FRANKFURT – The world’s prime automotive players will be jostling for a place in the limelight at the Frankfurt car show next week in what has become the industry’s most important showcase.
A whole raft of new models and innovations along with the usual share of weird and wonderful concept vehicles are lined up for the exhibition from September 13-23 which takes place in Europe’s biggest and most sophisticated car market.
This year’s show marks the 50th anniversary of an automotive showcase of what has always been a barometer of how the industry is performing and of its hopes for the future.
In 1951 West German president Theodor Heuss opened the first postwar car show in Germany as a largely domestic affair. This year’s show is of blockbuster proportions, with around a million people expected to pass through the turnstiles at the Frankfurt showground.
German and German-based manufacturers will set the trend in Frankfurt this year. Ford unveils a new Ford Fiesta designed to cash in on the success of its bigger brothers, the Focus and Mondeo. The mini-hatch for the 21st century looks like being a much better car than its predecessor but the distinctive new Edge styling has given way to more curves.
Europe’s biggest carmaker Volkswagen is pinning its hopes on the new Polo, which will go on sale at home this autumn. The rejigged Polo must carry on the winning tradition of a model that has sold 7 million so far. With its Lupo-like front treatment and round headlights the little saloon in two or four-door form presents a cheekier face to the world than the model it replaces.
Visitors who want to admire tomorrow’s luxury cars today will have to go to the stands of the southern German manufacturers. Pride of the BMW stand is the new 7 series, an executive express crammed with all manner of driver comforts and electronic gadget.
Cabin wars will continue to rage in Frankfurt with innovative dash concepts from some top German makers. These concepts will have to fend off criticism that the averagely-intelligent driver is being bamboozled by controls and buttons for too many functions.
Mercedes-Benz rounds off its 100th anniversary year with the dramatic new SL 500 convertible, a more luxurious and sportier successor to its winning convertible now mated to a chassis packed with technical wizardry. The V8 engine from the previous model will continue to deliver the appropriate 300-plus horses. Porsche have smoothed a few wrinkles off the iconic 911 but interest will centre on the company’s most radical departure to date, the Cayenne offroader being shown in public for the first time. It’s not due to hit the tarmac until 2002.
Audi has the Avant estate version of the A4 a year after the limousine was introduced and a long-awaited A4 cabriolet with a bespoke interior as an alternative to snazzy, best-selling TT.
Meanwhile ailing General Motors subsidiary Opel will be hoping to woo the young-at-heart with an estate version of the new Corsa and a sporty Zafira. A design study of what could be the new Vectra shows a marque desperate to shake off its current dowdy image.
Seat, which belongs to VW, will present the successors to the Ibiza and Cordoba along with a lean-looking Leon open-topper, while Skoda’s classy new Superb limousine is based on the stretched Passat platform. BMW will launch another variant of its New Mini, which has already achieved cult status among the upwardly mobile.
Mercedes’ sister Chrysler has promised a PT cruiser design and a more contemporary-looking successor to the elderly Jeep Cherokee. Other American offerings include the new TrailBlazer von Chevrolet, the new STC and a few design objects from Cadillac and what may turn out to be a European version of the new Ford Thunderbird.
Importers have a hard time of it in the face of so much German steel but the French, Italians, Scandinavians and Asians will have their day too. The Citroen C3 is the car that dyed-in-the wool fans of the marque have been longing for. As French as baguette loaf it has the right blend of avant-garde looks and sturdiness that made the 2CV a legend.
Peugeot has lined up some variants on a 307 theme while Renault has a design study of a elegant coupe and maybe even a preview of the next generation Espace or Twingo for visitors to feast their eyes upon.
From the other side of the Alps comes little in the way of innovation this year. Fiat will roll out the Stilo again, its replacement for the Bravo and Brava, while Lancia will rest of the laurels of its Thesis luxury car. Alfa Romeo plans to overhaul the 156 and offer a sportier version. Maserati fans will also get a glimpse of the sensuous Spyder variant of the GT 3200 Coupé. A handsome, all-new 390 horsepower V8 loses a turbo but gains a litre of capacity.
Northern European manufacturers are exercising restraint in Frankfurt. Saab will showcase the retouched 9-5 along with some new diesel engines and Volvo has a four-wheel drive version of the S60. This leaves the British contingent to plug the gap. The new Range Rover is being saved for a home audience in Birmingham in October but sporting studies from MG, the Rover 75 estate and the uprated R variants from Jaguar should keep the punters happy.
The stunning Aston Martin Vanquish – the car to be driven by fictional spy hero James Bond in his next film – will certainly draw the crowds. Some pundits are predicting that the much-vaunted Mid- Size Bentley – a slightly more affordable version from the top badge in the VW collection – may see the light of day at its first show.
The Asians will be arriving in Frankfurt with tightly-packed containers even though they have their own prestigious show in Tokyo just six weeks later. Frankfurt will see models tailormade for European tastes, such as the new Nissan Primera and the next Micra.
Toyota has the next generation Corolla and the Avensis Verso as a practical seven-seater in the fast growing new Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) category of people movers. Lexus the IS 300 estate and the neat SC 430 GT convertible. From Korea comes a new coupe and all-wheel driver from Hyundai, a revamped Carnival from Kia and a few design studies from Daewoo.
