The presentations are over, the press kits handed out, engineers and designers questioned, and now a bleary-eyed Wheels team are on long-haul flights back from the Frankfurt International Motor Show.

Between the oohs and ahhs of exciting concepts such as the Ford Evos and Jaguar C-X16, there were some design disasters, left-field curios and more prosaic concepts that shared space at the halls of Frankfurt that we’ll give a nod to here in our post-show wrap-up.

It was only a matter of time before a sports/premium brand followed Porsche down the populist (and profitable) road of building an SUV, and so it was when the drapes were whipped off the Maserati Kubang. The Italians have done an admirable job of disguising the large SUV’s Jeep Grand Cherokee origins, and although it utilises an eight-speed ZF auto, it is unclear whether the Kubang will gets a Maser V8 or the Chekka’s Hemi unit.

Either way, it certainly won’t be a fuel efficient vehicle, let alone emissions-free like the Mercedes-Benz F125 Concept. Large and luxurious, with gullwing doors, it boasts a 1000km range and is, according to Benz, the first hydrogen-powered vehicle with a fuel tank integrated in the bodyshell. Stuttgart reckons series production is possible for 2025.

Volvo’s You Concept is similar in style to the F125 – large, luxe-biased, but suicide-doored – and could form the next-generation S80, with regular doors and minus the show car’s 21-inch wheels and wooden floor. (Maybe a woodgrain floor will suit the S80 demographic?).

Suicide doors were also found in an SUV from Korea – Ssangyong’s XIV-1 Concept. It’s a compact SUV where the “designers took inspiration from the simplicity of the side view of a graceful sailing yacht”. We’re just pleased that they’re not penning Stavics…

Dune buggys were also revived by Volkswagen and Land Rover with their respective Buggy Up! and DC100 Sport Concept models. The German buggy is small and, as the name suggests, Up-hatch-based, meaning small TSI and TDI engines. The DC100 Sport is bigger and more powerful, with a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel, stop-start tech and an eight-speed auto. It brings “premium durability” to the off-road segment, according to Land Rover.

More prosaic models that will go into production include the Skoda MissionL, a sharp-looking mid-sized liftback expected to become the next-generation Octavia. All the oily bits will remain VW based, so expect a breed of TSI and TDI four-bangers and a Golf-based chassis.

Hot hatches were on heat at Frankfurt, with the (sadly not-for-Oz) facelifted Renaultsport Twingo making showgoers smile. Others wewillsee here include the Ford Fiesta ST, now packing a 135kW 1.6 turbo and six-speed manual that should do the chassis more justice than the old XR4’s atmo 2.0-litre ever did… Further up the pricing scale, the VW Beetle R lobs as, essentially, a 188kW front-drive Scirocco R dressed in cutsie drag. Not that that’s a bad thing at all.

For a comprehensive look at all the sexy concepts and fresh production vehicles shown at Frankfurt, check out the Wheels October issue, out this Wednesday 21st September.

No car at a Frankfurt show oozing with a record number of new production models and concepts was more significant than Volkswagen’s tiny, long-awaited and, to me, brilliant Up.

The Up may have lost the radical under-seat, rear-engine of the 2007 concept, but thanks to very clever packaging of the engine, gearbox and radiator, the production car has a genuinely roomy interior – thanks to a near-Polo length 2420mm wheelbase, my lanky 1.92m frame can sit behind me – charming interior and sizeable boot.

A queue of executives, designers and engineers from rival car makers (I saw Renault, Fiat, Hyundai, Peugeot people giving a thorough inspection) spent hours measuring, examining and photographing the raft of variants on the enormous VW stand.

The introductory three-door in three trim levels was joined by a five-door, beach buggy and electric versions. Best of all, VW confirmed that the Up is destined for Australia in late 2012 at prices starting under $15k.

Several interesting miscues at Frankfurt 2011, tucked away in the darker corners of the giant IAA exhibition halls.

An honorable mention goes to the Changan Sense, a 5.2-metre long, four door behemoth with a slightly bulbous nose and ridiculously long wheelbase. I think this Chinese limo concept has surfaced previously, so it’s probably not new, but seeing it in the metal (lots of it) caused jaws to drop for all the wrong reasons. Imposing? Yes. Attractive? No.

Meanwhile, the Russian car industry announced its presence to the world via the ë (pronounded YO in Russian) brand.

The NEW Concept is a one box three seater (two front, one rear) with side doors that slide up and back through the rear bodywork to form an extended, crossed-over swallow tail. As the sign behind it said, “Wing beat freshens up memories before the flight.”

Interesting to see former BMW design chief Chris Bangle looking over the car with a pair of colleagues, before moving on to ë’s other offering, the technically worthy, but visually confronting AWD crossover hybrid concept.

The 4.0-metre long, five-seater is equipped with a small ICE generator, able to be powered by petrol or natural gas, and an electric motor on each axle.

Problem is it looks like something we all drew with crayons in year three. No surprise Mr Bangle was finding it hard to contribute much in the way of positive feedback (that’s him at the right of the group behind the car).

Mark Adams and Rita Forst thought there would be nothing else at Frankfurt like their tiny, bubble canopied, tandem two-seat electric concept.

The pair, Opel’s design chief and GM Europe’s engineering boss, were wrong about the RAK e. Two other brands, it turned out, are thinking along very similar lines.

Volkswagen had the Nils, a slim, single-seat battery car, like the RAK e capable of keeping up with (right lane) autobahn traffic. Next door, Audi had both closed and topless versions of its electric powered Urban Concept, with a pair of staggered and offset seats.

The Volkswagen was easily the most realistic and resolved of the trio. Sitting in the Nils was like being in the cockpit of something with wings, not wheels, yet with elegant double A-arm suspension all round and very direct unassisted steering it clearly has the basics for a wonderfully agile and responsive drive.

Both Adams and Forst say Opel are seriously studying building something like the RAK e. Presumably Volkswagen and Audi are doing likewise.

Judging by these Frankfurt concepts, Europe’s increasing interest compact, light and affordable electro-mobility may spawn some of the near future’s coolest little cars.

No motor show is complete without the glitz and glamour and the Frankfurt Motor Show 2011, is no exception. Needless to say, the girls of the motor show are proving to be a big attraction.

There are plenty of supercars at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

And they’re from the big hitters too. Ferrari. Mercedes. Aston Martin. Jaguar. Lotus. Even Porsche. All names that resonate with history and proud tradition and have roots on the race track as well as the road.

Here are the 10 best supercars at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

In no particular order, here’s the best of the 2011 Frankfurt show from our reporters on the ground. Stay tuned for further updates.

As expected, day one at Frankfurt was dominated by the Big Three from Germany – Mercedes, BMW, and the VW Group. It’s been a little quiet, though, because there have been few surprises – most of the cars revealed here today we’d already previewed. And the effects of the double-dip recession are bubbling away under the surface. It’s far from a lavish show.

For me, the highlights have been the Mercedes-Benz F125 concept, BMW’s ‘I’ cars and the VW Up, with honorable mentions for Ford and Porsche.

The F125 is a pointer to some of the styling cues of the next S Class, due in 2013. More importantly, it showcases Merc’s next-gen drivetrain tech, particularly its hydrogen fuel cell hybrid system. Mercedes has very firmly nailed its colours to the fuel cell/hydrogen mast rather than fully electric, and expects to have a hydrogen-powered fuel cell B Class on sale in 2014.

Whether their route is the ‘right’ one remains to be seen… The F125 has an aluminium chassis with its hydrogen tanks integrated into it, and four brushless electric motors driving each corner. Mercedes says its hydrogen consumption will be about 0.79kg per 100km, or the equivalent of 2.7l/100km in a diesel.

BMW has gone down the fully electric, hybrid and range-extender route with its I sub-brand, treading a very different path to Mercedes. The first cars of the brand, i3 and i8, are impressive, with the i3 a pure electric city hatch (with a petrol range-extender engine an option) and the i8 a powerful plug-in hybrid coupe, with a 1.5-litre direct injection petrol engine developing 164kW, supplemented by an electric motor developing 96kW. Both look striking and distinctive in the metal.

Then there’s the humble VW Up, the new sub-Polo city car that’ll be coming to Australia next year. VW does small cars exceptionally well and no doubt the Up will be brilliant to drive. Frankfurt has seen the reveal of some Up concepts, too, including a sporty Up GT with a 75kW 1.0-litre engine, fully electric e-Up (coming in 2013) and the Eco Up with a natural gas-powered engine producing only 79g/km emissions.

Ford and Porsche? Both quietly impressive.

The Fiesta ST, with a 135kW 1.6 turbo Ecoboost engine, looks good and seems to have just the right amount of power, and with Jost Capito leading the chassis team it should handle brilliantly, too. And my first look at the new 911 was no disappointment – I reckon they’ve got the looks spot-on. Not too fat, not too heavy, with a great stance, this is a superb evolution of the 911 theme. It’s good inside, too, maintaining enough of the classic narrow 911 character but adding modernity and quality.

We’ll have more from the show as day two progesses, and a full wrap in the November issue of WHEELS.

A vintage car from the 1960s, the AC Cobra is a fine specimen. And for today’s Auto Glamour we ‘ve add another fine specimen to the mix – Yuni – who makes the AC Cobra all the more sexy.

Hyundai’s i30 hatch has been a monumental sales success for the brand since it launched here in 2007. Now, almost five years later, the covers have come off the second-generation model.

Designed and engineered at the Hyundai Technical Centre in Russelsheim, Germany, the i30 adopts most of the now-familiar ‘fluidic sculpture’ design cues seen most notably on the Accent, Elantra and i40 Tourer. Bulging front guards meet with a thick side character crease, pulled-back headlights and hexagonal grille. Daytime running lights and half-oval shaped grille inserts add bling to the package.

Inside, the i30 adopts an electric parking brake and shares its steering wheel and instrument cluster with the i45.

When the i30 lands in Australia next year, it will likely run Hyundai’s new breed of direct-injection petrol four-cylinder engines, including 103kW 1.6-litre and 122kW 2.0-litre units. The company is also expected to debut a direct injection version of the new Elantra’s 110kW 1.8-litre four, which should add 5-8kW of power. The current i30’s 1.6-litre CRDi turbo-diesel four-cylinder has been extremely popular and will be retained. All engines will team with six-speed manual or auto transmissions.

Hyundai will manufacture the i30 in the Czech Republic for Europe, however Australian cars will remain Korean-built. With a new Honda Civic and Subaru Impreza also due here early next year, there’ll certainly be plenty of competition for this new fresh Hyundai hatch…