The Jaguar C-X75
The Frankfurt Motor Show opened in Germany last week, with a strong emphasis on green motoring, as well as a little something special for James Bond fans.
Sports car manufacturer Porsche presented its Mission E, the first zero-emission, all-electrically powered four-seat sports car in the brand’s history, at the global motoring showcase.
The Mission E offers more than 600 hp (440 kW) power and a driving range of more than 500 km on a single charge.
Other specifications include all-wheel drive, zero to 100 km/h acceleration in under 3.5 seconds and a charging time of around 15 minutes to reach an 80% charge.
Instruments are operated by eye-tracking and gesture control, as well as via holograms in some cases, with the displays automatically adjusting to the driver’s position.
Volume car producer Toyota, perhaps known for its more conservative designs, presented a rather edgy concept called the C-HR, hinting at a future small sports-utility vehicle from the Japanese manufacturer.
The C-HR would compete in the segment below the RAV4.
Toyota said the new concept was significantly representative of a production car that will be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show early next year.
Mercedes-Benz used the Frankfurt Motor Show to take the wraps of its Digital Transformer concept vehicle, which aims to address the design friction between beauty and aerodynamics.
The manufacturer says this futuristic business limousine embodies two cars in one – a four-door coupé and an aerodynamic world-record breaker with a drag coefficient (wind resistance) of 0.19.
Lower wind resistance leads to improved fuel efficiency.
Upwards of 80 km/h, the Digital Transformer, or Intelligent Aerodynamic Automobile, automatically switches from ‘design’ mode to ‘aerodynamic’ mode, changing its form with a number of aerodynamic features.
At the rear end, eight segments deploy, extending the vehicle by up to 390 mm. Front flaps in the front bumper extend outwards by 25 mm and rearwards by 200 mm, improving airflow around the front end and the front wheel arches.
The active wheel rims also change their cupping from 50 mm to zero, and the fin in the front bumper retracts by 60 mm to improve flow along the underbody.
The 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show was also the event where Jaguar Land Rover showed off the Jaguar C-X75, set to appear in the new Bond movie, Spectre.
Spectre, the twenty-fourth James Bond film, sees the C-X75 supercar drive through the moonlit streets of Rome in one of the movie’s high-speed chase scenes.