Motorshow: 2009 IAA Frankfurt Motorshow

This years Frankfurt motorshow saw world-wide debuts of the Kia Venga, Bentley Mulsanne, Citroen C3 & DS3, BMW X1, Dodge Caliber facelift, Fiat Punto Evo, Ford C-Max & Grand C-Max, Hyundai Santa Fe facelift, Lexus LS & GS facelift, Mazda3 MPS and the Skoda Superb Estate, just to name a few.

The new C3 is Citroen’s contender in the mainstream supermini market. Distinctive styling is a major part of its appeal, but the C3 is attractively green, too. The cleanest C3 will have a 90bhp 1.6 litre diesel engine and CO2 emissions of just 99g/km when it goes on sale early next year, but Citroen plans to add further models that emit just 95 and 90g/km during 2010.

Engines with start-stop systems and automated manual gearboxes will be fitted throughout the range, and Citroen has worked hard to ensure that the new car is no bulkier or heavier than the one it replaces, despite providing more space and equipment.

'We introduced a penalty system on our suppliers if they didn't reach our weight targets,' a Citroen spokesman said.

The initial C3 engine line-up will be 1.1, 1.4 and 1.6 litre petrol engines and 1.4 and 1.6 litre turbo-diesels, delivering between 70bhp and 120bhp, but the 1.1 litre unit will have 'a short life', according to a Citroen spokesman. New low CO2 emitting 1.0 and 1.2 litre petrol engines are coming as well, which will help make Citroen's emissions targets of 95- and 90g/km feasible.

As with the present C3, only five-door models will be available. If you want a three-door, take a look at the DS3 on the stand. There is a new rear suspension system for both, mounted on subframes to isolate road noise.

Citroen says it designed the C3 with the principle that 'customers no longer talk about the distances they cover, but the amount of time they spend in the car'.

'Customers were changing even before the financial crisis started. Superminis were becoming the first choice for many. We had to put right the weaknesses of today's C3. Anyway, as a company, we are too attached to innovation to copy and paste the current car.'

There has been a big push to improve quality and style, and to make the cabin roomier, more airy and sophisticated. The trim materials and design give the new car far more class than the current model and thinner seat and dashboard structures improve space, while allowing the car to remain less than four metres long. A 'zenith' windscreen which stretches back over the roof is a distinctive design element. It lets more light into the cabin, but also shields it from heat.

Citroen says it will use the Ford Fiesta as a pricing benchmark, which would suggest a starting price of a little under £10,000. The new C3 will go on sale in the UK in Spring 2010.

 
Picture galleries can be seen here, here and here.
 
Via AutoBild

Tramontana R Edition - Pictures and Video

The super cool, super quick Tramontana R Edition car is an evolved version of the standard open-wheel 2 seater, packing a Mercedes-sourced 5.5-liter V12 available in either naturally aspirated, 550 hp guise or a twin-turbocharged 760 hp version that dolls out an astonishing 811 lb-ft of torque. It does 0-100 kph in 3.6 seconds and gets 200 kph in a 10.15-second run. Price tag is a credit busting €385,000 but its one hell of a cool car as these pictures and video below show.








The wheelbase has been shortened by 50mm to improve handling and aerodynamics, and weight is down by 202 pounds to just 2,777 pounds. The R stretches 192 inches from nose to tail, is 82 inches wide and 51 inches tall, and weight distribution is a perfect 50:50 left to right and 42:58 front to rear.




Tramontana fitted 20-inch carbon fiber and magnesium wheels at each corner, along with high-performance summer rubber sized 245/40 in front and 335/30 in the rear. 380mm, six-piston Brembos handle stopping duties, while a custom Ohlins suspension allows the R's ride-height to be adjusted between 85 and 135 mm.






The body speaks for itself, as does the exposed carbon fiber interior, which features a chop-top steering wheel, an LCD instrument panel and the controls to the six-speed sequential gearbox.

Production will be limited to 12 units per year with a price tag of €385,000 ($495,000).

Tramontana R Edition Video

Volkswagen L1 Concept Cars

New Revolution from Volkswagen. The Volkswagen L1 concept that’ll go 100 kilometres for every litre of gasoline. To top it all off, Volkswagen is very keen on the L1 hitting streets as early as 2010. Breathtaking! But, you cannot have your cake and eat it too. The L1 concept can seat only two adults, one behind the other like a motorcycle and will top out at a maximum speed of 75Mph.

Peugeot BB1 - Strange but cool!

One of the more quirky cool concept cars at the Frankfurt Motor Show yesterday was the Peugeot BB1. The design brief for the BB1 was to provide maximum versatility, a compact size, manoeuvrability (3.5m turning circle) and good performance levels.

To achieve all this, the Peugeot teams faced a real challenge - accommodate four people in an overall length of just 2.5 metres. To meet this challenge, the design of the structure of the passenger compartment has drawn inspiration from two-wheeled vehicles in terms of the ergonomics and controls.

The driver controls the vehicle by adopting a novel driving position - more vertical than is usual. This is mainly made possible through the absence of foot pedals, as in a conventional car. Access to the vehicle is through the reverse opening doors, while the load area access is through an innovative tail board / tailgate design.

The interior can be transformed as required to offer a load volume of up to 160 litres (with four occupants), or 855 litres (with just one person in the car). The style of the vehicle includes a large glazed frontal surface area, low door waistline and extended wheel arches. It's fitted with two electric motors mounted in the rear wheels, designed in association with Michelin.

They produce a maximum power output of 20hp per motor, with a 0 to 19 mph time of 2.8 seconds. Two lithium-ion battery packs supplying energy to the respective electric motors located under the right and left-hand rear seats, with a comfortable range of 75 miles.

Wiesmann Roadster

Check out how cool this Wiesmann Roadster car is! Wisemann is an automobile manufacturer in Germany. The company was founded in 1985 by the brothers Martin Wiesmann and Friedhelm Wiesmann. The cars are manufactured by hand in Dülmen.

The company originally manufactured custom hard-tops for convertibles, which they continue to do. The first roadster left the workshop in 1993. As of 2006, they produce the Wiesmann MF 3 and MF 30 roadsters and the Wiesmann GT MF 4 coupé, all of which utilize engine and transmission components supplied by BMW.

The Wiesmann logo portrays a gecko, as Wiesmann cars "stick to the road like geckos to a wall".

Wiesmann had plans to begin exporting vehicles to the USA by 2010, but recent reports indicate that Wiesmann has no immediate plans to sell vehicles in the United States because of exchange rates and the high costs of modifying and testing the cars in order to make them road-legal there.

Here are pictures of the cool Wiesmann Roadster at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show 2009:

Wiesmann Roadster Specification:

Chassis    

Hot-dipped galvanized steel, aluminum clad

Body    

High-quality, fiber glass reinforced composite material

Engine     

BMW 6-cylinder engine – Capacity 2,979 cc

Rated power/rated speed 170 kW/231 hp / 5,900 rpm
max. torque/speed 300 N·m (221 ft·lbf) / 3,400 rpm

Fuel Consumption    

City 12.8 L/100 km (22.1 mpg-imp; 18.4 mpg-US) - Highway 6.9 L/100 km (41 mpg-imp; 34 mpg-US)
Combined 9.1 L/100 km (31 mpg-imp; 26 mpg-US)

Transmission     

5-speed or 6-speed manual or 6-speed sequential (SMG II)

Power Train    

Rear wheel drive

Performance    

Maximum speed: 230 km/h (143 mph)

Acceleration: 

0 -100 km/h: 5.9 sec.

Suspension     

MacPherson strut front suspension with transverse link, stabilizer
Central control arm rear axle with leading and transverse link, stabilizer

Weight    

1,080 kg (2,381 lb)

Dimensions    

Length: 3.86 m (152 in) / Width: 1.75 m (69 in) / Height: 1.16 m (46 in)

Bugatti 16C Galibier Concept Car Pictures

Bugatti have redefined the cool car yet again with the Bugatti 16C Galibier - a conceptual proposal for a four-door, four seat sedan that could very well go into production in the next couple of years. According to Bugatti's current president, Dr. Ing. Franz-Josef Paefgen, the Galibier is one of several concept studies with which the company is considering for the future of the marque.

For those wondering, "Galibier" was named after one of the most difficult alpine passes along the Tour de France. Bugatti also used the name in the past on a special version of the four door Type 57.

Surprisingly for a car of our age where automotive designers usually try their hardest to create products that stand out of the crowd with distinctively repulsive styling traits, the Galibier 16 C features an uncluttered and straightforward design without any unnecessary gimmicks - okay, sans the.... eight tail pipes at the rear.

Echoing the styling of the famous Type 57 Atlantique, the Galibier 16 C combines a liftback bodystyle with the typical Bugatti radiator grille, large round LED headlights and the distinctive clamshell running the length of the vehicle.

The body of the concept car is constructed of handmade carbon fibre parts colored dark blue while the wings and doors are made out of polished aluminum. The same straightforward design is also found in the interior. The dash panel elements been reduced to the bare essentials with two centrally located main gauges, a small instrument panel in front of the driver and a large LCD screen on the lower center console.

Underneath the bonnet, which folds back from both sides, there's a 16-cylinder, 8-litre, flex-fuel engine with two stage supercharging that can run on ethanol. Like all high-end VW Group products, the Galibier 16 C comes equipped with a four-wheel drive system. It remains to be seen if Bugatti will bring its sedan concept car at the Frankfurt gathering as the company's press release did not say whether or not it will introduce the car at the show.