More spectacular cars from the Frankfurt Motor Show

FERRARI 458 Speciale brings performance to a whole new level.

Last week, we took a look at new and significant cars unveiled by the Volkswagen Group at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

This time, we present the equally significant new car launches from other brands.

1. New Range Rover Sport. Billionaire boys club, athletes, celebrities and gangsters behold, your new SUV is here! Boasting almost 360 kilograms of less weight, the new Range Rover Sport boasts of improved on-road performance, and better fuel efficiency and handling dynamics to stand toe-to-toe with the German SUV brigade.

BMW i3 serving as a press shuttle in Frankfurt. Photos by Botchi Santos

2. New Honda NSX. While still a concept, the new NSX will be unveiled in 2015. The NSX is already undergoing testing with Honda, which had released a teaser video of the NSX going through its paces—400 of horsepower coming from a hybrid-equipped V6 engine.

3. Rolls-Royce Celestial Phantom. Featuring thousands of fiber optic lights sewn into the headliner, Rolls-Royce introduced a one-off Celestial Phantom, which rides atop an extended-wheelbase Phantom limousine, to celebrate 10 years of successful custodianship of the brand under the BMW Group.

Peer inside the sumptuous interior and you look like you’re staring into outer space when you look up while seated.

4. Ferrari F458 Speciale. Not that your typical 458 isn’t special at all, but the 458 Speciale just brings performance to a whole new level. Improved aerodynamics, reduced weight (90 kg less) and more power (almost 600 bhp) promise more hardcore on-track antics.

This comes in a long line of V8 midengined Ferraris, starting with the F348 GT Competizione, the F360 Challenge Stradale, the F430 Scuderia,  and now the F458 Speciale.

5. New Volvo Coupe Concept. Proof that Swedes know a thing or two about pure sex. The Volvo Concept Coupe sizzles with its ice-hot looks.

Under the hood, men’s hearts will be racing, thanks to a twin-charged 2-liter gasoline engine powering the front wheels and hybrid power driving the rear wheels,  delivering 400 HP and AWD.

THE ROLLS-ROYCE Celestial Phantom: a sumptuous interior. Photos by Botchi Santos

This is Volvo’s most radical design  in recent times, departing from their smart but safe design brief.

6. New Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Big is beautiful indeed, as Mercedes-Benz introduces the all-new S-Class that harks back to the days of the massive-feeling W140 box.

The W222 S-Class is absolutely loaded to the hilt with technology, featuring 100 onboard electric motors doing a variety of hedonistic activities for the occupants, chief of which is the Magic Body Control for the suspension (watch this space).

7. New S-Class Coupe. The outgoing CLS Coupe, based on the S-Class, will be replaced by the all-new and very much sexier S-Class Coupe, again based on the all-new W222 S-Class sedan.

Expect the same level of refinement, comfort and technological tour de force with a body style that is much more  stylish and sportier than before. Did I mention it was sexy, too? Chest hair is back in vogue!

8. Jaguar CX17 SUV Concept. While still in concept form, the CX17 promises to help take Jaguar to the next generation of buyers.

Underneath the CX17 Concept are new components, a new platform architecture, and a new range of engines and electronics, all, which will deliver astonishingly low emission matched with huge output and impressive performance.

A decade ago, this would have been a strange idea. Today, this augurs well for the future.

9. Lexus LF-NX Concept. The trend for small crossover SUVs is spreading not just here in the Philippines but in  Europe and the rest of the world.  Lexus’ LF-NX Concept takes aim at the Audi’s Q3, Mercedes-Benz’s upcoming GLA, BMW’s X1 and Porsche’s soon-to-launch Macan.

Though segments and prices tend to overlap in this range, expect the same people to cross-shop between markets and brands.

10. Subaru WRX Concept. Who said   rally reps are dead? Despite the departure of the Mitsubishi Evo X (rumors say that the next one will be a hybrid), Subaru still continues to do what it does best: all-wheel drive, turbocharged boxer engined super sedans on steroids.

Though very aggressive-looking, the fender flares, scoops and vents look much more integrated and more grownup compared to older models that look like children’s creations.

The new WRX, with its flowing lines, looks to the future as well.

11. BMW i3. The launch of BMW’s new sub-brand “i,”  alongside “M,” is a new direction for BMW, whose ethos is to provide joy through the Ultimate Driving Experience.

BMW’s fully electric i3 production car was finally unveiled at Frankfurt. A bespoke carbon-fiber tub is the main chassis architecture, with forged aluminum suspension components and an electric motor, delivering 168 bhp and  249.5 Newton-meters of torque to the 1195-kg chassis.

An i3 Range Extender Hybrid features a three-cylinder 656-cc engine that delivers 34 bhp. The gasoline engine doesn’t power the wheels but instead charges the electric batteries, increasing range from 160.93 kilometers for the regular i3 to 257.5 km for the i3 Range Extender version.

BMW had a fleet of i3s to shuttle the press around the expansive Frankfurt Messe, too.

12. BMW i8. It can do a 0-100 kph sprint in 4.4 seconds, with a 249.45 kph limited top speed, and claimed to have a 40 kilometers per liter fuel consumption.

BMW’s i8 is the first all-wheel-drive, carbon-fiber-tubbed and aluminum-framed hybrid that utilizes both the electric power and twin-power turbocharged 2-liter gasoline engine delivering 362 bhp and  568.80 Nm of torque.

Cynics need not worry, as the twin electric motors drive the front wheels, and the gasoline engine powers the rear wheels, so that you still have the pure steering feel and lively RWD handling BMWs are known for.

Performance should be, pardon the pun, electric!

13. Mercedes-Benz GLA. Perhaps the three-pointed star’s most hotly anticipated new model, the GLA is an all-new segment for Mercedes-Benz as it tackles the youthful crossover compact SUV market.

Details are sketchy but it will be a FWD only with a lower weight and cost, with rumors of a Chinese-made variant GLA spreading throughout the Internet grapevine for the largest market in the world.

It will up the ante against BMW’s X1 and Audi’s Q3. It will hit  local shores in 2015.

14. Toyota TSO30 Hybrid Racer LMP1. Toyota was also showing off its TSO30 Le Mans LMP1 class hybrid race car.

Powered by a 3.4-liter V8 and with hybrid power driving the rear wheels, the Toyota kept the Audi R18 honest throughout the last race at the classic Circuit de la Sarthe in June.

There are a lot of new and exciting cars to choose from. These cars are lighter, more fuel-efficient, safer and much more enjoyable to drive. Many  will hit our  shores in the next 12 to 18 months.

Yes ladies and gents, we are at a golden age of motoring.

For comments, please e-mail the author at botchilah@yahoo.com