2011 Frankfurt Auto Show Roundup Two

Today’s collection of new concepts from the 2011 Frankfurt Auto show spans from an urban commuter to a beach buggy. It is refreshing to see some imagination and experimentation return to the auto show circuit.

German automakers seem to be keen on exploring the topic of urban mobility this year. Both Audi and BMW staged events looking at the future of cities in NYC this year. Audi debuted a unique 1+1 seater electric vehicle designed for getting around in metropolitan areas. The Urban Concept can’t easily be categorized in usual car category terms. It is very lightweight offering a race car inspired driving experience with an interior experience more like an airplane cockpit. One interesting technical feature is how the Urban Concept get recharged. Audi is proposing a wireless charging system where electric current is transmitted via a special parking pad to the car through a high-frequency alternating field.

[photos Drew Phillips / AOL]

Kia continues to deepen it’s stable of nicely designed concept cars. Earlier this year, the KV7 van concept was the highlight of the 2011 Detroit Auto Show. For Frankfurt, the design team brought a sleek four-door concept called the GT Concept. While showing more advanced thinking in Kia’s exterior design language, the GT is actually more of a heritage car. The designers took inspiration from iconic GT cars of the 1970′s. The GT concept modernizes the large engine formula of the 70′s cars with a turbocharged gasoline direct injection V6 engine which weights less and is more efficient on fuel while generating nearly 400 horsepower.

Mercedes-Benz is celebrating the 125th anniversary of the automobile with the debut of the new F125! emission-free luxury concept. The F125! is a plug-in hydrogen-electric hybrid car with electric motors located in each of the four wheels. Mercedes considers this concept to be within the realm of reality around the year 2025. Many of the vehicle controls are operated through speech or gesture commands. The lightweight gullwing doors for instance can be opened and closed with the wave of a hand.

Volkswagen launched their new small car called the Up! at Frankfurt in a big way. Along side the production model, six concepts were presented that show the potential for how the Up! could expand in to a line of vehicles. One of the most eyecatching is the Buggy Up!, a modern take on the iconic VW beach buggies of the 60′s. The Buggy Up! does away with doors to offer an open-air driving experience. The interior is completely waterproof and integrated drain holes make it possible to hose the interior out. The vehicle sound-system incorporates an ipod dock and can be removed from the vehicle and used as an external sound-system.