The 66th edition of Frankfurt Motor Show opened its gates on September 15th for the first press days. Awaiting public until September 27, the biggest motor show in Europe managed to witness the launch of almost 90 world premieres, with manufacturers from all over the world being present to the event. The first press days were very crowded as 10,000 journalists attended the event. Among them, CarSession was also present and managed to summarizes the complete experience in a short movie, that we hope you will enjoy.
The most important actors of the event were the German manufacturers, who had an impressive amount of space for their stands.
BMW Show Cars
First there was BMW, who replicated its BMW Welt interior architecture with a inside track where the new BMW 7 Series rolled along the fans. There was also the introduction of the BMW 330e, the first plug-in hybrid version of the current 3-Series.
Audi Show Cars
Audi also wanted to make a statement so it build up from the ground a real world of ice and fire. The public was invited to step in an arctic environment, with ice on the walls and quattro sculpted in ice. Then you could walk on a motorsport corridor to a rather crowded hall, where all the cars made their world debut. We saw the new generation Audi A4 and Audi A4 Avant, along with their ultra or S-line version. The main attraction was the e-tron Quattro, an SUV that anticipates the future BMW X6 rival and Audi`s first all-electric SUV. The concept featured a no-buttons dashboard, cameras instead of side mirrors and a 500 km range electric powertrain.
Mercedes and Smart Show Cars
Mercedes had the most impressive stand, looking like a real commercial center on many floors. The main stage was taken by the new Smart Fortwo Cabrio and by the new Mercedes C-Class Coupe. There was also room for the C63 AMG and for the special edition C63 AMG Edition 1, painted in metallic silver and yellow stripes. The surprise was the IAA Concept, a design study that could reshape its body when speed exceeds 80 km/h.
Volkswagen Show Cars
Volkswagen Group stand was also impressive, with the new Bentley Bentayga attracting journalists and potential clients in large numbers. The first Bentley SUV features a Breitling watch on top of the dashboard, estimated at 200.000 euros. Lamborghini showed us the new Huracan Spyder, a take on the Ferrari 488 GTB, who was also unveiled for the first time in Frankfurt.
Volkswagen also attracted a large number of people at his stand with the global unveiling of the second generation Tiguan compact SUV. The car is bigger and more spacious and features the Virtual Cockpit we saw on the new Passat. Skoda introduced the Superb Combi and some other versions of its top of the range model.
The American-Italian Fiat Group came with the new Alfa Romeo Giulia and managed to impress. During the first days, Alfa Romeo also unveiled that Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde managed an impressive 7 minutes 39 seconds on the Nurburgring.
Expected or not, the new generation Prius, the fourth more exactly, made its world debut in Frankfurt. It is lighter, stronger and emits less CO2. He shared the interest with the C-HR concept, a small SUV that will be introduced in Nissan Juke`s segment.
Peugeot impressed us with the Fractal Concept, and its French brother and partner Citroen brought us new models in its DS premium brand. We saw the DS4 facelift and we found out that the electric-diesel architecture of its models will not be used anymore. Another important French manufacturer, Renault unveiled the new generation Megane, the first compact car with a four wheel drive steering system, the 4Control. Right beside him we saw the new Talisman and Talisman Estate, a D-segment model created to rival the VW Passat. Dacia brought us Euro 6 engines across the range and a piloted transmission on the Sandero and Logan, a first for the Romanian manufacturer. Nissan envisioned the future generation Juke with the Gripz Concept, a very aggressive small SUV.
Luxury Segment
In the luxury segment we saw the new Rolls Royce Dawn, a convertible version of the Wraith. We also met the new F-Pace, Jaguar`s first SUV, created to compete with Porsche Macan and Audi Q5 thanks to its driving dynamics, borrowed from the F-Type. Porsche was also a surprise. Along the facelifted 911 Carrera and Carrera S, the Stuttgart-based manufacturer unveiled the Mission E, a concept that has 600 hp, can reach 100 km/h in 3.5 seconds and can offer a 500 km electric range.
One of the most impressive appearances was the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo, a car created especially for the Gran Turismo game, but capable of anticipating the lines of the future Chiron, the car set to replace old Veyron.