If you go by camera flashes, then it was easy to see where all the attention and action was. Where the pretty girls, the men with expensive suits and sharp eyes, and the shambling bulks of photographers all coalesced. New models, new versions, new, new, new. But there’s more to the show than that.
Away from the talk of fully autonomous cars, away from yet another type of powerplant, far from the chatter about more electric range, there were some fascinating oddballs. Here was where you might find truly new thinking rather than a new type of grille. We wandered off into the darker corners, and this is what we found.
TransportPanzer Fuchs
Certainly a new idea for dealing with rush-hour traffic or blocked roads, this is a reconnaissance vehicle for the German Army, and can still operate in nuclear/biological or chemical warfare scenarios. Built by Rhenimetall MAN Military Vehicles, the 17-ton vehicle, powered by a 320bhp Mercedes V8 diesel, is based on the original Daimler design of 1979.
Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Limousine
This monstrous Merc is hardly practical on a day-to-day level but so what if you can’t get into a car parking bay? Have your soldiers eject all the other cars. Problem solved. Can’t get it on the ferry? Call up your aircraft carrier. People should think bigger. But they’ll need to, since these fabulous relics are now going for around £1.34m. Not a problem – where’s that Swiss bank account?
PAL-V Liberty
The Dutch company says this can drive like a normal car and then take off and fly over heavy traffic ahead. It is going to cost around £450,00 and you do get a familiarization course with that. One question – what happens if lots of people buy these and then all try to fly over the traffic below?
BB 911 Rainbow
Rainer Buchmann’s company, BB, has been converting Porsches and Mercs since 1974. This little rainbow beauty is from 1976 so it probably isn’t an LBGT homage, but it is a 911 Turbo with a Targa top – which is interesting since Porsche never officially made this combination. Value? About £720,000.
BB Mercedes 500 SEC Magic-Top
More than three decades before Mercedes made the S-Class Cabriolet, Rainer Buchmann produced this hard-top convertible SEC, which is indeed magic.
Avrora Robotics Mars A-800
Russian company Avrora make this robot tank, Mars, which is bound to be useful. Just a shame Matt Damon didn’t have one with him in The Martian.
Thunder Power SUV
Thunder Power – the name of the Hong Kong company behind this electric SUV – sounds fairly dramatic but the reality is more of a light shower.
Mercedes-Benz 280SE
Oh but this is a beautiful thing. Even if you didn’t like cars you’d like this. Made from 1961 until the final 200bhp 3.5-litre version in 1969, the W111 is highly sought after. Ridiculously so, as this mint version showed with a price tag of £537,000.
Mercedes-Benz Brabus G900
For hip hop stars everywhere, this is the self-effacing little SUV from Brabus. The vehicle takes the G65 AMG and then goes loopy, adding tons of torque to the V12 under the bonnet and tons of bling everywhere else. They’ll make ten. They’ll cost £600,000. Each.
Yanfeng XiM18
Yanfeng make car interiors rather than cars, and that’s the focus of this concept vehicle, which has a flexible cabin, so you can have Drive, Family, Meeting and Lounge options. There was a Wine Bar and Bedroom variant but it crashed on the way to the show.
Ford Torino (1968)
Two names come instantly to mind – Starsky and Hutch. They made the Torino, an offshoot of the Fairline, famous, with its 3.3-litre six-cylinder engine squealing those tyres. The GT version got a 4.9-litre small-blick V8.
Mazda Cosmo 110S (1967)
This rotary-powered Mazda was entered for racing. There was no toe dipping in the water, Mazda went all in, entering the 84-hour Marathon de la Route. Impressively the rotary finished fourth.
Mercedes-Benz C111 (1970)
It may not look like a Mercedes, but it is, complete with a rotary engine, a four-rotor Wankel 2.4-litre. With 350bhp it cracked 200mph at Italy’s Nardo circuit.
Audi robot band
It’s a rock band. Built by Audi. German humour – and rock talent – at its zenith.
RTB Dodgem
Parking system specialists RTB have put a 25-minute battery into this 1963 dodgem car. So no poles or sparks, then. Boo.
IMSA Mercedes-Benz AMG GT
IMSA specialises in tuning Mercs, but few people have heard of them. Until they showed this AMG GT car.
Aeromobil
One of a few ‘coming soon’ flying cars at Frankfurt, this Slovakian effort aims to be in the skies (and on the roads) by 2020 at around £1.4m a pop.
City E-Taxi
Don’t want to wait for your battery pack to recharge? Simply swap them over. This electric taxi is only the length of a Smart ForFour and can seat three. Just hope it doesn’t move with the battery pack like that.
Electric Citroen 2CV pick-up
What a brilliant idea. That’s the Guardian market sewn-up.
Matreshka bus
The Russians are going to make this driverless electric bus this year, with a range of 80 miles and a top speed of 20mph. Reminds me of that joke. ‘I want to die peacefully, smiling in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and shouting like his passengers.’
Police Ford Mustang
A cop version of a Ford Mustang. You’d need a very special uniform to go with it.
ThyssenKrupp Sunriser
In the 2015 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, this sun-powered car came a respectable third. It was built by a team at Bochum University of Applied Sciences and can reach 75mph.
Renault Twizy, with Caravan
Both Twizy and caravan could fit inside some caravans, extending the holiday options still further.
Volkswagen Type 2
While we’re waiting for the new version, here’s a reminder of why we’re waiting impatiently. Original and best.