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1 9 W ednesday, Septem ber 21, 2011 O A K V ILLE B EA V ER w w w .in sid eH A LTO N .co m Story and photos by Jim Robinson Metroland Media Carguide Magazine FRANKFURT, Germany: While there was a green theme running through it, the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show was a return to the glory days of splendor and style. Everywhere you looked there were eye-popping vehicles that made people feel that in the green days of tomorrow there will still be cars with passion we want to drive. Perhaps the biggest draw at Frankfurt was the world debut of the 11th generation Porsche 911. The familiar athletic appearance of the 911 has a 100 mm longer wheelbase, reduced height, and up to 20-inch diameter alloy wheels. The 911 Carrera has a new 350 hp 3.4-litre, flat six, direct injection engine and optional seven-speed PDK transmission returning 34.4 mpg. Also celebrating a world premiere at Frankfurt was the Panamera Diesel powered by a 3.0-litre V6 developing 250 hp. Power is handled by an eight-speed Tiptronic S auto- matic transmission driving the rear wheels. For me, it was not blood red Italian supercars or German autobahn panzers that stole the show in Frankfurt, but a Euro sports sedan from all places Korea. Kia, which cant seem to put a foot wrong showed up in Geneva with the GT Concept that, with its 3.3-litre twin turbo direct injection engine and rear-wheel drive, had to shake BMW, Mercedes and Audi. Of the three all-electric concepts on the Audi stand, the most interesting was the four-seat A2 concept looking like it wouldnt take much to put into production. It features state-of-the-art multi-material hybrid con- struction plus space-age specifications including contact- free battery charging, by-wire steering and braking, LED matrix lighting technology and a semi-autonomous run- ning mode. Weighing just 1,150 kg, an electric motor is transverse- ly mounted in the front, and delivers 115 hp of peak power to the front wheels via a single-speed transmission. This power output permits a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 9.3 seconds and a top speed of 93 mph. Here are some of the newsmakers in Frankfurt. h h d h d kf h hT e new Porsc e 911 rew a uge crow at Fran urt. T e 11t gen- eration of the iconic 911 is 100 mm longer as well as wider with a new 350 hp 3.4-litre, flat six, direct injection engine. l d kf hPower, g ory an green at 2011 Fran urt Motor S ow Continued on page 20