Frankfurt 2013: PH Liveblog
Behind the scenes with Porsche's sub-seven 'ring lap
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Latest update: Wednesday, 0915h, Porsche stand
Interesting to note that the first huge ad that greets you on emerging from the Frankfurt airport terminal is for Kia. This might be the Germans' home show but the Koreans aren't about to let them forget who's in the ascendant. Frankfurt is also the centre of Kia's European operation and design so this is, to a degree, a home show for them too.
Anyway, now I'm here what's my first job? Prepare for the VW group preview evening. I predict: a malevolent Piech watching everything with a piercing stare, having been nervously introduced by the compere. A man on a Segway with a Steadicam getting in the way any time photos need to be taken. A one-off Bugatti limited edition, never to be seen or heard of again. Stephan Winkelmann playing the role of family wild child and announcing a new Lamborghini amid smoke and frickin' lasers. Followed by some poor sod from the van division trying to make a hybrid Caddy sound just as exciting. 10 new Audi models that all look the same. And a vicious, no holds barred, scrum for the press packs at the end. Probably no Kias though.
Full update as soon as possible...
I think we just stole somebody's Audi A8 to get back. Not as in broke in and hotwired, more that it was a chauffeur car and it was for a chap called Ray. Just not the chap called Ray who was with us.
No matter, it was raining. Needs must.
So that was the VW group evening then. You may have seen the Tweets (follow @PistonHeads and/or @Trent_Dan) and got a gist but it was pretty much as previewed in my earlier post and, yes, the van bloke followed the Veyron Jean Bugatti Legend Edition we talked about earlier. Though his little electric E Load Up! van was quite cool.
Lots to talk about, which I'll address in standalone stories but the scale of this event really stuns. It's held in some sort of sports stadium and it's literally standing room only, with sharp elbows required. Every brand is introduced with a quick song and dance routine, more frickin' lasers and then, boom, in comes car, on comes chief suit, gets his 90 seconds to sell his wares and then he's off and time for the next one. And everything from aforementioned electric deliver vans to multi-million euro supercars. And lots of serious Germans in suits. Double breasted for the money men and grown ups. Tailored and skinny of leg for those associated with Italian brands like Ducati or Lamborghini.
Or flouro orange with a flower pot on your head, if you're in the Pet Shop Boys, this year's star turn.
So a few quick thoughts before I leave the comforting bosom of the hotel breakfast buffet and hit the show. Which is already in full swing but I had a late one, collating a few thoughts from last night on the Ducati, Audi concept and Lamborghini Squadro Corse.
Cool stuff from last night? Well, I actually quite like the electric E Load Up! van, my Twitter quip that if Matt ever finds himself back in the pizza delivery business this might liven things up noted by VWs PRs. "Yes, we saw you'd said that..."
I was also struck by a mini trend - namely, the return of the tyre sidewall. We're so used to rubber band tyres on giant alloys on show cars it was good to see both the Veyron and new Bentley GT V8 S both unafraid of showing a bit of rubber. The Bentley in particular looks great, subtly muscular and imposing and, hopefully with the sports exhaust, a little more naughty sounding. And the wheels make it.
So they must be relatively small, right? Er, nope. They're 21s.
So after a bit of a run around the show time to refuel, download and catch up.
I bumped into Harris, in his special camel coloured suit, and we had a little wander along so he could film his piece to camera in front of the 458 Speciale. But when we got there it still hadn't officially been revealed so was still under its sheet. Some swearing ensued and he went off to Jaguar while I grabbed a coffee at Alpina and admired the D5 Touring I reckoned would be the classy alternative to the blinged up XD3 we drove recently. Much more like it; a classy cruise missile for monstering the Autobahn fast lane if ever I saw one.
Now, electric cars are the big theme here at Frankfurt. But, frankly, they're a bloomin' liability because every manufacturer is here showing theirs off and using them as press shuttles. So basically the vast outside area is full of people staring down into their phones Tweeting. And lots of silent electric cars whizzing about. Not an ideal combination.
We need PH to take over the press shuttle operation. Noisy V8s only please! Air quality be damned, I just don't want to be run over by another ruddy hybrid.
Bagging interviews at motor shows can be done one of two ways; carefully arranging something with a PR before the event and getting 15 minutes in a cupboard at the back of the stand. Or by sharp elbows, persistence and making a right pain of yourself.
I chose the latter to bag five minutes with Audi's head of concept design Steve Lewis. And got some good intel off the back of a quick look around the Sport Quattro Concept. Which is a lot more convincing than that rehashed Parcour thing.
I'll transcribe the full chat in due course but, basically, the 2010 Paris Quattro Concept was revived and made more yellow to, in Lewis's words, "keep it in the management's thoughts." Which is promising.
"Then marketing got involved," he added, which sounds like a death knell and may contribute to the move away from light weight, a turbo five-cylinder and a manual gearbox to a more 'now' plug-in hybrid drivetrain that adds a whole lot more horsepower but with it half a tonne of flab.
The concept is now based on the RS6, rather than the RS5 of the white one and explains the V8 heart of the 700hp powertrain. But Lewis is a designer, not an engineer, saying the four-headlight look and more sharply defined grille will be carried through to future performance Audis.
So Ola Kallenius, boss of AMG and my afternoon interview subject, is actually only going to be boss of AMG for another few weeks. Oh well, show goes on and our interview stood. But we had an extra body in the room in the shape of his successor, Tobias Moers. Now, I said some nice stuff about him in a story on Friday and apparently he was a bit chuffed, and wanted to join the conversation.
Again, this'll need a lot of transcribing but we talked how AMG remains AMG without being diluted by the marketing guys as tinsel for regular Mercs or neutered by the green lobby who don't especially like big capacity V8s.
Soon to leave the job or not, Kallenius did most of the talking saying we are only mid-way through the product offensive, the fireworks are not over and there's plenty coming in the next couple of years to keep PHers happy. His words on the latter too.
We also touched on what's to happen with Aston Martin. Again an official party line and assertion this is going to be more than just crated AMG V8s leaving Affalterbach for Gaydon.
I've finally left the show behind, though I've missed tons and will be back tomorrow for a quick stroll around to actually look at some cars. Which'll be a novelty!
Highlights so far? Well, sublime to the ridiculous. Or, perhaps more fairly, the other way around.
First, the 458 Speciale. I'd love to be able to be all cynical and 'yeah, whatever' but I can't. It looks mega. The active aero in the rear diffuser that flattens the floor for lower drag on the straights but opens the channels for increased downforce in the corners looks neat. And I'll have to imagine for now what a 600hp+ naturally aspirated Ferrari V8 sounds like but it plays great in my head.
It's not complicated - it's a Ferrari with a noisy exhaust and stripes.
At the other end of the scale the 80hp Caterham on skinny steelies and with the powertrain and live rear axle from a Suzuki Carry looks ace too. By the time I got there Hall 9 was deathly quiet, the only person around being Caterham boss Graham Macdonald, who was still on chatty form even at this late hour.
To ends of the fast car scale then. Both on the wishlist!
Yup, back at the Porsche stand which has been my home for much of the show thanks to the simple attractions of a) stable, wired internet and b) a plentiful supply of sausages. Both are essentials for any serious motor show coverage, clearly.
I'll witter at more length about this in due course (you lucky people) but we had a very interesting evening yesterday with a Porsche team still very much buzzing about the 918 Spyder's 'ring lap and the resulting additional lift to the car's show appearance.
I had a good chat with Dr Frank Walliser, the engaging project head interviewed by Chris Harris in his videos on the car, plus his colleague Michael Holscher who worked as technical project manager and whose previous work included project head on the Carrera GT. And has a very interesting motorcycle collection!
The lap video has already been much discussed on PH but this little teaser gets across some of the enthusiasm from the team. Who knew they were onto something good when driver Marc Lieb, fresh off the plane and a last gasp drive from Stuttgart, jumped straight into the car and did a 7min 07sec sighting lap. Which isn't bad...
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Here's hoping you have a more standard IAA.
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