Featured

Editors' Choice: Top Five 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show Debuts

Fast, Fantastical, Fab Five From Frankfurt

Sep 17th 2015 at 11:58AM
Consider the 2015-16 auto show season officially kicked off. The Frankfurt Motor Show offered a great look at the newest crop of production cars and conceptual machines, and brought some old favorites back into the spotlight for a closer look. (The Alfa Romeo Giulia, for example, debuted in June, but this was the first time most of us saw it.)

Now that the dust has settled and we're all on flights back to the US, our editors cast their votes for their personal favorites from the Frankfurt show. These are the cars we truly loved seeing the most. But unlike other shows, there was no one runaway winner – all of the Top Five received positive praise from our team. We won't spoil the results, though. Scroll down to see what we liked most from this year's Frankfurt expo.

5th Place –
MERCEDES-BENZ IAA CONCEPT

View 12 Photos


MIKE AUSTIN: The clean lines on this concept have me excited for a more elegant beauty to future Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Next to the Concept IAA, the lovely S-Class Coupe looks like an overstyled barge.

DAVID GLUCKMAN: Yeah, the extendable rear is neat and all, but I'm more interested in the front-end styling of this one. It looks like the Tron version of a 300SL, in a good way. I'm hopeful it portends the future of Mercedes design.

STEVEN EWING: I was super impressed when Mercedes said that, with the rear end extended, this concept has a drag coefficient of just 0.19. That's crazy aerodynamic. I'm not head-over-heels about the styling, but I think the lessons learned from this concept are really important, and will play a huge role in the future of Mercedes' products.

4th Place –
ALFA ROMEO GIULIA

View 15 Photos


SEYTH MIERSMA: I can hardly express how in love with this car I am. The styling feels creative, modern, and evocative, without going over the top. The proposed performance is spectacular. And the Alfa badge speaks to a legacy of romantic motoring.

DAVID GLUCKMAN: Pretty Italian car makes big promises and will probably deliver on about three quarters of them. I think that will still be enough for me.

JEREMY KORZENIEWSKI: I'm really intrigued by the Giulia. It looks great, sounds awesome, and I'm expecting it to have a load more character than its German rivals. I hope I'm not disappointed.

3rd Place –
JAGUAR F-PACE

View 15 Photos


GREG MIGLIORE: It's the first SUV for Jaguar, and I think they nailed the design, capability, and electronics. It's the right car at the right time.

BRANDON TURKUS: Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, your chariot awaits. The F-Pace, stupid name aside, is going to sell a hilarious amount of cars for Jaguar. And while we might not usually care about the vehicles of WASP-ish suburban women, much like the Cayenne does for Porsche, the F-Pace's success will hopefully guarantee a future for the Jags we really care about, like the F-Type.

ERIK MAIER: In addition to being just a fantastic looking vehicle, this one gets my vote for the epic, record-breaking loop-de-loop stunt it performed at the show.

STEVEN EWING: Ever since the launch of the current XJ, I haven't met a Jaguar I didn't like. I've now seen and learned all about the F-Pace, and assuming it drives as well as all other Jags, I don't think my previous statement is going to change.

2nd Place –
HONDA PROJECT 2&4 CONCEPT

View 21 Photos


CHRIS BRUCE: Honda's Project 2&4 Concept is a fantasy in every sense of the word. It would be a dream to drive a stripped-down track car with a screaming, 14,000-rpm redline and a fully exposed driver's seat. There's no way this thing is ever going to see production, though. At least Honda showed us what such a beast would look like.

MIKE AUSTIN: This is really just a cruel joke by Honda. They even showed it with marbled-up, scrubbed tires. Stop taunting me and construct a wormhole to an alternate universe where the Project 2&4 will be built and sold.

JEREMY KORZENIEWSKI: I love cars, and I love motorcycles. Honda combines the two in this awesome concept, and all I can think of is how badly I want to drive it.

SEYTH MIERSMA: After a decade of losing hope, I'm feeling pretty bullish on Honda again. That's mostly because it seems intent on reminding folks that it used to be a tech-focused car company with a strong racing heritage, and not a Maytag distributor. Witness this motorcycle-meets-hot-rod showpiece, which elicits a simple but powerful response whenever I look at it: "Give me that."

1st Place –
PORSCHE MISSION E CONCEPT

View 37 Photos


DAVID GLUCKMAN: After experiencing the 918 Spyder, I'm confident Porsche can do electrification right. I like that Porsche kept mid-engine looks for a car with no engines – since it has a motor at either end, the center-of-motor (a thing I just made up) would be in the middle. So it totally makes sense.

GREG MIGLIORE: This concept makes a style statement with its Star Wars Storm Trooper front end, hunkered-down wheels, and subtle curves. More importantly, this is a signpost for Porsche's electric car efforts. Look out, Tesla!

MIKE AUSTIN: The details on this are amazing, like the way the rear wing integrates into a back end. And breaking away from round headlamps is a bold move for Porsche.

STEVEN EWING: Electrification strategy aside, how awesome would it be if this shape was the next Panamera? It looks like a long, futuristic 911, and from every angle, I'm really impressed.

VOTING BREAKDOWN

As we've done with our past Editors' Choice lists, each staffer had 25 points to distribute amongst five cars, with no one car receiving more than 10 points. After everything was tallied, here's how the Top Five fell.

  • Porsche Mission E – 44 points
  • Honda 2&4 – 42 points
  • Jaguar F-Pace – 31 points
  • Alfa Romeo Giulia – 26 points
  • Mercedes-Benz IAA – 25 points

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Here's the full list of cars that didn't quite make the Top Five cut.

Share This Photo X