The electric kit adds a couple of hundred kilos to the already quantum-singularity-like mass of the Q7 (it’s fully six inches longer than both the Porsche Cayenne and VW Toureg with which it shares its basic underpinnings - the entry-level V6 Q7 weighs a staggering 2,200kg). So, the benefits in terms of fuel economy are modest: just 13% better than the straight V8 model. However, Porsche and VW have also announced they will be sharing this technology, which should at least enable the former to keep good on its promise not to do the diesel deed with the Cayenne.

Citroen C-SportLounge
According to Citroen, the C-SportLounge concept car is “a new interpretation of the grand touring car, in phase with new trends in automotive pleasure.”  Apologies Citroen, but the word pleasure has no business appearing in any press release - it simply gives us the giggles. Cheesy press bumpf aside, this is a seriously classy effort. Unfortunately, it’s also seriously unlikely to be found in a Citroen dealer any time soon. For sure, we wouldn’t be surprised to see certain styling cues from the C-SportLounge appear on production models. But this is very likely the sort of teaser showcar that does little more than make the manufacturer’s real range look really rather ropey. That’s a shame, because this car would surely do wonders for its battered brand image if Citroen was brave enough to bring it to market.

Sir Not Appearing in this Showroom

Ford Galaxy
One of the few genuine premiers at this year’s show was the Ford Galaxy MPV. Aesthetically, it’s a chip off the SAV concept which Ford unveiled at the Geneva show in March. However, the concept’s radically raked windscreen, funky proportions and fancy 20-inch wheels have taken a walk for the production vehicle. It was ever thus. Nevertheless, the all-round vibe of the new Galaxy is a modern, if thoroughly conventional, people carrier. And most importantly, it’s the first in a new line of Fords which aim to add some sorely needed pizzazz into the firm’s European range.
Arguably the best aspect of the design is the interior – it’s neat, classy and confident. Other features of note are the fixed glass roof, seating for seven, Bluetooth phone connectivity, adaptive damping (a first for a Euro Ford) and fully independent Tie-Blade rear suspension as used on the current Ford Focus and C-MAX models. The engine line-up, however, is painfully dreary. Petrol powerplants are limited to the 2-litre, 140bhp four pot, while the diesel pairing takes the form of a 1.8-litre, 120bhp lump or the 2-litre TDCi oil burner packing 140bhp.

What might have been. The SAV concept:

Jaguar XK8 Cabriolet
The best news about this chopped version of the new XK8 is that weighs just 40kg more than tin-top – a relatively svelte 1,635kg. Thank the car’s advanced alloy underpinnings for that (and the use of a conventional canvas roof rather than a fashionable but hefty folding hard-top). Powered by the same 300bhp V8 as the new coupe, the cabrio hits 60 in 6 seconds flat and maxxes-out at an electronically limited 155mph. The V8 will probably be followed by both an entry level 3.2 V6 and a 400bhp supercharged V8 (as seen in the outgoing XK8 and both the current XJ and S-Type four-door models). Sales start next year and prices are expected to kick off at £60,000 in the UK and around $80,000 in the US.

Mini Concept
If you thought the existing BMW Mini was a shameless retro rip-off, you’re not going to jive with this born-again, barn-door Mini Traveller concept. For everyone else, the good news is that not only does this showcar provide a clue to the look of the new Mini due out in 2006 (same again, then), but a production variant has also been seen testing in Germany. Apart from the Traveller-style rear barn doors, technical details include a stretched wheelbase allowing realistic seating for four and parallelogram front door hinges for more convenient cabin access. Whatever…

And finally…
Rinspeed Indy
Ignore the dodgy paint job and the scissor doors. Instead focus on the luscious ride height, those packed wheel arches and the awesome stance. At last, the latest 997-flavour Porsche 911 is making sense. Pricing and availability info has yet to be released, but tech specs include springs chopped by 35mm all round, fancy dampers, 19-inch split rims, and a standard Carrera S drivetrain. In a word, sweet.