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"The exhibition halls of the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show will soon be packed with new production cars and flashy concepts, all vying for attention in a highly charged atmosphere brimming with innovation. A still fragile global economy hasn&amp;#039;t dampened creativity, as seen with the bold designs like the hybrid-powered BMW i8 coupe and Audi&amp;#039;s futuristic, 2-passenger Urban Concept EV. Volkswagen is getting back to doing what it does best, building cute and functional small cars like its new Up! hatchback. Meanwhile, high-revving exotics, such as the Ferrari 458 Spider and next-generation Porsche 911, prove there&amp;#039;s plenty of life left in the sports car market.   We&amp;#039;ve picked 11 vehicles you won&amp;#039;t want to miss during this year&amp;#039;s Frankfurt Auto Show. While they might not all make it to a showroom, there&amp;#039;s no doubt these vehicles will have a huge impact on the future of automotive world.   Audi Urban Concept           What happens when you cross a zero-emission electric with an open-wheeled race car? The result might look a lot like the Audi Urban Concept, a tiny 2-passenger EV that doesn&amp;#039;t exactly shy away from the spotlight. A staggered seating arrangement and compact electric motor coupled to a lithium-ion battery pack are all part of this concept car&amp;#039;s equation for solving the problem of urban driving in the future. Lightweight construction also figures heavily (no pun intended) into the Urban Concept, thanks to its use of an aluminum platform cloaked in a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer body.   Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe Black Series           The Mercedes-Benz C63 Black Series is kind of like having A-Rod pinch hit in the Little League World Series. It seems unfair to unleash that kind of wallop, but once you do, there&amp;#039;s no arguing with the result. This menacing Mercedes-Benz coupe is the latest in the line of limited-edition Black Series models, the German automaker&amp;#039;s ultra high-performance range of vehicles. A bellowing 6.2-liter V-8 engine delivers 510 bhp and 457 lb.-ft. of torque to the rear wheels, via a 7-speed multi-clutch automatic transmission. Mercedes says the C63 Black Series can hit 60 mph in 4.2 seconds. Look for this wider, lower, and altogether meaner Mercedes to roll into showrooms next spring.   BMW i8           The BMW i8 coupe looks like a movie prop from a sci-fi thriller, but this car is very much for real and represents a leaner, more fuel-efficient take on &amp;quot;the ultimate driving machine.&amp;quot; Swoopy bodywork clothes an impressive armada of new technology aimed at maintaining BMW levels of performance, along with taking the next step forward when it comes to boosting fuel mileage. This all-wheel-drive hybrid has an electric motor\u2014taken from the upcoming 2013 i3 city-car\u2014powering the front axle, while a 220-bhp 3-cylinder gasoline engine is linked to the rear wheels. BMW says the i8 can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in less than 5.0 seconds, yet return the equivalent of 78 mpg.   Ferrari 458 Spider           It&amp;#039;s Italian, it has a drop-top and, in most cases, it will almost certainly be painted red. The Ferrari 458 Spider doesn&amp;#039;t stray far from the successful formula of convertible exotic cars. To be honest, we&amp;#039;re totally okay with that. This isn&amp;#039;t meant to suggest Ferrari engineers have been taking things easy and sitting around sipping espresso. The Italian automaker has fitted the 458 Spider with a hardtop crafted entirely out of aluminum. This saves weight (as much as 55 lb., according to Ferrari) and offers additional security over a traditional soft-top mechanism. Mounted behind the passenger compartment is the same 570-bhp 4.5-liter V-8 engine, coupled with a dual-clutch 7-speed F1 paddle-shift transmission, you&amp;#039;d find in the 458 coupe. Top speed is 198 mph.   Jaguar C-X16 Concept           A Jaguar sports car positioned beneath the existing XK Coupe and Roadster sounds very tempting. Add a high-performance hybrid powertrain to the mix, and you have one quick kitty that&amp;#039;s perfectly in tune with the demands of the 21st century. The C-X16 hints at the type of design and engineering set to come from the British luxury brand over the next few years. Soft curves dominate the exterior, though there is very little hint of retro design in this Jag\u2014the steeply raked rear window does bring to mind the classic E-Type Coupe. A 375-bhp supercharged V-6 engine is mated to an electric motor, which can add an extra 94 hp when needed. This additional punch is accessed via a &amp;quot;Push to Pass&amp;quot; button, located on the steering wheel. Jaguar says the C-X16 can operate in electric mode at speeds up to 50 mph.   Porsche 911           You don&amp;#039;t mess with an icon; so don&amp;#039;t look for any seismic changes with this new generation of Porsche 911. The folks in Stuttgart have managed to refine this rear-engine sports car once again, trimming approximately 80 lb. of weight while somehow increasing overall length (2 inches) and stretching the wheelbase (4 in.). This translates into a usable boost in cabin space, along with a better placement of the rear axle in relation to the rear-mounted engine. The base 911 comes with a flat-6 engine that is slightly smaller than before, with displacement reduced from 3.6 to 3.4 liters. Power, however, increases by about 5 bhp. The 911 S models retain the 3.6-liter engine and gains 15 bhp for an even 400 horses.   Volkswagen Up!           Volkswagen has a reputation for innovative small cars, and the 4-passenger Up! (exclamation point included) represents VW&amp;#039;s latest move into an even smaller and more streamlined category of vehicle. Measuring 139.4 in. long, the Up! is more than two feet shorter than the Golf 3-door hatchback currently sold here. Emphasis has been placed on maximizing interior volume, so the wheels have been pushed to each corner of the car. A new range of economical 3-cylinder gasoline engines, aided by a Stop/Start system, delivers fuel economy ratings in excess of 50 mpg. An electric version of the Up! is also under development. The bad news is that, at least for now, VW has opted not to bring this car to the U.S. market.   BMW 3 Series           The new BMW 3 Series has a fresh exterior that retains brand hallmarks like the Hofmeister kink in the C-pillar and a short front overhang. BMW has instead opted to leave the radical changes mostly unseen, at least until you open the hood. The 3 Series engine lineup is about to include a new 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine, to go along with the company&amp;#039;s famously smooth 6-cylinder powerplants. BMW hasn&amp;#039;t offered a 4-cylinder in a U.S.-spec 3 Series since 1999, with the stubby-looking 318ti. This time around, BMW at least has a much more handsome car on offer. Rear- and all-wheel-drive models will be available. Look for a hybrid 3 Series to join the lineup for the first time.   Ford Evos Concept           The Evos Concept hints at Ford&amp;#039;s design direction, and the American automaker&amp;#039;s solutions for improving fuel efficiency. The Evos bares a striking resemblance to the 2013 Ford Taurus, though we wouldn&amp;#039;t bet on this concept car&amp;#039;s gullwing-style doors making it to production. This sleek sedan also includes upcoming developments of Ford&amp;#039;s Sync in-vehicle communications technology, along with features intended to take some of the stress out of driving. Powering the Evos is the same plug-in hybrid powertrain you&amp;#039;ll soon find in the upcoming C-Max Energi (a pint-sized minivan shown during the 2011 Detroit Auto Show). Using an Atkinson-cycle gasoline engine coupled to an electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack, the C-Max Energi has a driving range in excess of 500 miles.   Land Rover DC100 Defender Concept           Land Rover says that the DC100 Concept is an indicator of the next Defender, the company&amp;#039;s iconic and famously rugged SUV. For years, the boxy Defender has been the ultimate choice for off-road enthusiasts who want go-anywhere performance. Except the Defender had to be pulled from the U.S. more than a decade ago, since it lacked the necessary safety equipment. The upright lines of the Defender are still in place with the DC100, though they&amp;#039;ve generally been smoothed over a bit. Short front and rear overhangs ensure the DC100 maintains the rock-crawling capability of the Defender. A production version is still years away, likely 2015, but it&amp;#039;s good to see Land Rover is taking its heritage seriously.   Audi S7 Sportback           Okay, we know, Audi has officially dubbed its gorgeous new the Sportback\u2014probably because many U.S. car buyers still equate &amp;quot;hatchback&amp;quot; with underpowered economy cars. Whatever you want to call it, Audi has now deftly transformed the A7 Sportback into the S7, a 420-bhp all-wheel-drive rocket that reaches 62 mph in 4.9 seconds and has a top speed limited to 155 mph. Thankfully, carbon-ceramic disc brakes are available as an option to help reign in this straight-line speed. Audi has also equipped the S7&amp;#039;s engine with &amp;quot;cylinder on demand&amp;quot; technology, which automatically has the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8&amp;#039;s run on only four cylinders to save fuel in low-load situations. According to Audi, the S7 averages 24.2 mpg (though official EPA numbers will likely be lower).The S7 Sportback has unique alloy wheels, revised front and rear bumpers, and aluminum-look coverings on the side mirrors. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-shows/frankfurt-auto-show/news/a17640/eleven-cars-to-look-for-at-the-2011-frankfurt-auto-show/>