CN CONFIDENTIAL: The cars that ate Frankfurt

Our crew on the ground deliver their votes on the best cars at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show...

Whether it's from the www, the latest motor show or the back doors of a carmaker near you, Carsales Network Confidential features the good oil other sources either won't publish, don't care about or don't know. Heard an automotive rumour or new model tip? Then let us know - editor@carpoint.com.au

The 2011 Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung -- better known to most of us as the Frankfurt Motor Show – was one out of the box.

With almost all the world's top brands present and a significant number of world debuts, this year's event was arguably the biggest outpouring of automotive joie de vivre for more than a decade. A perfect storm of technology, styling and new product...

And a war zone when it comes to the media scrums that took place during the two press days this week.

Many will focus on the auto industry celebrities. Some won't look past the scantily clad models... But for the motoring.com.au team on the ground it was all about the cars. We'll publish a full wrap of the event in the next day or so but in the meantime, in no particular order, here's our crack Frankfurtistan special forces' picks for the cars of the show…

Melissa McCormick: Land Rover Defender
"It took hours before the Frankfurt show crowd thinned enough to get close to Land Rover's Defender concepts... Details of the neat DC100 were released just before the event but when we got there, LR surprised us further with the unveiling of the super-cool Sport version. Apart from looking the goods, the DC100 concepts showcase LR's versatility with its Terrain Response system -- this time incorporating 3D imagery of landscape obstacles and features like an on-demand spiked tyre system! The original go anywhere vehicle is ready to go further..."

Ken Gratton: Mazda CX-5
"Hate to be rational to a fault, but the Mazda CX-5 is a car I can't wait to see in Australia. It looks practical yet appealing and it features SKYACTIV technology including a diesel and an auto box by the time it reaches Australia. I've sampled the SKYACTIV-D engine coupled to the new auto and came away very impressed. Buyers will be queued up around the block to get their hands on the CX-5 when it lands..."

Michael Taylor: Maserati Kubang
"It's hard to go past the Ford Evos, but I have -- straight past it to the Maserati Kubang. Try as it might, Maserati couldn't convince Audi to sell it the Q7 chassis for the original 2003 concept car, but with Fiat buying Chrysler (which includes Jeep), there are no such problems this time around… Although it will be built in Detroit, both BMW and Benz have been building big SUVs in the States for years without any issues, and the only real worry is that the design will need to advance in the three (maybe four) years before it's on sale. Right now, though, it's easily the best looking big rig out there and will help give my close neighbour [Ed: MT is based in Modena, Italy] a real leg-up from the 6000 or so cars a year it sells now to the 50,000 it wants to sell in five years…"

Matt Brogan: Ford Evos
"Evos... Easy... It's stunning, well proportioned and completely do-able... C'mon Ford, build it, send it to Oz and pop that supercharged V8 of ours in it while you're at it..."

Josh Dowling: Bugatti Veyron
"At first I thought the Volkswagen Up!, because it will bring affordable motoring to the masses. But plenty of cars do that these days.... Then I thought of the Mazda CX-5 compact SUV. Make no mistake, this will be a genuine challenger for top-seller status in Australia next year, one of the star cars of 2012 (the other one to watch is the new Ford Ranger)... Then I thought of the gorgeous Alfa Romeo 4C and the trio of two-seater electric concept cars by Audi, Volkswagen and Opel. And the Porsche 911 and Jaguar CX16 (please Jaguar, just call it E-Type) which both look much better in the metal than in photos. But then I walked past the car that has made by heart skip a beat at motor shows for the past decade: the Bugatti Veyron... The red one, not the hideous swirly pin-striped one. Soon out of production I'm going to miss seeing it..."

Gautam Sharma: BMW i8
Looks like pie-in-the-sky stuff, but what makes the i8 particularly appealing and relevant for me is that it's set to be a showroom reality from 2014. Stunning enough in the pics, the i8 looks even better when you eyeball it in the metal/carbon from up close. Its fresh approach to surfacing is not only likely to pop a few trouser tents, it's also claimed to be highly aero efficient. Additional brownie points for high-tech aluminium chassis, carbon-fibre passenger cell, miserly hybrid powertrain and laser lighting (claimed to be a world first). I only hope it's half as good to drive as it looks.

Read all the latest news and reveals from the Frankfurt Motor Show here.


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