Septemberfest

IAA, famously known as the Frankfurt Motor Show, kicks off on Monday. We take a look at the pre-show hype stars.

The Verve
Look at Ford's Verve concept carefully. No, not only because it will be a major star at the show, but it could be Ford's small car offering for India. The Verve shows the new global design theme for Ford and represents the first of three concept cars that will delineate the future hatchback that Ford will build for sale in Europe, Asia and North America.

The concept was created in Ford's UK design studio with some help from their German colleagues. The car carries forward the design tenets that the Iosis and Iosis X concepts have showcased earlier.

As you can see the new Fords will sport more aggressive front-ends and look sportier "" although the car does faintly remind us of the Grande Punto. The car will share the same platform as the new Mazda2 and will have 1300cc, 1600cc and 1800cc petrol engines as well as a new turbocharged diesel engine that Ford developed along with Peugeot.

The new Fiesta (the European one, not the Indian one) will show up next year and this is supposed to be the concept it will be based on. There is also talk that the new (Euro) Fiesta might end up with the Verve name, and Ford may retire the Fiesta name from its hatchback family.

Confused? Don't be. Just take our word that it's a very important car for India.

Feeling blue?
Volkswagen's stand will host this, the Golf BlueMotion, a car that is supposed to burn a litre of diesel to propel you 22 kilometres. The engine's no weakling either, with a 103 bhp peak power output and a healthy 25 kgm as well.

VW's frugality-tech includes a lower idle speed, an aero-efficient underbody and longer third, fourth and fifth gears for lower revs at cruising speeds. But the real show star, and the one that VW might look at seriously for an Indian launch, is the CityExpert. Sadly, we can't show it to you yet as it is still firmly under wraps.

The CityExpert "concept" may be a prototype or a teaser to the actual production car, but it is known that the tiny car will only be 3.5 metres long, with a three-cylinder engine (rumours even suggest a twin-cylinder motor is in consideration).

The motor is known to be destined to sit in the boot and drive the rear wheels. Unlike the ForTwo though, the car will have barebones rear seats, effectively a very snug 2+2 seating configuration. Enthusiasts are already calling the CityExpert the Beetle 2 (the new Beetle is front-engined, front-wheel drive).

No resistance
That's the Loremo which is expected to make a production-ready prototype for Frankfurt. The car returns 45 kpl in computer simulations, so a real world number is yet to make an appearance.

Originally shown at the Geneva Show, the Loremo (Low Resistance Mobile) was conceived for markets like ours and the original idea was two versions, both powered by efficient two- and three-cylinder turbodiesels making 20 and 50 bhp respectively.

The little German manufacturer has not actually announced concrete plans for the Chinese and Indian markets, although they are clear that developing markets like ours were the targets for the car's design.

U-VA protection
Ah yes, that's much better. Say hello to the new Chevrolet Aveo (to Europeans) and the new Aveo U-VA (to us, most likely). This restyled version looks very fetching, very Captiva family-like, and after its Frankfurt debut, we should see it come to India as well.

The Europeans seem to find the new articulation of the Chevy grille as a design taken too far, but hey, we say it looks better than the rather meek U-VA, which is otherwise a nice enough car, right? The SX4-ish upswept headlamps give it a rather bold appearance that is aggressive and fresh, while it will feature updated interiors too.

In Europe, the hatch will have 1200cc and 1400cc engines making 84 and 98 bhp, while we expect the Indian engine to continue more or less unchanged.

Reports say the Europeans were expecting a genuine Aveo hatch based on the sedan, but looks like the Daewoo Kalos-based Aveo is to continue for now. This Aveo hatch is expected to go on sale in March 2008 in Europe.

Subprime estate
Hyundai America has released this official sketch that depicts the Hyundai Elantra Touring, a car based on the European i30 that is to be a 2009 model for the US market. The car will extend the Elantra line and add a compact five-door to the range.

Hyundai says the car will come with the full complement of safety tech and will be the first compact five-door to offer a standard stability control programme. The engine is likely to be the same 2000cc inline-four petrol that resides under the Elantra sedan's hood.

Look ma, no bowtie
This is Saab's new SUV, the 9-7x Aero. At least in the soft details terms. The 9-7x gets a 390 bhp LS2 V8, so it should be peppy. Of course, one could make tongue-in-the-cheek remarks about Saab-fied Trailblazers, but we're not that kind of nasty. Yet. But yes, the 9-7x is based on the Chevrolet Trailblazer and is expected to fill a giant gaping hole in the Saab lineup.

C for Efficiency
This is not a regular run-of-the-mill Volvo C30. This is the C30 Efficiency "" the Swedish carmaker's way of saying that there's more in the future of internal combustion motors than electric motor assistance and hydrogen.

Volvo claims that this C30 will go through diesel at the rate of 22.2 kpl. How, you ask? Well, there's a tonne of low-fric stuff including the gearbox oil, they have retuned the engine management system and of course, raised the gearing in the higher gears for lower rev cruising.

Plus there are low rolling resistance tyres, some aero tweaks (lower ride height, roof spoiler, new rear bumper and shaped underbody) and get this, special aero-slick wheels. So the 105 bhp 1600cc turbodiesel manages to sip, and runs very, very clean to boot.

Maser show
With the GranTurismo stealing the thunder at Maserati, the Frankfurt Show will refocus on the slinky Quattroporte. Meet the Quat' Sport GT S. The car nets a new 6-speed automatic, revised suspension, upgraded brakes, lower ride height, wider tyres at the rear and new aero bits. The V8 remains unchanged, but there's new trim and fresh handling to keep you involved.

Now what, Greenpeace?
The European Commission's emission regulations have come down hard on sports cars makers. But Zuffenhausen is prepared for it. Porsche demonstrated a prototype of the Cayenne Hybrid in Germany recently.

The SUV will share this powertrain with the Panamera soon after that four-door GT finally arrives. The Cayenne Hybrid is still offroad worthy, it can ford 20-inches of water, and for the Americans, can tow an outlandish load.

With the assistance of the electric motors, expect the Hybrid to actually be a bit quicker than the V6 model! Porsche claims that their hybrid drive management system is the most powerful one of its kind so far. It better be.