Frankfurt 2011: Our Favorite Finds — Jason Cammisa

Our editors have been plenty busy scouring the show floor of the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show — but in between running to and from press conferences and battling spotty Wi-Fi connections, they picked their three favorite concept and production cars at the show.

Jason Cammisa, West Coast Editor

Peugeot HX-1

Yes I’m a sucker for wagons but that’s not why I picked the Peugeot. I picked it because I about fell over when I saw it. It’s gorgeous. And while I’m intrigued that it has either two or three rows of seats and is only as tall as my knees, the truth is that none of that matters. The French once designed the most beautiful car in the world (Citroën DS, I’m talking to you) and I think it’s about time a car makes the world stop and stare again. This one could do it.

Ford Evos

The Evos shows like less of a new design language than an evolution of Kinetic design but let’s face it – the Kinetic cars are pretty darn hot. And I think we’ll look back at this car (and the similar looking Jaguar XJ) as the beginning of the end of enormous headlights. Of which, ironically, the bigger offenders were the original Kinetic cars. Three cheers for irony, especially when it looks so good.

BMW i8

Amidst all the bad news about terrorism and economic collapse and pollution here’s some good news. This is what I want my future to look like.

PRODUCTION CARS

Porsche 911

I don’t care that you can’t tell it apart from the last 911. That’s the point. It’s a 911 and this is what a 911 looks like.  Except the back looks concept-car awesome. And let’s be honest-that’s what you’ll be seeing after it blows by you.

Mazda CX-5

I haven’t yet seen my co-workers’ choices but im guessing I’m alone in my nomination of the new Mazda crossover as a favorite. I like the CX-5 because it’s cute without looking cheap, it has boatloads of room inside, and if it’s anything like Mazda’s existing crossovers, it’ll be best-in-class to drive. But above all, it doesn’t smack you in the face with a stupid smile.

Volkswagen Beetle R

OK, so VW calls it a concept, but c’mon — this is clearly a preview of an upcoming production model. As for the car itself? If TV’s Carson Cressly, made famous by being the least manly of the Queer Eyes guys, suddenly became a professional boxer and beat Mike Tyson into a persistent vegetative state, you’d root for him too. ‘Nuff said.

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BaT Fortnight Favorite: 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 and Ford C-800 hauler—Trans-Am tribute

If the prospect of owning this Boss 302 Trans-Am race car and complementary cab-over Ford flatbed doesn’t give you chills, you’re not human, as far as I’m concerned. Bringatrailer.com recently dredged up the matching set, which was carefully built to replicate the car that won the historic 1970 Trans-Am championship and the truck that hauled it. The Mustang is a real Boss 302 that was restored to full racing specification, with some concessions to modern technology. The Caterpillar-powered, 1986-vintage hauler lived most of its life as a fire truck in Pennsylvania before it was shipped to California for restoration and the addition of the ramped bed. The pair is being offered on boss302.com for $145,000—or $60,000 for the truck only.

That’s a whole lot of money, but these flashy Fords would give you serious star power at most car shows, in addition to offering a great conveyance for satisfying your track-day fix. Plus, a car with real Parnelli Jones racing provenance would likely cost hundreds of thousands more than this and be impossible to replace. The car is particularly cool because the legendary Jones drove it for famous team owner Bud Moore, not to mention the fact that the eleven-race ’70 Trans-Am season probably represents the absolute high-water mark in American road-racing history, as all domestic manufacturers fielded serious entries—and many big-name drivers competed—in the over-two-liter class.

I’m usually interested in old cars that are easily usable on the street—a description that fits neither of these vehicles—but this orange twosome is just too awesome to ignore, even as simple eye candy. Many commenters on BaT testified to the quality of creator Les Werling’s work, too, and our sister publication, Mustang Monthly, published this interesting feature story on the pair of Fords in August 2009.

Race-car haulers are hot right now, by the way. Bringatrailer also recently featured this 1959 British Motor Corporation transporter and this 1950 International and trailer that’s painted to look like it once ferried esteemed European marques to and from the track. And a couple years ago, our own Preston Lerner dove into this story of an enchanting Fiat transporter that shuttled Scarab racing cars during the 1960 Formula 1 season.

Honorable Mentions
Finalists for my favorite BaT car from July 1 through July 16 include the following, ranked from most tantalizing to least:

1. 1972 Chevrolet Townsman wagon
It’s hard to resist a good-ole American station wagon, especially one this nice, clean, and green (and I’m not talking about fuel economy). A good price and a fancy disappearing tailgate helped put this Bel Air wagon at the top of my list of also-rans.

2. 1954 Lotus Mark VI
It’s not often that you see genuine early Lotuses for sale, and this enticing Mark VI was offered for just $39,000 on a somewhat obscure Utah news site. The Mark VI was the first “production” Lotus; about 110 were built from 1952 through 1955.

3. 1974 Dodge D100 pickup
The Mopar guy in me loved this California-clean truck from the moment I clicked on it. The stick shift, pale green paint, and mild engine mods ensured its high spot on my list—and in my heart.

4. 1966 Sunbeam Imp
I very seriously considered buying this Imp before I decided to purchase my 1967 MGB/GT in 2007. The problem with Imps, though, is that there just aren’t very many of them out there, especially in North America. If this $2500 car hadn’t been full of Bondo, as reported, I might’ve had to make a trip to Ontario to check it out.

5. 1965 Ford Cortina V-8
A Cortina was another model that I seriously lusted after when I was in the market a few years back. I’m not usually a fan of engine swaps, but this car seems like it would be ridiculously fun—and loud enough to drown out the purist in me.

Previous Fortnight Favorites
1. Early April 2011: 1965 Austin Mini Cooper S
2. Late April 2011: 1959 MGA Twin Car race car
3. Early May 2011: 1964 Ford Falcon station wagon
4. Late May 2011: 1966 Chrysler Newport convertible
5. Early June 2011: 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint coupe
6. Late June 2011: 1964 Porsche 356SC coupe

Subscribe?
If you’re not as committed to daydreaming about old cars as I am, check out my semimonthly blog, where I select my favorite Bringatrailer.com car of the past couple weeks. If you want to stay fully up-to-date on what the old-car buffs are discussing, subscribe to BaT’s daily email blast of a wide assortment of old cars for sale and visit automobilemag.com every so often to learn what cars I like best. And feel free to share your thoughts—and your own favorites—in the comments section below.

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Frankfurt 2011: Our Favorite Finds — Robert Cumberford

Our editors have been plenty busy scouring the show floor of the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show — but in between running to and from press conferences and battling spotty Wi-Fi connections, they picked their three favorite concept and production cars at the show.

Robert Cumberford, Automotive Design Editor

CONCEPT CARS

Ford Evos

Not really a car, rather a direction forward for Ford styling. It’s much cleaner, simpler and elegant than recent mainstream Fords, and promises a set of products from Mustang to big SUVs that have a certain coherence and company identity. Let’s just hope they don’t use the same set of cues for Lincoln, too.

Citroën Tubik

Not a chance in hell that we’ll see a production derivative, but this is a  funny, nostalgic and yet forward-looking concept. I sat in it, found it really agreeable and think the whole notion of enjoying the trip rather than focusing on the destination a fine idea for a concept. Funky and fun.

BMW i8

When this compact four seater comes to market it’s not likely to retain transparent side panels, but it will still be the production car closest to a far-out concept available to the public. Dramatic, practical and ecologically correct, it recalls what BMW is supposed to be.

PRODUCTION CARS

Citroën DS 5

After a long period of fumbling and missing the mark, Citroën has come back with one of the most elaborately thought-out and well-executed interiors in the business. Fit, function and finish are exemplary, impressing every designer I talked with in Frankfurt. A nice surprise.

Volkswagen Up

The simplicity of form, clarity of purpose, and promise of accessible pricing make this new VW the true successor of the original Beetle. I suspect it will cannibalize sales of the Polo and Golf, but will also make life difficult for all Asian and European competitors. It has been a long time coming, forty years after the Porsche-designed, engine-under-the-back seat.

Porsche 911

Yes, it’s important, and many valuable changes have been made, but the appearance is frankly disappointing, far too slavishly following past practice. But being faster, lighter and less apt to catch out unprepared drivers is certainly praiseworthy. And of course its success is preordained.

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Frankfurt 2011: Our Favorite Finds — Joe DeMatio

Our editors have been plenty busy scouring the show floor of the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show — but in between running to and from press conferences and battling spotty Wi-Fi connections, they picked their three favorite concept and production cars at the show.

Joe DeMatio, Deputy Editor

CONCEPT CARS

BMW i3/i8

They look like the future and they show that BMW, which told us two years ago during the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show that it was taking electric drivetrains very seriously, is going to provide EVs that serve both urban commuters (i3) and enthusiast drivers (i8). And that’s something to celebrate.

Kia GT

Further evidence that the number-two Korean automaker is not only on a rapid ascendency to the big time but will soon eclipse its big brother, Hyundai, in matters of styling excellence. So they had to raid a major German design studio for their styling chief; automotive styling is the most multinational discipline within the automotive industry.

Volkswagen Beetle R

If you’ve spent any time in a New Beetle, the car that took Americans by storm back in 1998, you’ll be shocked when you slide behind the thin-rimmed, flat-bottomed steering wheel of this sport hatch. The interior fairly screams an equal mixture of quality and performance, and the exterior matches the aesthetic. It’s one of the cars at IAA that I most wanted to drive and it finally makes the modern Beetle a real enthusiast’s car.

PRODUCTION CARS

Ford Focus ST

It looks like it will fulfill the promises made by Ford’s European development team starting three years ago, culminating in the concept shown a year ago at the Paris Motor Show. It brings the Focus back to the forefront of affordable, fun performance for American enthusiasts; it’s a reincarnation of the much-missed and short-lived SVT Focus, and it looks great.

Mercedes-Benz B-Class.

This semi-affordable small family hauler goes from utilitarian to stylish and heralds Mercedes-Benz’s plans to bring five distinct vehicles to America built on its brand-new compact platform. The B-class actually will be the last; look for a production version of the first model we’ll see, the A-class, at the 2012 New York Auto Show, and for that vehicle to be in U.S. dealerships in fall 2012 as a 2013 model. Mercedes, it seems, is finally getting serious about premium small cars, more than a decade after its archival, BMW, did so with the Mini brand.

Porsche 911

The all-new 991-series is the best-looking version of the iconic German sports car for at least three generations. I want one in my driveway and I’ll take a base model with the seven-speed manual, please. I know, I know, the car never changes, really. I don’t care.

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Frankfurt 2011: Our Favorite Finds — Donny Nordlicht

Our editors have been plenty busy scouring the show floor of the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show — but in between running to and from press conferences and battling spotty Wi-Fi connections, they picked their three favorite concept and production cars at the show.

Donny Nordlicht, Associate Web Editor

CONCEPT CARS

Jaguar C-X16

This is the concept I cannot wait to see enter production. Jaguar says it wants to return to being a performance-oriented brand, and a two-seat sports car would do just that. While the C-X16 may look great in photos, it looks absolutely gorgeous in person: it’s hard to really take in the car’s low, wide, and relatively long proportions without standing next to it. One neat detail? The jungle cat pictured within the traditional Jaguar grille emblem is wearing sunglasses on this car. A cool cat, indeed.

Ford Fiesta ST

The Fiesta ST may only be a concept by technicality, but it shows that Ford is absolutely serious about expanding its performance portfolio and doing so worldwide. The Fiesta ST utilizes a 180-hp EcoBoost four-cylinder and will probably see the same kind of performance upgrades of its Focus ST big brother, but in a smaller package. What’s so wrong with more performance for the masses? I say nothing at all.

Fisker Surf

Fisker calls this a concept for the time being, but if things — including delivery and production of the basic Karma sedan — go according to plan, the Surf could be in production by 2013/2014. Until then, it’s just too beautiful to ignore. It takes the muscular design of the Karma sedan, and adds a level of seduction by elongating the roofline and a sleekly sloping hatch.

PRODUCTION CARS

Mercedes-Benz B-Class

The B-Class is by no means the most attractive car at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show – not the Mercedes-Benz stand, for that matter – but it makes my top three for its significance. It is the first of a number of vehicles to be built on Mercedes’ new MFA front-wheel drive platform, four or five of which we will see here in the U.S. While the B-Class may not stir the soul, it’s rumored that the “baby CLS” that will ride on this platform is breathtaking.

Ford Focus ST/Opel Astra GTC (tie)

These two hot hatches tie because they make my list for the same reason: they are compact performance hatches and are both heading, undiluted, to the U.S. The fact that both Ford and General Motors are getting serious about giving the states the cars journalists have been crooning over for years shows that not only are they unifying their lineups, but that the American consumer is no longer one who steers away from sportiness. Let’s just hope that Buick manages to build up its brand credibility with the Regal GS in order to build a business case for the GTC’s arrival in our market.

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