Greatest new concept cars at the Frankfurt Motor Show

Let's take a look at the most interesting new concept cars on show at Frankfurt

Autocar

10 September 2019

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The Frankfurt motor show began on Tuesday morning.

One of the biggest events in cars of the year, there was an exciting range of new concept cars on display. Some wild and wacky, some flights of fancy, but many showing how cars will look in the years to come. Let’s take a look at the best:
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Cupra Tavascan concept

Seat’s performance brand Cupra unveiled this dramatic EV concept at Frankfurt. It’s named after a ski resort near the French border in Catalonia, and is said to marry “the presence of an SUV with the sleekness of a sports coupé.” If Cupras look like this in the future, we're looking forward to them.
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BMW M Next concept

In looks and ambition, with this new BMW concept we could be looking at the long-awaited follow-up to the fabled M1 sports car of 1978. It previews a new advanced carbonfibre-bodied coupé planned to go on sale early next decade.

The Vision M Next introduces a new 591bhp plug-in petrol-electric drivetrain that is also earmarked to power more conventional, future M models.
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Mercedes-Benz EQS concept

Mercedes-Benz will launch a new all-electric luxury saloon in around two years, and it’s previewing the new car with the unveiling of a new 470bhp electric-powered concept at the Frankfurt motor show.

Called the Vision EQS, this gorgeous new four-door provides a foretaste of what Mercedes-Benz claims will be its most advanced production model yet when it reaches showrooms in 2021. It will be launched as a direct rival to the next-generation pure-electric Jaguar XJ, as well as the Tesla Model S and Audi E-tron GT.
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BMW Concept 4 Series

BMW is previewing the next 4 Series, showing radically revamped styling for the second-generation version of the two-door coupé, set for launch in late 2020. The new concept car, said to be 85% production ready, shows that BMW is intending to give the Audi A5 Coupé rival a far more different identity from the 3 Series on which it’s derived.

It also previews to an extent the new all-electric i4, due in 2021.
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Volkswagen ID 4

The ID 3 may not be heading for America for now, but this car certainly will be. Volkswagen showed this car in heavy camouflage, and its second production model in its new bespoke electric car line-up.

The electric SUV, which is based on the ID Crozz concept, has previously been spied testing and is due to be launched in 2020. We expect a similar single-charge range for the ID 3, from 200 miles up to over 300 miles for the most expensive model.
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Hyundai Veloster N ETCR

You’re looking at Hyundai’s first electric race car, the Veloster N ETCR, launched at Frankfurt. It will race in the new Electric Touring Car race series (ETCR), and the fast EV takes inspiration from the firm’s conventionally fuelled i30 N TCR and Veloster N TCR racers.

Power is sent to the rear wheels from a mid-mounted electric motor – a first for Hyundai. Power output is unconfirmed but can be expected to match that of the 670bhp e-Racer unveiled by Cupra last year to compete in the same series.
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Byton M-Byte

Forget the old days of Chinese copycat cars. Chinese car makers were at Frankfurt in numbers, and proving they’ll be a force to be reckoned with for today’s mainstream car makers. An example is this new near-production-ready electric SUV, the M-Byte.

It will launch in mid-2020 in China initially, but will arrive in Europe and America in 2021 at a starting price of €45,000 (£40,280). That's slightly more than the expected European price of the new Tesla Model Y. Byton was set up by former BMW executives Carsten Breitfeld and Daniel Kirchert in Nanjing in 2017.
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Audi AI:Trail concept

Yes, you’re right, you won’t be able to buy a car like this from Audi anytime soon. However, according to the German’s brands design boss Marc Lichte, it sets a new design language for the company’s future SUVs.

The wacky, off-road concept, the fourth and final AI concept, which show Audi’s vision for shared motoring, with subscribers able to choose the car that best suits them at a touch of a button on their smartphone. One fun feature? The car has a drone that can fly ahead and light up the way as desired.
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Hongqi S9 concept

Hongqi is part of China’s largest car maker, FAW. You won’t be able to buy this car for a while, but it’s a new all-electric supercar concept and is a major statement of intent to the established players: take us seriously. FAW’s design team is now led by Giles Taylor, who joined the company from Rolls-Royce in 2018.
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Hyundai 45 concept

This new electric concept car features styling references to the brand’s first production car - the Mitsubishi-powered Pony hatchback - which launched in 1974. 45 years on, It has a retro-style LED rear light bar that displays a matrix flourish upon start-up.
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Mercedes-Benz ESF

Based on the GLE SUV, this new research concept studies how autonomous and conventional cars can coexist on busy roads, as they’ll surely have to for many years to come. One feature? Pre-Safe Curve, which warns the driver if the entry speed to corners is too high by lightly tightening the seatbelt.

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