Showing posts with label Frankfurt 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frankfurt 2009. Show all posts

Wednesday, 16 September 2009

Frankfurt 2009: Lamborghini Reventon Roadster



Here's all you need to know about the Lamborghini Reventon Roadster. You have a one in five-hundred million chance of being killed by a meteor, and a one in seven-hundred million chance of owning a Reventon Roadster. Any questions? And yeah, it costs around $1.6 million dollars and Lambo's making "less than 20," though we imagine if a couple more gazillionaires pony up €1.1 -- especially in cash and/or gold doubloons -- they'd spit out a few more.The Reventon Roadster looks even more like a tangram set pumped up on growth hormones than the hardtop. And while the crazy, hard-edged angularism might not be for everyone, it's hard to do much but smile when you're standing next to it. And really, besides the price, the only possible thing to complain about is the fact that you can't get the 661 hp Reventon Roadster with a manual: it's e-gear only. But seriously, you'd be better off worrying about getting killed five times in a row by a shark. No, really.

Frankfurt 2009: Ferrari 458 Italia


Here in the velvet-roped-off Autoblog section of the Frankfurt Motor Show press room, opinions are split over the styling of the new Ferrari 458 Italia. While some of us are enamored of the supercar's svelte shape, others....well let's just say they're more fond of Ferraris of yore. But whatever your take on the design, there's no doubting that this is a seminal debut for the Maranello marque, for whom the new 458 is the first completely new production mid-engine car in a decade. We caught a pair of Italias – in red and yellow – strutting still on the Ferrari show stand ahead of the press conference scheduled for later today, which we present for your consideration and viewing enjoyment in the high-res image gallery below. Check it out and leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Frankfurt 2009: the 2010 Volkswagen CC R



Oh Volkswagen. How is it that the automaker of the people makes what just might be the sleekest, sexiest sedan in the world? No offense to A-M's Rapide, but the Volkswagen CC is not a two-door coupe with a stretch and some rear-doors grafted on. The CC is clean sheet, or at least as clean sheet as the Passat's hard points allow for. And now with the CC R, it's even better looking. And no, we're still not buying the four-door coupe marketing nonsense, no matter how many times someone quotes Wikipedia at us. The CC R is dreamboat sedan.Let's get the obvious out of the way: CC R – tee hee hee. We can't imagine the "there's a bad moon on the right" jokes ever ceasing. That's mindless naming conventions for you. Aside from that, the R badge (or R-line as they call it here in the land of yummy sausage, pickled everything and friendly, frisky fräuleins) is very identical to Audi's S-line. So all show and no go. But if you're going to do it...

Frankfurt 2009: Peugeot BB1 Concept




You know what the problem with Smart cars is? Not tough enough! Regardless, meet the Peugeot BB1. Yes, it is the logical result of a one night stand between a Subaru SVX and a Peel 50. What are we talking about? We don't even know what we're looking at. Feel free to read a rational account of the Peugeot BB1 at your leisure.OK fine -- our editor is forcing us to tell you some facts about the BB1. Four wheels for sure. And the weirdly curved glass is all tilted forward before eventually morphing into solar panels on the roof. You steer it with moto-style handle bars. No word if you can opt for a set of ape-hangers, but why on earth not? Engine? Hey – it's a concept, you don't need no stinking engine. Uh.. oh! There are tiny rear-hinged doors with even tinier roll-down windows. So now you know what happens if you allow French automotive weirdness to go unchecked.

Frankfurt 2009: 2010 Citroen C3



It's really a shame we can't buy Citroens in America anymore. Main reason is the awesome C6. Second reason is that all the small Citroens we poked our heads into at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show had sticks. By comparison, more than half the VWs were slushers. Moving on – check out this cute little guy! It's the new C3, complete with its "Zenith Windshield." As you may have noticed, the front piece of glass goes all the way to eleven. We like this, because as time moves on, safety concerns and styling trends are forcing more and more glass out of the cabin. It's getting so bad that you can't hardly see out of the new Chevy Camaro. Not so in this here Citroen C3. Forward visibility for the win. And the view from outside the car ain't so bad either. High style, low price – what's not to like?

Frankfurt 2009: Renault goes Twizy



The more we see of Renault's all-electric line-up on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the more we want to hang out at company cocktail parties. Something delicious and potent must be on tap there. From the elegant and unexpected lines of the Zoe (above, note the recycle logo) to the buggy quirkiness of the Twizy, Renault is displaying some truly fun-looking electric cars here. Now if only these things were available to drive off the lot today, we'd really be getting somewhere. As we said yesterday when we got Renault's official pics, these cars demand a second look in high-res. Have at it in the gallery below. While you do, we'll hunt down more information on Renault's Quickdrop battery exchange station and what role Better Place has with the technology.

Frankfurt 2009: 2010 Audi 3.0 TDI clean diesel quattro


The 3.0-liter, 240-hp diesel that first served in the Audi Q7 has been assigned to duty in the Audi A4. We drove the 3.0 in the Q7 during last year's Audi Mileage Marathon, and both mileage and power didn't disappoint. Put into the A4, the oil burner with 369 lb-ft should shine like Alpha Centauri.Audi says it will get you to sixty in 6.2 seconds with the six-speed Tiptronic and return 35 mpg at the same time as it already meets the Euro 6 standards coming in 2014. It's unlikely we'll get the treat in this corner of the Western Hemisphere, but that doesn't mean we won't keep looking out for it... especially as an Avant... with those wheels...

Frankfurt 2009: Show must gone


We think. Could be a bar stool. As we do with every auto show, Autoblog is happy to present the one post that we're sure at least some of you have been waiting for since we touched down in Germany to cover the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. It's time to honor those women (and one dude in a furry suit) who are charged with keeping our attention focused on those vehicles they've been paid to lean against. These sirens of chrome (not our label, see here) are sometimes controversial (are the women objectified, do we need this service anymore, who does their hair?), but always a pleasure to behold. Check out the gallery below for our roundup of an admittedly smaller group of car models than years past (damn global recession!).