By Peter Bleakney and Jacob Black

The mission was simple: Find the most interesting things at the Frankfurt Auto Show, and write about them.

On paper, it seemed easy. Most things that were new were compact/sub-compact crossovers – both production and concept. There were rumblings of something cool maybe coming from Mercedes-Benz, maybe from Porsche. Generally though, this looked like a show where we’d come home with reports of new, production-ready and near-production CUVs to regale you with.

But then Peter got all distracted by big powerful shiny things and only wrote about those, while I got distracted by stuff I might actually be allowed to drive one day, and wrote mostly about those.

Between the two of us, we accidentally put together a list of the most important and interesting things at this year’s Frankfurt show.

Mansory Torofeo Huracan (Peter)
Is the “ regular” Lamborghini Huracan just too regular for you?  Extreme German tuner Mansory has the car for you. Their Torofeo Huracan sports a completely new full carbon fibre suit. The body is 30 mm wider in front, 40 mm wider at the back, and features extra aero and larger scoops to feed the engine. No wimpy standard 610 hp here. New pistons, connecting rods, bearings, camshafts, and pair of turbos boost output to a staggering 1000 hp and 737 lb-ft of torque. They claim the Torofeo scoots past 100 km/h in 2.7 seconds and accelerates beyond 340 km/h.

Rolls-Royce Dawn (Peter)
If you need a droptop Roller, but find the Phantom Drophead Coupe just a tad too gauche (and pricy at around half a mil), the new Rolls-Royce Dawn will come in at around $300,000 and likely not have the proletariat throwing their McDonalds wrappers as you pass. Based on the Wraith coupe, this stunning piece of craftsmanship with the 563 hp twin-turbo 6.6L BMW V12 below decks will have you wafting and sunning in uppermost style. Expect this new Roller in the spring of 2016 – just in time for a run to the Diary Queen.

Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo Concept (Peter)
Granted, this one-off concept is pure fantasy, but what Bugatti isn’t? However, this model is actually one we can all enjoy, as it lives in the virtual and imminently accessible world of video gaming. The Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo Concept tears up the world’s racetracks in the latest version of Vision Gran Turismo. Now that the Veyron is out of production, this radical carbon-fibre shell is peek into the future, previewing the brand’s upcoming design language. Meanwhile, is this collection of pixels going to be fast on your gaming screen? The “engineers” feel it will hit 250 km/h in four sections of the virtual Le Mans circuit.

Brabus 730 E63 Wagon (Peter)
Who doesn’t like a hot wagon? German tuner Brabus breathes on the all-ready blistering 590-hp Mercedes-Benz E63 S Wagon and turns it into something altogether more fearsome. This one features Stage 2 tuning which ramps horsepower up to 730 via new turbos and ECU reprogramming. If that’s not enough, Stage 3 involves a complete engine rebuild and that garners 850 hp. Of course the car gets a full makeover, from the brakes to suspension, wheels, interior and exhaust. It takes two weeks for Brabus to turn the cooking E 63 Wagon into this 730, which runs about 200,000 Euros.

Alpina B6 Edition 50 Bi-Turbo Coupe (Peter)
Take one of BMW’s prettiest cars, send it to Bavarian tuner Alpina, and you get a very special ride. Sure, the factory rear-drive BMW M6 Coupe is hot, but Alpina’s take on this car is different. Alpina starts with the all-wheel-drive 650 Coupe and adds its own recipe of increased power, handling and appointments. Compared to the M6, the Alpina B6 leans more to the luxury side of the equation, but driving one reveals an intoxicating blend of performance, refinement and dynamic security that separates from all other iterations of this fetching two-door. And 600 hp from the 4.4L V8 is nothing to sneeze at. Celebrating 50 years of tuning BMWs, the Alpina B6 Edition 50 Bi-Turbo Coupe has not been crash tested for North America, so we won’t be getting it.

Lamborghini LP 610-4 Huracan Spyder (Peter)
The Huracan coupe is an outstanding drive, so adding wind and sun to the mix can only make it better. Not to mention more aural stimulation from the screamin’ 610-hp 5.2L V10. The Huracan Spyder’s lightweight fabric top comes in three colours – black, brown and red – and retracts in 17 seconds.  It is operable at speeds up to 50 km/h and the electric rear window works separately from the roof, so you can leave it up as a wind blocker. The Spyder looks good with the top up, and spectacular when tucked away when the rear fins move into place, beautifully shaping the side view of the car. Pricing starts at 186, 450 Euros.

Porsche Mission-e Concept (Peter… and Jacob)

PB: Porsche surprised all with their Mission-e concept – a Tesla fighting electric car that could sell itself on looks alone. The electric motors make 600 hp, it has a 500 km range and Porsche claims with their new quick-charging system it will get 80 percent of its charge in 15 minutes. Build this puppy!

JB: If you don’t think electric is the future, Porsche is here to prove you wrong. If, like me, you also think Porsche builds kind of boring looking cars really, they’ll prove you wrong on that front too. This Mission-e concept is gorgeous. Gorgeous. It also looks realistic… maybe they’ll build it? I hope they do.

For more on Frankfurt and how the show looked from inside Jacob’s head, click here.

Mercedes-Benz Concept IAA (Jacob)
Also on the Electric-drive supercar bit, well, hybrid drive at least, was Mercedes-Benz. The Concept IAA is powered by a petrol/electric hybrid good for 279 hp and a top speed of 250 km/h electrically limited. All-electric range is 66 km, but it’s the transforming abilities that really make this car incredible. At 80 km/h (I wish it had been 88 – and yes I know that was mph but still….) the tail piece extends 40 mm, the grill and rims close, and the underbody panels move about to minimize drag. The result, a claimed world record drag coefficient of 0.19. Oh yeah, and it only took 10 months to design and build.

Nissan Gripz Concept (Jacob)

Nissan also brought their electric-power design to Frankfurt, but this one is a CUV. Specifically, it’s a “Sport/Crossover Concept” powered by a “small petrol engine and a serious electric drivetrain”. The 2×2 crossover has no b-pillar, allowing easy access, and four racing-inspired seats. In fact, racing bicycles inspire a lot of the design.

The Gripz would have selectable AWD and “Drift Mode” just in case you want to try and roll one.

The boomerang headlights and floating roof are elements of Nissan’s Emotional Geometry design and do give a good indication of what the next Juke might look like.

Toyota C-HR (Jacob)
You can always count on Toyota to keep you grounded. And not only because we spend more time in our Corolla long-term tester than we do sports cars.

The concept Toyota bought to Frankfurt is not only cool, it’s probably going to be unveiled as a production model in Geneva next year. The C-HR is set to take on the Nissan Juke, Mazda CX-3 and Honda HR-V in the flourishing sub-compact SUV market.

Like the original Rav4, the original design was a two-door format, but a four opening has been cut out for this latest iteration of the concept.

Infiniti Q30 (Jacob)

Stepping firmly into the real world, Infiniti unveiled its new Q30 at Frankfurt. The crossover/wagon/hatch thing shares a platform and an engine with the Mercedes-Benz GLA.

The styling is unmistakably “Infiniti” right down to the arched c-pillar, double-arch grill and ‘double wave’ bonnet. This is perhaps the best execution of the marque’s design language.

In Canada, we’re likely to see the Benz-sourced 2.0L four with 211 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. Other markets will see two diesels and a 1.6L four – which has an anaemic 122 hp and 150 lb-ft. We also are unlikely to get the six-speed manual, instead settling for the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission driving all four wheels.

Deliveries begin later in 2015.

Volkswagen Tiguan (Jacob)

A long-awaited, second-generation Volkswagen Tiguan was also unveiled in Frankfurt. At 60 mm longer, 30 mm wider and with a 77 mm longer wheelbase the Tiguan has gained size but still dropped weight – 50 kg of it.

There are also rumours it might get an optional third-row seating arrangement. The Tiguan will likely land in Canada in 2.0T and diesel forms, but there was a GTE plug-in hybrid prototype displayed in Frankfurt, which would be a boon for city-dwelling, fuel-conscious SUV lovers.

The new Tiguan is still every bit a “Tiguan” but now has sharper, better executed lines that enhance its already-significant elegance.

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