Frankfurt Auto Show auto news

Report: Eterniti Hemera to hit market in April

Even if Eterniti Motors hasn't exactly made its Hemera SUV beautiful, it has kept it on a consistently delivered timeline. The boutique British company showed off the Hemera, it's Cayenne-Turbo-S-based "SUV meets BMW M5" at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and now says the final version will rock up to the Beijing Motor Show in April before going on sale later this year.

According to Autocar, only a tiny amount of those sales, though, will take place outside of China: Eterniti plans a first-year run of 50 Hemeras, with 90 percent of them booked for China. The last five of them will be split between Russia, the Middle East and Europe. They could also be paying a little more than previously reported, with the Frankfurt price tag of £150,000 ($240,000 U.S.) now quoted as "above £150,000."

And that's before the bespoke options are arranged on top of the four climate-controlled seats, wireless iPad integration and drink chiller. The 23-inch lightweight wheels, however, won't be extra - shod in low-profile tires they're said to provide a sporting yet refined ride.

Official: Volkswagen concept injects Up! with a shot of GT

As small as the car is itself, Volkswagen wanted to ensure its Up! city car would make a big impact when it lifted the veil on the production model at the Frankfurt Motor Show. So along with the basic three-door hatch, the German automaker also brought out a series of concept cars that gave us a hint at what the future of the product line could hold in store.

Though little in the way of details were offered on the show floor, Volkswagen has been highlighting these concepts one at a time in the weeks that have passed since. First in line was the Cross Up! that confirmed the arrival of a five-door model. Then came the Buggy Up! that showed a more playful side of the platform. Now Wolfsburg has detailed the GT Up!, demonstrating the little hatchback's sporting potential.

Applying a similar formula that's transformed the Golf into the GTI, the GT Up! packs such performance-oriented extras as 17-inch alloys filling up those little wheel wells, a wider grille, brake ducts with integrated LED daytime running lights, extended side sills, gloss-black side mirror housings, a rear spoiler and diffuser and twin exhaust pipes.

The interior has been done up with blue-checked anthracite upholstery, a black headliner, gloss-black trim and leather-wrapped three-spoke wheel. While the GT Up isn't quite confirmed for production at this point, it does show us what could come down the pipeline. In the meantime, you can check out the high-resolution images and the press release after the jump.

Continue reading Volkswagen concept injects Up! with a shot of GT

Report: Mercedes-Benz S-Class EV in the cards?

Increasingly stricter environmental dictates are making the rich man's camel pass though the eyes of smaller and smaller needles to get to regulatory heaven. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is going to have to shrink somewhere in order to make it into the future, and it seems the company plan for that is to make an electric version, possibly even with lithium-sulfur batteries powering plug-in fuel-cell technology from the F-125! concept showed off at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show.

The hitch in this case is that if we ever see such a car, Daimler's R&D chief believes 2020 or 2025 would be the window for its appearance. The technologies aren't concept-only, or as out-there as using thorium for power, but scaling up to passenger car sizes and standards might be a decade or more out. The return: an S-Class with an emissions-free range of 621-miles.

That might sound like overkill, but as of now only one S-Class undercuts the European average for vehicular CO2 emissions. With the noose tightening in 2015 and even tighter strictures in 2020 and 2025, Mercedes (and plenty of other automakers) will need to position itself for 2025 and beyond.

Confirmed: Infiniti FX Sebastian Vettel Version approved for production, may result in AMG-like tuning arm

Running a luxury brand used to be simple. Tart up a few mass-market sedans with leather interiors and power accessories, slap on a big hood ornament, jack the price through the roof, then sit back and watch the gravy train flow. These days it couldn't be more different. You need dedicated luxury platforms and halo cars and marketing tie-ins. And if you really want to be taken seriously among the cognoscenti, you need an in-house performance tuner to craft your own AMG or M-series line of cars.

Which brings us to Infiniti, the formerly North American-only luxury brand. It has been going toe-to-toe with Mercedes and BMW in some product segments for years, but with aspirations of competing with the big two luxury marques globally, it needs to put some muscle behind its nascent Infiniti Performance Line brand. So that 414-horsepower Infiniti FX Sebastian Vettel Version you saw at Frankfurt? Yep, it's coming, according to an interview with Nissan Executive Vice President Andy Palmer on the company's corporate blog. And although it won't necessarily be branded an IPL car, Palmer says the Vettel FX will serve as a pilot, to prove that Infiniti can sell "low-volume, very special versions, and be able to charge a premium."

Vettel took his second straight Formula 1 title with a victory in Japan this weekend, and Infiniti might as well capitalize on its marketing partnership with Red Bull Racing. You don't spend upwards of $10 million on a racing deal if you're not going to use it to sell cars. Of course, Vettel is hardly a celebrity in the U.S., so we'll have to wait to hear some official word about North American plans. "Right now," Nissan PR told us, "it is still simply a concept."

Watch the entire interview with Palmer after the jump.

Continue reading Infiniti FX Sebastian Vettel Version approved for production, may result in AMG-like tuning arm

Report: Next Opel / Vauxhall Astra cabrio to be standalone model

The Opel Astra CC suffers from the same ailment as other small, hardtop convertibles like the Renault Megane and Peugeot 308 cc: an ungainly backside. Stowing a tin roof that needs to cover four people inside a small car just blows things up in the rear. That's why the head of General Motors design in Europe says that the next Astra cabrio won't be a hardtop, but return to cloth.

And in fact, it won't even be called "Astra." Set to bow in 2012, it will break from that nomenclature and forge its own - as yet unknown - brand path. "This car demands a new name," it was said, because "it will look nothing like an Astra," burdened as it will be with continuing the fight to raise Opel and Vauxhall cachet as, a battle begun with the Insignia.

We thought the Opel GTC we saw at the Frankfurt Auto Show was pretty hot - put a softtop on that and hold its stance, and we'd applaud. But if Opel has something even better in mind, well then bring on 2012. We can't wait to see it.

Official: Volkswagen brings Buggy Up! concept back from the beach

Typically an automaker releases information on its latest concept cars in the days and weeks running up to the auto show where it's set to be unveiled. But when we got to Frankfurt this year, Volkswagen had a few surprises up its sleeve that were neither previewed beforehand nor unveiled at the VW Group event the night before the Messe opened its doors to the gathered press.

Not only did Volkswagen unveil the new production Up! city car, it also showcased a whole mess of Up-based concept cars as well. Included on the company's sprawling show stand were the Up! Azzurra, the Cross Up!, GT Up!, Eco Up!, e-Up! and this, the Buggy Up!, which the German automaker has just now detailed to satisfy your curiosity.

Drawing its inspiration from the iconic Meyers Manx and other such Beetle-based beach buggies, the Buggy Up! concept takes the new urban hatchback's mechanical bits and covers them in a new shape that has no doors. Instead, there's a waterproof cockpit with two neoprene bucket seats, drain holes, a grab-handle for the passenger, a removable infotainment module and a fabric roof. The hatchback, meanwhile, has been replaced with a trunklid that splits to fold up and down for easy access.

It was a nice little surprise when we stumbled upon it on the show floor, and you can check it out in the fresh batch of images from the manufacturer, along with our own gallery of live images, and the press release after the jump.

Continue reading Volkswagen brings Buggy Up! concept back from the beach

Study: Porsche 911 found to be Frankfurt favorite

The coverage coming out of the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show was filled with vehicles that run the gamut of the automotive spectrum, but one vehicle in particular caught the eyes of journalists and readers alike. The 2012 Porsche 911 was the darling of the Frankfurt show, and the data backs it up.

According to browsing and social media data compiled by UK company Kantar Media Precis, the new 911 was the most (virtually) talked about machine in attendance. Websites, blogs and social media feeds were all abuzz, and it was the latest 911 that dominated all discussions.

We're guilty of falling in love with the German sports car as well. We spoke about both the standard 911 and the Carrera S, and are gearing up for another 50 or so variants set to debut in the next decade and a half.

Video: What can Hyundai do silently and inexpensively that Volkswagen and BMW can't?

Someone at the Frankfurt Motor Show caught Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn investigating a Hyundai i30 as if he was just like one would expect from an intrigued engineer at a rival company. It might be too much to infer that the Herr Doctor is impressed by what he finds, but there is no doubt that he's got some questions that will need answering when he leaves.

At about 1:45, while sitting in the cabin, he adjusts the steering wheel and begins to query his seconds on what he discovers. As far as our native German speaking helper could tell, Winterkorn wants to know how Hyundai managed to make an adjustment mechanism that doesn't make any noise, going so far as to say, "How do they do it? BMW can't do it, we can't do it... no clanging!" And then one of the gentlemen appears to answer, "We had a solution but it was too expensive..."

Follow the jump for the video and our best attempt to transcribe what Winterkorn says. Feel free to fill in the blanks in the comments, and we believe this officially means everyone is watching Hyundai. Closely.

Continue reading What can Hyundai do silently and inexpensively that Volkswagen and BMW can't?

Honda releases more details on Fit electric concept

Japanese automaker Honda may not have stolen the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, but Honda did use the stage to present some of its greener prototypes, most notably, its EV Concept.

Still without a proper name, the Honda EV Concept is designed to meet the daily driving needs of the average commuter and utilizes the same five-passenger layout found in the popular Honda Jazz Fit.

When the production version of the Honda EV Concept hits the streets in 2012, it will be powered by a lithium-ion battery and coaxial electric motor. The motor, derived from the unit found in the FCX Clarity fuel cell car, is efficient and powerful while remaining quiet at highway speeds (top speed is listed at 90 miles per hour), according to Honda.

Honda says the EV Concept will achieve an estimated 100-mile driving range per charge using the EPA's LA4 city cycle and claims that range can be maximized by use of an innovative three-mode electric drive system adapted from the Honda CR-Z.

There's still no word on pricing for the Honda EV Concept and the Japanese automaker remains mum on the vehicle's rollout schedule. However, we'd assume Honda will follow the lead of most other automakers by launching the electric Fit in select states in 2012 ahead of a nationwide rollout a year or so later.

Continue reading Honda releases more details on Fit electric concept

Submit your questions for Autoblog #248 LIVE

We record Episode #248 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and you can drop us your questions via our Q&A module below. Check out our discussion topics or chime in to help determine what else the crew chats about this evening. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.

Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #248

• Zach's Targa Newfoundland Odyssey
• Hyundai Veloster
• The end of the Ford Crown Victoria
• Chevrolet Caprice PPV

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes

[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator