"The show goes on" (Audi offered the FSI engine)
09-15-2001, 10:25 AM
#1
"The show goes on" (Audi offered the FSI engine)
Copyright 2001 Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd.
Toronto Star
September 15, 2001 Saturday Ontario Edition
SECTION: WHEELS; Pg. G01
LENGTH: 1671 words
HEADLINE: The show goes on
BYLINE: MICHAEL PROBST/AP
HIGHLIGHT:
Audi A4 highlights exhibition subdued
BODY:
Luxury lines dominate event Lamborghini, Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, MG, Bugatti and Maserati unveil new models
FRANKFURT, Germany - Auto shows depend on new-car launches to attract not only media, but also paying customers.
So it must have irked the organizers of the IAA (Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung) - a.k.a. the Frankfurt International Auto Show - that the new BMW 7 Series sedan and Mercedes-Benz SL roadster were both shown several weeks prior to the show's opening.
The carmakers figure they get better coverage with an individual launch, rather than being a single paragraph in a single newspaper story.
Still, the 2001 Frankfurt extravaganza, billed as the world's biggest auto show, which opened to the public Thursday and runs through Sunday, Sept. 23, has no shortage of novelties.
Chief among them, from a Canadian perspective, are creations from Audi. The new A4 line is augmented with a cabriolet (the previous cabriolet was two generations old) and an Avant station wagon. (The 1.8 turbo, four-cylinder engine remains the base engine in the A4 sedan, with the 3.0-L V6 an option. Both front- and four-wheel drive will continue to be available.)
Both cabriolet and station wagon look pretty much as you might expect, but that makes them no less attractive. Audi's brilliant Continuously Variable Automatic, as it's called, will be the transmission of choice.
The Cabriolet that comes to Canada will be built with V6 power in 3.0-L form. Unusual for an Audi, it will be offered only as a front-drive car.
The engine/drivetrain lineup for the A4 Avant wagon in Canada hasn't been announced, but will probably be the same as the sedan. The wagon employs quattro four-wheel drive.
Audi, along with Volvo, has pioneered the concept of station-wagon-as-lifestyle-vehicle.
So it is also showing the Avantissimo, an ultra-high-performance, ultra-luxury wagon with a 4.2-L, twin-turbo V8, similar in rough outline to the engine in Audi's two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans race-winning car.
Although it had been seen before, BMW's 7 Series made its official public debut at Frankfurt. Although the car looks lower and sleeker than before, and borrows design cues from the Z9 and X coupe show cars of recent years, it emphasizes technology over exterior design.
The new sedan features "Valvetronic" V8 and V12 engines, the rotational speed of which, and hence their power output, is governed by electronic ignition and fuel-delivery systems, not a conventional throttle.
The result is improved performance and lower fuel consumption.
The 7 Series also has no conventional shift lever for its industry-first, ZF six-speed automatic transmission; it is replaced by a steering column stalk.
The Mercedes-Benz SL roadster, profiled here a few weeks ago, also adds new technology, primarily in the realm of electronic braking. But most shoppers will still be attracted by its style, comfort and performance.
New at Frankfurt: An AMG version of the SL roadster, with increased output and even better handling.
It was apparent from the show that manufacturers share the idea that drivers need ergonomic help with all the controls they must deal with in modern cars.
Mercedes and Nissan have already taken shots at this problem, Mercedes with its COMAND system, Nissan with its reprogrammable dash buttons in the Infiniti Q45 sedan.
Previewed as a concept a year or so ago, BMW's iDrive system makes its first production appearance in the new 7 Series. It uses a computer-like track ball that spins, slides and can be pushed.
The little ball dials up various menus of functions - navigation, HVAC, entertainment, communications to select the particular item you wish to work on, then makes the desired adjustments.
Audi offers MMI (Multi-Media Interface), which accomplishes similar goals. Corporate cousin Volkswagen will be introducing similar technology, including Internet access, to the Passat W8 this fall.
In luxury car news, Lamborghini, now a division of Audi, showed its Diablo replacement. In keeping with the Lambo tradition, Murcielago (Spanish for bat) is named for a famous Spanish fighting bull.
This one is an ultimate-performance, four-wheel-drive sports car, still with a mid-mounted V12 engine and unique swing-up doors.
Only about 400 of these cars will be built each year. If you want one, better pony up a deposit right now.
Porsche rolled out new variants on the 911 theme. One, the 4S, is a Turbo-look 911 coupe with the non-Turbo engine. Another, the Targa, has a glass roof that can slide rearwards about half a metre to provide a near-cabrio open-air feeling in a closed car.
Unlike the previous Targa, this one features a hinged hatchback-like rear window for easier access to luggage.
Maserati offered the Spyder, a convertible companion to the beautiful 3200 coupe. The Spyder gets a 4.2-litre, twin-turbo V8 that should vault it into the Porsche 911 Turbo category. Now owned by Ferrari, Maserati will soon be returning to Canada, and the Spyder will add to the appeal of this famous brand.
Bugatti, a legendary name also now owned by Volkswagen, had the latest iteration of the Veyron mega-luxury, four-seat grand tourer. The revised, longer, but still voluptuous, body and the 1001-hp W16 engine are said to be closer to "production maturity."
At least one new Bugatti will go on sale in 2003.
In June, MG Rover Group what's left of the British-owned car industry after BMW dumped the division - purchased the remains of another orphan, the Italian-American Mangusta operation.
A quick redo of the Ford V8-powered sports car has produced the MG X80 coupe, which is expected to go on sale in the U.K. next year, with a roadster coming the year after. If there was any North American future for this car, you'd think that Mangusta would have survived on its own.
So, too, for the MG ZT XPower 385, a 385-horsepower, rear-drive sports sedan, again with a Ford V8. You have to love the gumption of MG Rover to keep tossing cars like this out in hopes some of them will end up in paying customers' garages.
Europe - the rest of the world except us, actually - still drives small, more fuel-efficient cars, and many of the debutantes at Frankfurt are in VW Golf-size or smaller classes.
Ford's Fiesta, Citroen's C3, Volkswagen's Polo and Fiat's Stilo will probably never see a North American streetscape. Still, the new Polo is almost as large inside as the current Golf. Thus, the next-generation Golf will be larger still, which might provide an opening for the Polo, if North Americans ever get serious about fuel consumption.
Fiat's association with General Motors also gives a glimmer of possibility for the gorgeous Stilo. We can only hope.
Mercedes-Benz will bring the next-generation, subcompact A-Class to North America in 2005. The Vaneo version of the current car shown here is a micro-MPV, which might be a useful addition to the continent's auto inventory.
In powertrain news, a hydrogen-powered MINI concept, with a cryogenic fuel tank moulded under the rear seats, was on show.
This is said to provide an equal interior package and similar range to conventional gasoline-engined MINI variants, which arrive next spring in North America.
Audi offered the FSI engine, combining direct gasoline injection with stratified charge, which improves both performance and consumption. This technique, already seen on the Le Mans-winning race cars, will be introduced in four-cylinder road-car engines within the next 12 months.
In the past, concept cars have generally been the candy floss of auto shows. These days, a concept has to have some practicality behind it.
"For sure, having a concept car just for the sake of having a concept car doesn't make sense," said Michael Mauer, chief designer for Saab.
As radical as the Saab 9X looks, there are no major technical obstacles that would prevent it from being produced.
The 2+2, four-wheel-drive coupe has elements of a convertible, station wagon, pickup truck and sports car. Under the hood is a turbocharged V6.
The concept of a two-door sports wagon has never been successful in the marketplace. But Mauer says the 9X's removable roof panels and extendable cargo deck with electrically operated fold-down tailgate add more practicality than previous attempts at this configuration.
He adds that the 9X "design language," or styling cues, reflect not only where Saab has been (the deeply drawn wraparound windshield and grille treatment) but also the direction in which the company will be going.
Likewise for Jaguar's R-Coupe. The curvaceous, four-seat grand touring coupe will not likely see production, since Jaguar has quite enough on its plate right now.
But it could show the direction that the next-generation XJ large sedans will follow when they arrive in a couple of years.
Jonathan Browning, managing director for Jaguar Cars, added that those new XJ sedans will feature advanced aluminum construction. Jaguar has experience with low-volume aluminum cars, dating back to the initial XK120 sports cars, but this will be its first attempt at full production with the lightweight material.
Opel, the European arm of General Motors, unveiled the Signum2 concept, a thinly disguised version of what will become the next Vectra mid-size sedan, long been a favourite with British salespeople.
Signum's quasi-hatch, quasi-wagon configuration will make it easy for them to get at sample cases.
It may also indicate the direction of next-generation, mid-size GM cars on the North American side of the ocean.
Volkswagen's Spanish arm, Seat (originally, the name stood for la Sociedad Espanola de Automoviles de Turismo, but is now just a brand name), served up the Tango, which looks like an even more stylized Audi TT roadster.
As VW moves its cars upmarket, you wonder if there's room in North America for a Hispanic-flavoured, entry-level subbrand, with Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez as spokespeople.
Frankfurt Auto Show
GRAPHIC: REUTERS MICHAEL PROBST/AP THEY'RE OFF: Director Jurgen Hubbert and F1 drivers David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen unveil the Mercedes SL55 AMG.
LOAD-DATE: September 15, 2001
Toronto Star
September 15, 2001 Saturday Ontario Edition
SECTION: WHEELS; Pg. G01
LENGTH: 1671 words
HEADLINE: The show goes on
BYLINE: MICHAEL PROBST/AP
HIGHLIGHT:
Audi A4 highlights exhibition subdued
BODY:
Luxury lines dominate event Lamborghini, Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, MG, Bugatti and Maserati unveil new models
FRANKFURT, Germany - Auto shows depend on new-car launches to attract not only media, but also paying customers.
So it must have irked the organizers of the IAA (Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung) - a.k.a. the Frankfurt International Auto Show - that the new BMW 7 Series sedan and Mercedes-Benz SL roadster were both shown several weeks prior to the show's opening.
The carmakers figure they get better coverage with an individual launch, rather than being a single paragraph in a single newspaper story.
Still, the 2001 Frankfurt extravaganza, billed as the world's biggest auto show, which opened to the public Thursday and runs through Sunday, Sept. 23, has no shortage of novelties.
Chief among them, from a Canadian perspective, are creations from Audi. The new A4 line is augmented with a cabriolet (the previous cabriolet was two generations old) and an Avant station wagon. (The 1.8 turbo, four-cylinder engine remains the base engine in the A4 sedan, with the 3.0-L V6 an option. Both front- and four-wheel drive will continue to be available.)
Both cabriolet and station wagon look pretty much as you might expect, but that makes them no less attractive. Audi's brilliant Continuously Variable Automatic, as it's called, will be the transmission of choice.
The Cabriolet that comes to Canada will be built with V6 power in 3.0-L form. Unusual for an Audi, it will be offered only as a front-drive car.
The engine/drivetrain lineup for the A4 Avant wagon in Canada hasn't been announced, but will probably be the same as the sedan. The wagon employs quattro four-wheel drive.
Audi, along with Volvo, has pioneered the concept of station-wagon-as-lifestyle-vehicle.
So it is also showing the Avantissimo, an ultra-high-performance, ultra-luxury wagon with a 4.2-L, twin-turbo V8, similar in rough outline to the engine in Audi's two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans race-winning car.
Although it had been seen before, BMW's 7 Series made its official public debut at Frankfurt. Although the car looks lower and sleeker than before, and borrows design cues from the Z9 and X coupe show cars of recent years, it emphasizes technology over exterior design.
The new sedan features "Valvetronic" V8 and V12 engines, the rotational speed of which, and hence their power output, is governed by electronic ignition and fuel-delivery systems, not a conventional throttle.
The result is improved performance and lower fuel consumption.
The 7 Series also has no conventional shift lever for its industry-first, ZF six-speed automatic transmission; it is replaced by a steering column stalk.
The Mercedes-Benz SL roadster, profiled here a few weeks ago, also adds new technology, primarily in the realm of electronic braking. But most shoppers will still be attracted by its style, comfort and performance.
New at Frankfurt: An AMG version of the SL roadster, with increased output and even better handling.
It was apparent from the show that manufacturers share the idea that drivers need ergonomic help with all the controls they must deal with in modern cars.
Mercedes and Nissan have already taken shots at this problem, Mercedes with its COMAND system, Nissan with its reprogrammable dash buttons in the Infiniti Q45 sedan.
Previewed as a concept a year or so ago, BMW's iDrive system makes its first production appearance in the new 7 Series. It uses a computer-like track ball that spins, slides and can be pushed.
The little ball dials up various menus of functions - navigation, HVAC, entertainment, communications to select the particular item you wish to work on, then makes the desired adjustments.
Audi offers MMI (Multi-Media Interface), which accomplishes similar goals. Corporate cousin Volkswagen will be introducing similar technology, including Internet access, to the Passat W8 this fall.
In luxury car news, Lamborghini, now a division of Audi, showed its Diablo replacement. In keeping with the Lambo tradition, Murcielago (Spanish for bat) is named for a famous Spanish fighting bull.
This one is an ultimate-performance, four-wheel-drive sports car, still with a mid-mounted V12 engine and unique swing-up doors.
Only about 400 of these cars will be built each year. If you want one, better pony up a deposit right now.
Porsche rolled out new variants on the 911 theme. One, the 4S, is a Turbo-look 911 coupe with the non-Turbo engine. Another, the Targa, has a glass roof that can slide rearwards about half a metre to provide a near-cabrio open-air feeling in a closed car.
Unlike the previous Targa, this one features a hinged hatchback-like rear window for easier access to luggage.
Maserati offered the Spyder, a convertible companion to the beautiful 3200 coupe. The Spyder gets a 4.2-litre, twin-turbo V8 that should vault it into the Porsche 911 Turbo category. Now owned by Ferrari, Maserati will soon be returning to Canada, and the Spyder will add to the appeal of this famous brand.
Bugatti, a legendary name also now owned by Volkswagen, had the latest iteration of the Veyron mega-luxury, four-seat grand tourer. The revised, longer, but still voluptuous, body and the 1001-hp W16 engine are said to be closer to "production maturity."
At least one new Bugatti will go on sale in 2003.
In June, MG Rover Group what's left of the British-owned car industry after BMW dumped the division - purchased the remains of another orphan, the Italian-American Mangusta operation.
A quick redo of the Ford V8-powered sports car has produced the MG X80 coupe, which is expected to go on sale in the U.K. next year, with a roadster coming the year after. If there was any North American future for this car, you'd think that Mangusta would have survived on its own.
So, too, for the MG ZT XPower 385, a 385-horsepower, rear-drive sports sedan, again with a Ford V8. You have to love the gumption of MG Rover to keep tossing cars like this out in hopes some of them will end up in paying customers' garages.
Europe - the rest of the world except us, actually - still drives small, more fuel-efficient cars, and many of the debutantes at Frankfurt are in VW Golf-size or smaller classes.
Ford's Fiesta, Citroen's C3, Volkswagen's Polo and Fiat's Stilo will probably never see a North American streetscape. Still, the new Polo is almost as large inside as the current Golf. Thus, the next-generation Golf will be larger still, which might provide an opening for the Polo, if North Americans ever get serious about fuel consumption.
Fiat's association with General Motors also gives a glimmer of possibility for the gorgeous Stilo. We can only hope.
Mercedes-Benz will bring the next-generation, subcompact A-Class to North America in 2005. The Vaneo version of the current car shown here is a micro-MPV, which might be a useful addition to the continent's auto inventory.
In powertrain news, a hydrogen-powered MINI concept, with a cryogenic fuel tank moulded under the rear seats, was on show.
This is said to provide an equal interior package and similar range to conventional gasoline-engined MINI variants, which arrive next spring in North America.
Audi offered the FSI engine, combining direct gasoline injection with stratified charge, which improves both performance and consumption. This technique, already seen on the Le Mans-winning race cars, will be introduced in four-cylinder road-car engines within the next 12 months.
In the past, concept cars have generally been the candy floss of auto shows. These days, a concept has to have some practicality behind it.
"For sure, having a concept car just for the sake of having a concept car doesn't make sense," said Michael Mauer, chief designer for Saab.
As radical as the Saab 9X looks, there are no major technical obstacles that would prevent it from being produced.
The 2+2, four-wheel-drive coupe has elements of a convertible, station wagon, pickup truck and sports car. Under the hood is a turbocharged V6.
The concept of a two-door sports wagon has never been successful in the marketplace. But Mauer says the 9X's removable roof panels and extendable cargo deck with electrically operated fold-down tailgate add more practicality than previous attempts at this configuration.
He adds that the 9X "design language," or styling cues, reflect not only where Saab has been (the deeply drawn wraparound windshield and grille treatment) but also the direction in which the company will be going.
Likewise for Jaguar's R-Coupe. The curvaceous, four-seat grand touring coupe will not likely see production, since Jaguar has quite enough on its plate right now.
But it could show the direction that the next-generation XJ large sedans will follow when they arrive in a couple of years.
Jonathan Browning, managing director for Jaguar Cars, added that those new XJ sedans will feature advanced aluminum construction. Jaguar has experience with low-volume aluminum cars, dating back to the initial XK120 sports cars, but this will be its first attempt at full production with the lightweight material.
Opel, the European arm of General Motors, unveiled the Signum2 concept, a thinly disguised version of what will become the next Vectra mid-size sedan, long been a favourite with British salespeople.
Signum's quasi-hatch, quasi-wagon configuration will make it easy for them to get at sample cases.
It may also indicate the direction of next-generation, mid-size GM cars on the North American side of the ocean.
Volkswagen's Spanish arm, Seat (originally, the name stood for la Sociedad Espanola de Automoviles de Turismo, but is now just a brand name), served up the Tango, which looks like an even more stylized Audi TT roadster.
As VW moves its cars upmarket, you wonder if there's room in North America for a Hispanic-flavoured, entry-level subbrand, with Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez as spokespeople.
Frankfurt Auto Show
GRAPHIC: REUTERS MICHAEL PROBST/AP THEY'RE OFF: Director Jurgen Hubbert and F1 drivers David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen unveil the Mercedes SL55 AMG.
LOAD-DATE: September 15, 2001
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