| Our preview of the 61st Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung... er, the Frankfurt Motor Show
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| This Monday, the world’s biggest motor show kicks off in Frankfurt. This year too has its share of some really special production cars: the new
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| Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the Audi Q7, the Peugeot 407 coupe, the European Honda Civic, among others. And of course, there are the concept cars too, which indicate the path car makers are taking – like the Citroen C-Sportlounge, the Jeep Patriot/Compass Rallye, the Renault Egeus and more. Over the past few weeks, we have showcased some of these machines in this page. Here then, are some more. Enjoy!
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Jag’s XXXK!
This gorgeous 2+2 coupe is Jaguar’s all-new XK. If it looks familiar, yes, it’s quite close visually to the Advanced Lightweight Coupe concept shown at Detroit early this year. Like the XJ, the new XK also boasts an aluminium monocoque bodyshell, which allows it to offer a better power-to-weight ratio than the car it replaces.
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| The most technically and technologically advanced Jaguar to date, the XK is powered by a naturally aspirated 4200cc V8 motor, which develops 300 bhp at 6000 revs and 41.4 kgm at 4100 rpm. Jaguar has also chucked away the cumbersome J-gate, and has introduced a sequential shift six-speed automatic with paddle-shift this time around. The new cat attains 96 kph in 5.9 seconds and does the quarter-mile sprint in 14.4 seconds, while top speed is limited to 248 kph. A convertible is also on its way.
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Nuclear Vision
What a bomb! The new Mercedes-Benz Vision ML 63 AMG features the world’s most powerful naturally aspirated eight-cylinder engine in series production. With 510 German thoroughbreds emerging from the 6300cc AMG V8, and over 63 kgm of turning force, the performance M-Class does the 0 to 100 kph dash in five seconds, while top speed has been voluntarily curbed at 250 kph.
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| Power to the four wheels is through an AMG Speedshift 7G-Tronic automatic transmission with a Direct Select lever on the steering. Plus you also get permanent 4WD with a 40:60 split between the front and rear axles, AMG sports suspension and AMG high-performance braking system. Now making molehills out of mountains does not seem that difficult.
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Unclear Vision
Hey, Mercedes is showcasing a car in Frankfurt that can propel your whole family of six from nought to 100 kph in five seconds, and go on to touch 250 kph, if not more. Just the kind of family car you needed, right? The machine we’re talking about is the Vision R 63 AMG, a grand sports tourer that is more sports than tourer.
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| The reason for that is an all-new, independently developed AMG 6300cc V8, with a massive 510 horses on tap and a maximum torque of over 63 kgm. This AMG-tuned performance variant of the short wheelbase R-Class is visually distinguished by a whole lot of sporty bits, and it comes with permanent all-wheel drive and an AMG sport suspension too. Your grandma will love it.
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Call it an M1?
Finally, BMW has unleashed the performance iteration of its smallest production car, the 1 Series. The sizzling new 130i five-door hatchback is the only car in its category to be fitted with a straight-six that powers the rear wheels.
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| The 3000cc inline-six, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, features Valvetronic, double-Vanos, magnesium/aluminium composite crankcase and a magnesium cylinder head cover, and produces 265 bhp and almost 32 kgm of torque between 2500 and 4000 rpm.
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| Which means it dismisses the standstill to 100 kph dash in 6.1 seconds, while top speed is as usual electronically limited to 250 kph. The chassis and suspension of the new 130i showcases some major technology to make it dynamic to drive, yet safe. It’s M Power all right, but pity BMW can’t call it the M1!
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Civic sense
No, it’s not to be confused with the new Civic. This is a four-door version of the last-gen European Civic that’s as politically correct as it gets. It’s a hybrid four-door Civic, you see. Motive power comes from a 1300cc three-stage i-VTEC engine paired with Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist system.
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| Honda claims that this Civic hybrid is better than its preceding model by offering 20 per cent more power, while fuel economy is up by 5 per cent. Honda is also showcasing a revamped Accord and S2000 at IAA.
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Sheer BLS
Cadillac is now becoming globally ambitious. With the new front-wheel driven BLS, they plan to enter newer markets and increase the acceptance of the brand. The BLS, while sharing all the design cues of today’s sharp-edged Caddys, features something absolutely unique in the history of Cadillac: it comes with a turbodiesel engine too.
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| The 150 bhp 1900cc four-cylinder common-rail oil burner, along with two 2000cc inline-four petrol engines (175 and 210 bhp), plus a 255 bhp 2800cc six-cylinder unit are the four engine options available in the new BLS. A choice of five- or six-speed manual and automatic transmissions are also on offer.
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Safe pleasure
It’s pretty and it’s safe. It can be a convertible or a coupe. And it can seat four. It’s the new Volvo C70, designed with a little help from Pininfarina. The C70 features a unique door-mounted extra stiff inflatable curtain to make sure you don’t have a massive headache.
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| Among the engine options, the C70 will have two inline-five petrol engines – the top-of-the-range 220 bhp turbocharged T5 and a normally aspirated version of the same 2400cc unit developing 170 bhp. A five-cylinder 180 bhp diesel will follow suit.
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Evo all over again
Mitsubishi calls this aggressive machine of theirs the Concept Sportback — it’s supposed to be an indication of their next-generation C-segment car, and the way their new European five-door sports hatchback is going to look. In other words, it’s nothing but the all-new Lancer. Be afraid, be very, very afraid. |
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