Project Kahn rolls out more tuning programs for some of the most desirable cars on the market than any other aftermarket company we know. So when the Frankfurt Motor Show rolled around, it was expected that the British tuning company would be in attendance to show off their latest programs.
One of these is the new Vesuvius program for the Porsche Cayenne. Comprising of styling and engine updates, the Vesuvius kit once again showcases just how good these guys are at what they do.
The most noticeable upgrade for this particular Cayenne is the new body kit that seamlessly blends in with the car’s white body finish. Among the items included in the kit are buffed up fenders, rows of horizontal and vertical LED headlights, and a new set of Project Kahn’s very own RS wheels. Meanwhile, the interior of the Cayenne has been dressed up with a top-quality bespoke treatment that can be tailor-made depending on the customer’s preference.
As for the engine upgrade, Project Kahn has yet to divulge intimate details about it, opting only to say that it’s going to have a ’monstrous’ engine upgrade. In standard form, the Cayenne carries a 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel engine that delivers 240 horsepower and 405 lb/ft of torque. These figures are good enough for the SUV to accelerate from 0-62 mph in 7.8 seconds with a top speed of 136 mph. We can only imagine just how much of an improvement in performance the Porsche SUV will receive when Project Kahn finally reveals that ’monstrous’ engine upgrade they guaranteed it will have.
Of the many vehicles Volkswagen has released in Frankfurt, the new R-Line package for the Volkswagen Polo may be just another vehicle to some people, but rest assured, it’s anything but.
Save for a performance program, it’s got everything you need, including exterior and interior upgrades, new color options, and a new set of alloy wheels. Among the new accessories that can be fitted into the Polo include new front and rear bumpers, a roof spoiler, new side skirts, LED license plate illumination, daytime running lights, chrome exhaust tailpipes, and a new set of 16" alloy wheels. A new sports chassis is also available, one that can lower the car’s ride height by 15 mm. Various color options are available for the Polo R-Line, including Deep Black Pearl Effect, Reflex Silver Metallic, Pepper Grey Metallic, Shadow Blue Metallic, Hot Orange Metallic, Candy White, and Flash Red.
The car’s interior was also given some fresh enhancements. There’s new leather and Alcantara upholstery, GTI sports seats, a black roofliner, a leather steering wheel, aluminum pedals, door sills, and a number of R-Line logos.
Volkswagen has yet to announce a price for the R-Line package. The launch date is expected to begin at the end of the year with versions available for just about every model of the Polo.
Volkswagen has released a full army of concept vehicles based on their new Up! platform at the Frankfurt Motor Show. One of the concept vehicles, the Up! Azzura Sailing Team, is a version of the Up! that takes nautical pleasures to a new level.
As an open-top concept with a lack of doors too, the Up! Azzura Sailing Team was penned by no less than Volkswagen chief, Walter de Silva, and Giorgetto Giugiaro with the idea of bringing to life and paying homage to nautical life. As such, the design elements featured in the concept carry some of those nautical characteristics, including an open-cabin with mahogany and maple wood trims, chrome components, and white-blue leather. On top of that, the car has also been dressed in a resin coating to make it waterproof, which would make sense considering the whole point of the concept.
As for the powertrain, the Up! Azzura Sailing Team runs on an electric motor, although nothing appears to be set in stone since the concept is unlikely to ever make it to production.
It’s not rocket science to understand that the Volkswagen Up! Concept is not the poster car for fast cars, seeing as the concept only carries an output of 75 horsepower. What was surprising though was that for all of its capabilities - or lack thereof - Volkswagen has come out with a GT version of the concept that delivers an output of 100 horsepower. Not exactly raging stallions, is it?
In any case, this is what the Volkswagen Up! GT Concept has to offer. Compared to the its standard version brethren, the GT version is a monster on four wheels, at least as far as relativity is concerned.
It carries a turbocharged three-cylinder engine that produces 100 horsepower and 111 lb/ft of torque - a significant improvement from the 75-horsepower output of the standard version - while carrying a 0-60 mph sprint time of nine seconds.
But more than all the numbers, the Up GT! Concept also carries some aesthetic improvements from the standard Up, including a more serious front bumper with LED running lamps, a roof spoiler, twin-chrome exhaust finishers, and a set of 17" wheels as the cherry on top of the proverbial sundae.
If you’re in Frankfurt basking in the atmosphere of all those concepts and supercars and you happen to see a futuristic-looking bicycle in the showroom floor, don’t be confused because that bicycle is actually part of Ford’s Frankfurt line-up.
The bike is called the E-Bike and its being touted as an electric bike concept that could very well be the future of bicycles as we know it. Apparently, bicycles of the future will have motors of their own. Go figure.
In any case, the Ford E-Bike comes with an aluminum and carbon frame that weighs just 2.5kg (5.5 lbs). This frame comes with a Giant SLR Carbon 110mm stem and a Selle Italia SLR XC saddle. It also has a Shimano Alfine 11-speed internal gear hub, a 2012 Shimano Rapidfire shifter, and where the old bicycle chains used to be, the E-Bike now has a Carbon Belt Drive System.
We never thought we’d associate the word ’bicycle’ with ’powertrain’, but unbelievably, the E-Bike Concept is powered by a front-wheel hub motor that produces an output of 350W with a top speed of 25km/h (15.5 mph) on electric power. The electric motor is joined by a 340Wh, 36V, 9.3Ah Lithium-ion battery that offers a driving range of up to 85 km (53 miles) with the battery capable of being re-charged to 85% capacity in just two hours, and 100% in three to four hours.
Ford has given no indication on whether this concept bicycle will be given the go-signal for production. Considering all the technologies present in the overall set-up of the bike, we’d venture a guess that we won’t see a production version anytime soon.
For Audi, the Frankfurt Motor Show was not only about performance cars, but also about fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions. Next to the three S models released, the company’s stand also included the luxury A8 hybrid sedan. The new hybrid sedan will go on sale in 2012 and combines a 2.0 TFSI and an electric motor for a total output of 245 HP and an impressive fuel economy of 36.75 US mpg.
The new Audi A8 Hybrid is one of the few large hybrids on the market, but unlike its biggest competitor - the BMW ActiveHybrid 7 - the A8 features a much more elegant design. And thanks to its ASF (Audi Space Frame) body made entirely of aluminum, the A8 will also be lighter.
The Audi A8 Hybrid will go on sale later in 2012. Prices will be announced at a later date.
Updated 03/27/2012: Audi has unveiled a series of new images and new video for their A8 hybrid luxury sedan. Also, the car is now officially on sale in Europe, with prices starting from €77,700 for standard version and €85,400 for the L version.
Hit the jump to read more about the Audi A8 Hybrid.
Following the recent passing of Hamann Motorsports founder, Richard Hamann, the company is abiding by his wishes of continuing with business as usual by releasing their first tuning package for the recently launched BMW 6-Series Convertible. This new package was just debuted at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show and comes with exterior and interior modifications, as well as a massive engine update.
Hamann dressed up the exterior of the new 6-Series with sporty-dynamic front and rear spoilers, new LED daytime running lights, new side skirts, and a set of Hamann’s EDITION RACE ANODIZED and ANNIVERSARY EVO wheels available in different sizes and designs depending on the customer’s request. The interior also received a transformation with components made of the finest black anodize aluminum, personalized foot mats, and pretty much anything else the customer so chooses.
The best part, though, comes as part of the engine setup. Hamann has juiced up the 6-Series’ 4.4-liter V8 engine by adding a sport exhaust system with four stainless steel tail pipes, as well as an ECU upgrade to increase the total output from 400 to 510 HP. Then they added a special suspension that drops the cabriolet’s center of gravity by up to 30 mm.
It’s not unusual for Bugatti to show up to a major auto show with some rendition of their Veyron supercar, and Frankfurt’s model is a special edition Veyron Grand Sport slathered with red exterior paint. It seems Bugatti brought the Grand Sport along because they’re having a bit of trouble selling the powerful convertible. Both the Veyron Coupe and Veyron Super Sport are sold out, but there are still 108 units Grand Sport available, from a total of 150.
So in an effort to move the Grand Sport right along in sales, Bugatti has graced the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show floor with this sultry red model. Everything about this car is red; the exterior, the interior, and the partially red wheels. It’s a fitting color considering there’s a fiery hot 8.0L W16 engine with 1001 HP under the hood.
Along with the beautiful Grand Sport on display, Bugatti also chose the Frankfurt Motor Show to officially confirm that an even more powerful Veyron Grand Sport has been prepared for the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. This definitely smells like the Grand Sport Super Sport we caught testing just last month!
There’s always a fine line between ultra luxury and just being extravagantly over-the-top. British automaker, Bentley, knows a thing or two about luxury and at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the company showed off exactly what it’s all about with the new executive interior concept for the brand’s flagship model, the Mulsanne.
Turning the Mulsanne into an Apple multimedia connective hub, Bentley went completely bananas in outfitting it with just about every product Apple has on the market these days, save for an actual fruit basket of the doctor’s best friend. There are Apple iPads with Bluetooth keyboards, a Mini Mac in the boot compartment, and an Apple Media Center. The concept interior also carries ’W-Lan’ internet connectivity, and a 15.6" High Definition LED drop-down monitor. There are also two electric-powered, foldable wood veneer picnic tables, an illuminated center console, individual armrests for the rear seats, various new storage areas, and a Rear Seat Entertainment (RSE) and audio system.
If your head’s spinning from all the features included in the Executive Interior Concept, you’ll have to sit down, take a deep breath, and keep on reading. They’re not done. The final list of additions for the whole interior concept include a Tibaldi pen, a cooler, a Privacy Telephone handset, and numerous lights set-ups, as well as other ports and connectors.
According to Bentley, the whole set-up takes up to 170 hours, which means that all that hours spent working on the interior will warrant charges that will be beyond absurd. Bentley hasn’t announced how much it will cost, but you only need to read all the elements included to determine that it’s going to cost more than you can afford.
Two months after checking out the A5 DTM concept, Audi has whipped out the production model at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Codenamed the "R17," the A5 DTM replaced the old A4 DTM and is scheduled for homologation on March 1, 2012. Until then, engineers will be busy putting it to some extreme testing.
The A5 DTM is 5.01 meters long, 1.95 meters wide, and 1.15 meters low, and is completely made in carbon fiber. It is powered by a V8 engine mated to six-speed transmission, now pneumatically operated using paddle shifters in the steering wheel. The shifting events are more precise compared with conventional manual gearshifts and allow the mileage of the unit to be quadrupled to up to 24,000 kilometers. The whole setup delivers a total of 460 HP. The race car has also received a safety fuel tank with a capacity of 120 liters integrated with the carbon fiber cell of the Audi A5 DTM that allows the current distance of a DTM race to be covered without a refueling stop.
"In the past, Audi has had very innovative solutions particularly in the area of aerodynamics in the DTM," says Dr. Martin Mühlmeier, Head of Engineering at Audi Sport. "Since these areas have been subjected to severe restrictions good detailed solutions will now be crucial to achieving advantages over the competition."
Updated 03/21/2012: Audi Motorsport has unveiled today the first images of the new A5 DTM wearing its racing livery. Next to the official car tested at Valencia, four new Audi A5 DTM cars will be on track sporting their final outfits for the first time. Hit the jump for a full list of the Audi teams in the 2012 DTM.
