On the eve of the first press day of the Frankfurt Motor Show, an automobile industry veteran alerted us – a group of Indian journalists – not to miss the Mercedes-Benz stall. Watch out for the S-Class coupe concept, he had said.

As we walked into the huge fair grounds on a cloudy morning, each one of us was keen to get down to business – visit as many of the stalls as possible to see the cars – concepts, production models and existing ones – on display and try and catch company executives for an exclusive sound byte.

The 65th Frankfurt Motor Show, which opened in the second week of September, came at just about the right time. It was late summer and as the day progressed, the fair grounds were washed in brilliant sunshine. Name the car maker – European, American, Asian – it was there. There were luxury cars, sports cars, coupes, SUVs, sedans, hatchbacks and most of all, hybrids and electric vehicles, proving once again the growing popularity of this class of personal transportation vehicles.

The German car maker BMW started off the day’s proceedings and one had to wait till almost noon to visit the Mercedes-Benz stall – well it is a misnomer to call it a stall. It is a show within a show, what with numerous models and the crowd of thronging journalists.

Of the models on display – Viano, B-Class Electric Drive, GLA, S 500 Intelligent Drive, new S63 AMG, S500 Plug-In hybrid and the Concept S-Class Coupe – it was the S-Class coupe concept that had the maximum crowd around it.

Mercedes-Benz Concept S-Class Coupe

With this, Mercedes-Benz provides a vision of the next model generation. Its gorgeous appearance and style, has all the traits of a Benz with a more contemporary styling. The oohing and aahing of the crowd around it, was proof enough that the designers have achieved what they wanted to. “The new S-Class saloon was received enthusiastically in the market and perfectly lives up to its role as a representative of the power of innovation of Mercedes-Benz,” said Joachim Schmidt, Member of the Management Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Sales & Marketing. “On the S-Class coupe, as the traditional top of our product range, the designers take advantage of their additional freedom and thus create an automotive masterpiece.”

The flowing profile of the concept S-Class coupe, the long bonnet with the distinctive lines, the accentuated wheel arches have Mercedes-Benz’s architecture written all over it. The coupe has a wheelbase of 2945 mm and is 5050 mm long, 1958 mm wide and 1409 mm tall. The interiors are truly luxurious as one plonks himself on to the driver’s seat. The central console has a touch screen displaying four world clocks. The Concept S-Class coupe is powered by a V8 Biturbo engine, which produces 335 kW (455 hp) from a displacement of 4663 cc. The peak torque is 700 Nm.

According to Mercedes-Benz, the coupe is equipped with intelligent drive technology and thanks to two camera eyes, the stereo camera can get a three-dimensional view of the area up to 50 m in front of the vehicle.

Jaguar C-X17 concept

Jaguar Land Rover, as a combined entity that is now owned by Tata Motors, continues to make waves, although it is way behind the other three luxury car makers, all German – BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.

After Jaguar announced its re-entry into the sports car segment with the F-Type, the industry was waiting for something new from the UK-based luxury car maker and Jaguar did not disappoint them. It announced an all-new technically advanced lightweight aluminium monocoque architecture on which all future Jaguars will be built and also unveiled the concept of a sports crossover, C-X17.

The C-X17 concept is a study to demonstrate the capabilities of the new architecture and blends the sleek design with the crossover benefits. The C-X17 showcases advanced interior technologies, including interactive surface console – a multi-screen infotainment network that links passengers with each other and the outside world through social media channels.

The four-seater C-X17 concept has an assured driving position, could offer refined on-road dynamics and sedan-like handling.

At 4,718 mm long and 1,649 mm tall, the C-X17’s dimensions are clearly that of a crossover but it shares the Jaguar’s strong family traits. The Caesium Blue paint concept has 23-inch alloy wheels and four individual bucket seats.

The C-X17 is positioned as a driver’s car and features technologies such as torque vectoring by braking, a system that monitors the vehicle’s cornering dynamics and uses the brake system to rebalance the distribution of engine torque to the wheels, to reduce understeer and maximise grip. The 213 mm of ground clearance and all-wheel drive could also offer enhanced grip on poor roads and in varying weather conditions.

BMW i8

The second model under BMW’s i brand, the i8 is a plug-in hybrid sports car that features a passenger cell made from carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic and BMW e-drive technology that enables it to be driven on electric power alone. It is a four-seater that offers emission-free driving on city roads and sports performance on the highways.

The i8’s plug-in hybrid system consists of a highly turbocharged three-cylinder turbo petrol engine and e-drive technology. The 1.5-litre combustion engine develops 170 kW/231 hp and drives the rear wheels of the car, while the 96 kW/131 hp electric motor sends its power to the front wheels and allows an all-electric range of up to 35 km and a top speed of 120 km/h.

Suzuki iV-4

This compact SUV from Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan, though not in the same league as the other vehicles featured so far, is of particular interest to Indian readers because the Indian subsidiary, Maruti Suzuki, had also featured the concept of a compact SUV – XA-Alpha – at the 2012 Delhi auto expo. The iV-4 follows other SUVs from the Suzuki stable and is due for a global debut in 2015 in Europe. While inheriting the design of its existing SUV line-up – Jimny and Grand Vitara – the iV-4 has futuristic touches. The production model is now being developed and it will come with Suzuki’s new-generation four-wheel drive, AllGrip.

Porsche 918 Spyder

This sports car with its plug-in hybrid combines performance – 887 bhp output – with the virtually silent, emission-free drive of an electric vehicle. The vehicle is able to accelerate from 0-100 kmph in 2.8 seconds and offers an average standard fuel consumption of between 3 litres/100 km and 3.4 litres/100 km. The 918 Spyder concept allows a combustion engine to be combined with an electric motor based drive to generate new functions that further improve performance. The main drive source is the 4.6-litre, eight-cylinder engine with an output of 608 bhp. The V8 engine is coupled to the hybrid module as the 918 Spyder is designed as a parallel hybrid like Porsche’s current hybrid models. The hybrid module comprises a 115-kW electric motor and a decoupler that serves as the connection with the combustion engine. Because of its parallel hybrid configuration, the 918 Spyder can be powered at the rear axle either individually by the combustion engine or the electric motor, or via both drives together.

ramakrishnan.n@thehindu.co.in

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