The Mercedes-Benz F700 concept car is a rolling test bed of new environmental technologies, including the DiesOtto engine, which produces 238 horsepower and 295 foot-pounds of torque from just 1.8 liters.
FRANKFURT
European automakers, stung by criticisms from environmentalists and government regulators that they are late to the green party, will be using the 2007 Frankfurt motor show to showcase everything in their alternative fuel and powertrain arsenals.
The biennial show, the 62nd Internationalen Automobil-Ausstellungen Cars, will be held at the mammoth CongressCenter Messe Frankfurt convention center from Thursday through Sept. 23. Press preview days began Monday night and continue through Wednesday. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, will open the show to the public on Thursday.
Organizers boast the show will be “the leading international fair for sustainable mobility,” and millions of euros will be spent on lavish displays touting environmentally responsible motoring. The show, spread throughout 2.5 million square feet of exhibit area, is always brutal on the podiatric health of journalists, some 10,000 of whom have reportedly received credentials. They will have to hustle to see how many of the 88 world premieres they can attend; perfect attendance is impossible because with so many introductions packed into barely two press days, multiple introductions are scheduled simultaneously, at widely disparate locations.
To pound home the sustainability theme, press shuttles are various alternative fuel and propulsion vehicles. Journalists are also being offered “eco-training” classes to learn economical driving techniques. A BioFuels Bar has information about the advantages and possible uses of biofuels and also dispenses biofuel-themed drinks. And the physically fit can hike an “Environmental Trail” around the convention center (a complex of buildings so sprawling it is served by three train stations).
The stars of the show, not surprisingly considering the host country, figure to be the German automakers. Mercedes-Benz is planning to unveil as many as 18 products, including Bluetec diesels and hybrids with both gasoline and diesel engines.
The centerpiece of the newly emancipated DaimlerMinusChrysler is the F700 concept, an S-Class-sized vehicle with five doors and 40 miles per gallon economy. The F700 is a rolling test bed of new environmental technologies, including the DiesOtto engine. This four-cylinder gasoline engine, pronounced “Dees-Otto” (not De Soto), produces 238 horsepower and 295 foot-pounds of torque from just 1.8 liters , using a new technology known as homogenous charge compression ignition. The engine has two ignition modes — compression, under light loads, and spark at other times — to boost fuel mileage. The company said the DiesOtto engine has the strong low-end torque and fuel savings of a diesel, but with emissions that are lower than a diesel.
BMW is taking the wraps off a new X6 crossover, an X5-based S.U.V.-type vehicle, powered by a gasoline-electric hybrid engine. The “sporty, coupe-like” X6, to be built in Spartanburg, S.C., seats four and has five doors. Of interest here to enthusiasts is the much anticipated 1-Series coupe. The 1-Series offerings, the 128i and 135i, are throwbacks to the nimble, quick, shoebox-sized BMWs of 30 years ago. With the same 300-horsepower turbo engine that is in some 3- and 5-Series models, the 135i should be a rocket, perhaps even “a modern BMW 2002”, as Car and Driver magazine gushes.
Another important newcomer is the Volkswagen City Expert concept, which could be VW’s most important new vehicle since the New Beetle. VW will also show the production-ready Tiguan, a smaller Touareg-themed S.U.V., and BlueTec diesel models.
Audi is displaying a new line of diesel engines that the company said have the “cleanest diesel technology in the world.” The turbodiesel powerplants employ a fuel-saving, hybrid-like stop-start system and a chemical injection system to reduce nitrogen emissions. An all-new Audi A4 sedan is also making its debut, as is the A8, the brand’s flagship sedan that has had a facelift.
Not to be outdone by all this emphasis from German automakers on green technology, even Porsche is bringing out a gasoline-electric hybrid version of its Cayenne S.U.V. here. Relax, Porsche-philes, also on tap is the new 911 GT2, the most powerful street-legal 911 ever.
General Motors’s Opel division is in fact headquartered in Frankfurt and is introducing here an Agila minivan and a hybrid concept that will have G.M.’s E-Flex propulsion system (first shown on the Chevrolet Volt concept at the 2007 Detroit auto show). In this variation, an Opel Astra-like vehicle is equipped with the electric motors and a turbodiesel engine. Since Saturn seems to get everything Opel brings out, is this related to the Saturn plug-in hybrid that was announced at the ’06 L.A. Auto Show? Hmmm.
American manufacturers certainly have increased their presence here in recent years. G.M. is expanding its Euro-only Cadillac BLS line with an “estate” or station wagon version of the sedan. The Swedish-built car is essentially a Saab 9-3 wagon in a Caddy-lite disguise. Also showing here: A Chevrolet Aveo hatchback. No crowding, please. Over at Saab, there’s a hot new Turbo X to ogle.
Dodge continues to expand its offerings here with a new Journey crossover that it will sell in Europe. The Journey is built on a stretched Avenger platform and will replace the short wheelbase Chrysler Voyager minivan sold here.
Ford, in the midst of a product realignment that will bring many European versions of its cars to America, is showing two new concepts here. The Verve is supposed to be a sneak preview of the upcoming Fiesta subcompact, due in Europe next year and North America and Asia a year or two later. The Kuga concept is a Focus-based crossover that is nearing production form.
Jaguar, which Ford has on the block, is bringing out the latest vehicle that is supposed to save the company (after previous models failed to do so): the new XF sedan. Shown at Detroit as the sleek C-XF concept, the XF has been plumped up a bit — so people will actually fit in it — and equipped with a high-horsepower V-8. Can the XF make people forget the S-Type? What couldn’t?
Aston Martin, a company also already sold by Ford, is showing that there is indeed life after Ford, with the unveiling of its DBS flagship.
Rounding out the Brit contingent here is the new Mini Clubman, which is 10-inches longer, with three more doors, than a Mini. Alas, no wood-trimmed “shooting brake” wagon.
Other European manufacturers, which don’t sell in the United States, such as Peugeot, Renault, Fiat, Skoda, are also having important debuts here. Of special note is the too-cute Fiat 500.
Asian manufacturers have a solid lineup of Frankfurt introductions, too, including the Mazda6, Mitsubishi’s Concept-cX, Toyota’s unfortunately named Endo microcar, Nissan’s Mixim electric car, and a Honda Accord wagon that may be a design precursor for the next Acura TL. Hyundai has a Veloster coupe to show here, and Kia has a Sports Coupe Concept. Chinese automakers, two of which are already selling cars in Europe, also have displays.
