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Frankfurt, Germany - VW stole a march on the auto industry on the eve of the Frankfurt auto show with one of the most glittering vehicle launch events in the history of the event – but the real focus was on just one car.
A tiny one, called Up!
For now there are three little sisters with the same surname (Take Up!, Move Up! and High Up! ) which originated from the centre two letters of another VW product , the Lupo. For a while “those in the know” tendering the opinion that Up! was just a cover name for a fresh Lupo.
It wasn’t. And what was thought could be a modern take on the original VW Beetle also turned out NOT to have rear engine/ rear-wheel drive like the concept shown at the 2007 Frankfurt show.
And, yes, the exclamation mark is part of its branding.
While the car lost its rear engine, it did take an idea for Alec Issigonis’s original Mini by mounting the radiator to the side rather than in front of the one-litre, three-cylinder engine to keep its overall length down to 3.7m without sacrificing cabin space.
Anyway, by the time you read this on Tuesday, the 2011 Frankfurt International show will have opened – at least to the world’s media – and VW will be displaying the Up! among a phalanx of 54 show cars on a display measuring a little less than 9000 square metres but it’s unlikely that the memory of the previous night’s extravaganza will have even started to fray around the edges for those lucky enough to have been there at Frankfurt’s giant Ballsporthalle.
The VW group – VW, Audi, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat, Bentley and Skoda – simply stole the media limelight with an awesome display of light, glamour, explosives, fire and a vast wall of moving images for the benefit of about 2300 motoring media representatives from 42 countries around the globe.
The automakers represented call it simply their “group night”; a modest name for several hours of dazzling, multimillion euro extravaganza. Shimmering new models appeared through the wall and the floor in flashes of thunder, flame, smoke and music as dancers whirled and a thousand cameras flashed.
First out (or, rather fittingly, up, as the cars came out of the floor) in what was, essentially, a brilliant show of financial and technological might titled ‘Driving Diversity’, was the baby Up!, by far the smallest of the VW Group’s cars that followed but certainly the one that is going to be most in the news over coming years.
It was followed, using various themes and pyrotechnics, by the new Bentley GTC, Bugatti’s porcelain-finished Veyron - the car with a 431km/h speed record in its recent history – Skoda’s Mission L, the Audi A2 electric concept, Audi’s awesome RS 5 and Lamborghini’s Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale.
Next came the Sesto Elemento supersportscar which, the throng was told, will be bullt for sale – but only 20 units will be assembled – and then VW’s challenger for the World Rally title, a Polo ‘R’ bulked out with power and automotive steroids.
The finale introduced the seventh iteration of Porsche’s iconic 911 Carrera, described as “the backbone of Porsche for nearly 50 years”, as part of a procession of automotive champions from the Porsche pantheon.
The VW group will showcase 54 vehicles and numerous technical exhibits at the actual auto show, including a 30m “Innovation Wall” - a sort of giant tablet PC. There will also be a fleet of 74 vehicles for the public to drive, among them a battery-powered VW Golf.
Tillmann Stauske, head of fairs and congresses at VW, said before the show opened: “We will have the innovating and emotional side of Volkswagen on show.”
The auto show display required a 1000-strong workforce to labour for almost a month to execute the ideas of a team of 14 architects and come up with the shape of a cloud with the Up! centre stage, like a little angel. The new minicar also has its own multi-media showroom.
'INNOVATION WALL'
Further models of the city specialist will be on show on the shiny white “carwalks” that crisscross the stand. A DJ will be in action right next to the exhibits at the 500 square metre Beetle “showroom”.
The new Golf Cabriolet and Tiguan will also be on show.
The interactive “innovation Wall” will be at the heart of the technology section of the exhibition stand. The 30m wall will give visitors a taste of tomorrow’s mobility while presenting innovative studies and alternative technologies.
“Innovative and appealing” are the words VW has made into the theme of the multimedia stand concept. A web special for smart phones will provides information on the hall plan and the Driving Experience test fleet schedule.
DOMINATING THE CITY
The hosts and hostesses will be distributing around 400 headsets to visitors at the Volkswagen stand each day so that they can enjoy the benefits of the mobile motor show and travel guide.
Anyone who follows the web special route to downtown Frankfurt will encounters the Up! all along the way.
The Up!, however, is dominating Frankfurt, the financial hub of the country. It’s on giant banner ads and a digital screen at Frankfurt central station. There are more displays at the city’s international airport hub.
It will, most likely, also dominate the small-car business in Europe though, for now, the car will not be introduced in South Africa.
A tiny one, called Up!
For now there are three little sisters with the same surname (Take Up!, Move Up! and High Up! ) which originated from the centre two letters of another VW product , the Lupo. For a while “those in the know” tendering the opinion that Up! was just a cover name for a fresh Lupo.
It wasn’t. And what was thought could be a modern take on the original VW Beetle also turned out NOT to have rear engine/ rear-wheel drive like the concept shown at the 2007 Frankfurt show.
And, yes, the exclamation mark is part of its branding.
While the car lost its rear engine, it did take an idea for Alec Issigonis’s original Mini by mounting the radiator to the side rather than in front of the one-litre, three-cylinder engine to keep its overall length down to 3.7m without sacrificing cabin space.
Anyway, by the time you read this on Tuesday, the 2011 Frankfurt International show will have opened – at least to the world’s media – and VW will be displaying the Up! among a phalanx of 54 show cars on a display measuring a little less than 9000 square metres but it’s unlikely that the memory of the previous night’s extravaganza will have even started to fray around the edges for those lucky enough to have been there at Frankfurt’s giant Ballsporthalle.
BEAUTY FROM BENTLEY: The GTC convertible, introduced by Wolfgang Duerheimer, CEO of Bugatti, will be a star of the VW group stand at the 2011 Frankfurt auto show.
The VW group – VW, Audi, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat, Bentley and Skoda – simply stole the media limelight with an awesome display of light, glamour, explosives, fire and a vast wall of moving images for the benefit of about 2300 motoring media representatives from 42 countries around the globe.
The automakers represented call it simply their “group night”; a modest name for several hours of dazzling, multimillion euro extravaganza. Shimmering new models appeared through the wall and the floor in flashes of thunder, flame, smoke and music as dancers whirled and a thousand cameras flashed.
First out (or, rather fittingly, up, as the cars came out of the floor) in what was, essentially, a brilliant show of financial and technological might titled ‘Driving Diversity’, was the baby Up!, by far the smallest of the VW Group’s cars that followed but certainly the one that is going to be most in the news over coming years.
PORCELAIN DOLL: This Bugatti Veyron showed up in zebra stripes. The stunning body finish uses ultra-smooth porcelain as part of its make-up.
Next came the Sesto Elemento supersportscar which, the throng was told, will be bullt for sale – but only 20 units will be assembled – and then VW’s challenger for the World Rally title, a Polo ‘R’ bulked out with power and automotive steroids.
The finale introduced the seventh iteration of Porsche’s iconic 911 Carrera, described as “the backbone of Porsche for nearly 50 years”, as part of a procession of automotive champions from the Porsche pantheon.
The VW group will showcase 54 vehicles and numerous technical exhibits at the actual auto show, including a 30m “Innovation Wall” - a sort of giant tablet PC. There will also be a fleet of 74 vehicles for the public to drive, among them a battery-powered VW Golf.
Tillmann Stauske, head of fairs and congresses at VW, said before the show opened: “We will have the innovating and emotional side of Volkswagen on show.”
The auto show display required a 1000-strong workforce to labour for almost a month to execute the ideas of a team of 14 architects and come up with the shape of a cloud with the Up! centre stage, like a little angel. The new minicar also has its own multi-media showroom.
'INNOVATION WALL'
Further models of the city specialist will be on show on the shiny white “carwalks” that crisscross the stand. A DJ will be in action right next to the exhibits at the 500 square metre Beetle “showroom”.
The new Golf Cabriolet and Tiguan will also be on show.
The interactive “innovation Wall” will be at the heart of the technology section of the exhibition stand. The 30m wall will give visitors a taste of tomorrow’s mobility while presenting innovative studies and alternative technologies.
“Innovative and appealing” are the words VW has made into the theme of the multimedia stand concept. A web special for smart phones will provides information on the hall plan and the Driving Experience test fleet schedule.
DOMINATING THE CITY
The hosts and hostesses will be distributing around 400 headsets to visitors at the Volkswagen stand each day so that they can enjoy the benefits of the mobile motor show and travel guide.
Anyone who follows the web special route to downtown Frankfurt will encounters the Up! all along the way.
The Up!, however, is dominating Frankfurt, the financial hub of the country. It’s on giant banner ads and a digital screen at Frankfurt central station. There are more displays at the city’s international airport hub.
It will, most likely, also dominate the small-car business in Europe though, for now, the car will not be introduced in South Africa.