Electrifying Frankfurt!

 

 

By Stuart Johnston

Electric cars were always going to be big at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show! What was surprising, was the array if body styles and concepts that characterised these cars of the future. And indeed, perhaps the most popular of all was a distinctly retro styling exercise.

Ask just about anyone who saw the electric star of the show at the Honda stand, and the reply would be along the lines of: You mean that Golf 1?”

The Golf-like Honda EV

Indeed, the clean, crisp  styling and presentation of Honda’s Urban EV Concept seemed to owe much in inspirational terms to the original VW Golf, launched way back (with a petrol-engine) in 1974. Perhaps it was also the black-on-white presentation of the car, and its uncluttered lines that made you realise just why Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Italian credited with the shape of the original Golf, is held in such esteem.

As the electric Honda concept car revolved on its turnstile, one could also see influences of early Fiat in the design too, notably the Fiat 126 and 128 of the 1970s, credited to Italians Dante Giacosa and Sergio Sartorelli. This was due to the classic flared wheel arches and the wheel styling on a Japanese car that was atypical to a nation who tend to employ too many frills in these areas.

For the record, the Honda Urban EV Concept is actually scheduled to go into production in two years’ time, according to Honda President Takahiro Hachigo.

“This car can greet you in your own language!”

One of the cute aspects of this city car is that “interactive multilingual messages” can be displayed on the “grille” area between the headlights. The car is a four-seater, and for the rear passengers, the seat belts are located in the middle of the car, to allow easy unbuckling when a fast exit is called for.

The doors are also front-hinged, in what has always been called a “suicide” arrangement.

MINI’s Full-On Electric fun-machine

Mini’s Electric Concept vehicle looked almost ready for production, based pretty much as it is on the classic Mini style that has been around for the past 15 years. In fact, Mini was used as the Guinea pig  for much of BMW’s early R&D electrical powertrain work in readiness for its top-selling  i3 EV, and Mini points out that in April 2017 the brand launched the Mini Cooper S E Countryman ALL4, a plug-in hybrid.

The all-electric Mini concept car focuses very much on lightweight materials, BMW explaining that light body weight is very much part of its thinking when it comes to electric vehicles. And this all electric Mini, due for launch in 2019, will be positioned as very much a sporty electric car. No specific range or performance figures were disclosed for the concept car.

“Hey Car! Come Here!”

The Smart division of the massive Daimler organisation took centre stage early on Tuesday morning in Hall 2 at Frankfurt, and the crowd on hand was one of the biggest ever witnessed for a Frankfurt “Press Day”, as most media and industry were grabbing vantage points to see the unveiling of the Project ONE hypercar, scheduled for unveiling immediately after the electric car demos.

Thus the Smart Vision EQ had its day in the spotlights, and it proved a great curtain raiser to the main event. This is an urban concept set for the quite distant future – 2025 would be a conservative guess – as it is the first car that actually runs, to be shown and which dispenses with steering wheel and pedals!

The car was “summoned” on-stage by smartphone, and a girl called “Kate” hopped in, as, simultaneously, the smiley face of the Smart EQ flashed up a “Hi Kate” greeting.

The whole idea of the EQ centres on the new trend in Europe towards car-sharing, and also the fast-accelerating move to have cars that provide fully automated driving. Here, in one brilliant presentation, Smart showed what “future personal mobility” could actually be like.

By 2022, Mercedes plans to have 50 electrified models on sale

The EQ’s  bubble-like shape was described by Smart as a “piece of jewellery, with a receptacle symbolically encircling a precious pearl”. If that sounds a bit, err, precious, well, the interior styling mirrors this, with white and blue emphasising the squeaky-clean intentions of a company that will, in five years from now, have up to 50 electric and hybrid-electric models for sale world-wide.

It was also announced at the show that within the next two years, Daimler’s Smart brand would boast an all-electric range of its city cars. If you want a Smart, it will have to be an electric Smart!