TCC's Auto Show
Index by TCC Team
(10/3/2005)
Our coverage of the world's major auto shows, year to year.
2005 Tokyo Motor Show
Index by TCC
Team (10/18/2005)

subscribe
Audi S8

2006 Audi S8
It’s the Audi with the Lamborghini engine
— and if that sounds tantalizing, it is. The big S8 supersedan
made its appearance in
Tokyo as Audi celebrated
strong sales in the island nation —
numbers are up 17 percent this year, and the company expects it
will break its record sales of more than 800,000 units worldwide this year.
Coming next year to Europe and likely to the U.S. later in the year, the S8
sports a 450-hp version of the Gallardo’s V-10, here displacing 5.2 liters and
outfitted with direct injection and mated to a six-speed Tiptronic automatic
transmission. Audi estimates the S8 four-door will rocket to 60 mph in about 5.0
seconds and hit a governed top speed of 155 mph. Quattro all-wheel drive is
standard, and ceramic brakes are available. On the standard list: 20-inch
wheels, air suspension, steering-controlled adaptive lighting, and a choice of
carbon-fiber or wood interior trim, as well as a DVD navigation system. A Bang
& Olufsen audio system is optional on the S8, which will be priced in
Europe from
$115,000.
Audi Shooting Brake Concept

2005 Audi Shooting Brake Concept
The unconventional Shooting
Brake concept bowed on the Audi stand wearing winter-white paint and aspirations
of becoming one of six new Audi models due in the next two years. An indication
of the styling of the next TT, the Shooting Brake is a three-door hatchback with
the deep new Audi grille and a smart interior design trimmed in aluminum. Under
its hood, the Shooting Brake gets power from a 250-hp, 3.2-liter direct-injected
V-6. Teamed up to a six-speed DSG gearbox and quattro all-wheel drive, the
Shooting Brake could accelerate to 60 mph in 6.0 seconds, Audi says. Ceramic
brakes have the speed-scrubbing duty, hiding behind pretty 19-inch wheels. The
Shooting Brake wears aluminum trim on the center stack, gauges, and dash. Its DVD
navigation system has an innovative interface that allows drivers to write their
destination on the screen with a stylus; the system recognizes the handwriting
and uses it to program the route.
MORE PHOTOS:
VW EcoRacer

2000 Lincoln LS
The surprise hit of this
year’s Tokyo show undoubtedly was the VW EcoRacer, a petite sports coupe/convertible with
removable roof panels, a speedster-style windshield and a two-seat cockpit.
The EcoRacer sports a carbon-fiber body and a midship engine that allows
it to acceleration to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds and to a top speed of about 138
mph. The 1870-pound vehicle is powered by a 1.5-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder mated
to a DSG gearbox. The EcoRacer’s body has T-top panels that tilt up
when the doors are opened for easy access; the panels and the T-bar roof can be
completely removed and the windshield can be swapped out for the speedster-style screen
for the ultimate wind-and-bugs sensation of speed. The EcoRacer’s rear
hatch can be removed as well — leaving the EcoRacer capable of
convertible from coupe to roadster to speedster with a minimum of effort.
Dramatic touches include 17-inch alloy wheels and LED
lighting.
MORE PHOTOS:
VW Polo GTI

2006 Volkswagen Polo GTI
Like the GTI of the Seventies,
which “democratized the Autobahn,” the new Polo GTI brings a new level of
performance to a car that has more often had other priorities: fuel economy,
parsimony, staying out of the way of 911 Porsche Turbos. The Polo GTI makes 150
horsepower from its 1.8-liter, turbocharged and intercooled four-cylinder
engine. Sixty miles per hour arrives in about 8.2 seconds, VW says, and the
styling updates key the autorati in on the Polo’s GTI goods: a blacked-out
honeycomb grille, fog lamps, and red brake calipers highlight its performance
edge. The newest GTI will go on sale in the spring from about
$20,000.
Chrysler Akino

2005 Chrysler Akino concept
Chrysler Group, its sales on the
uptick in
America, is also experiencing a surge
in non-North American markets. So far this year, the company’s sales outside
North
America are up six percent. Hence comes a concept devoted to markets
where pickups and SUVs don’t rule the roost. The new Akino concept is a
one-box city vehicle with an interior patterned after high-end living rooms —
and named for the 37-year-old designer who, like the vehicle itself,
has one foot in Japan and the other in the U.S. California-based designer and
Japanese native Akino Tsuchiya says her Akino concept appeals to the senses
with materials and finishes you might find in your own living room —
bamboo, leather, throw pillows, and rugs, even sconce-style lighting. The
cozy, comfy Akino was styled at Chrysler’s
Pacifica studio outside
San Diego.
Mercedes-Benz F600
HYGENIUS

2005 Mercedes-Benz F600 HYGENIUS concept
Any press conference
that ends up with Dieter Zetsche joining in with a hired quartet and backing
band on the violin in a snappy run-through of the Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up”
gets our attention. And while we’re a little bit fatigued by the whole fuel-cell
thing (2010? 2015? The 12
th of never?), the new Mercedes-Benz F600
HY
GENIUS shows some thoughtful progress in the notion of those
vehicles of the future. Based on today’s B-Class, the F600 (pardon us for not
using the superscripted HY
GENIUS throughout) sports a fuel-cell powertrain with a driving
range of 250 miles and a power output of 155 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. That,
Mercedes-Benz says, endows the F600 with performance and driving range equivalent
to that of conventional gas-powered cars. The fuel-cell powertrain not
only provides locomotion for the vehicle — Benz says it can also be
used to power a few houses as a sort of mobile generator. In relation to past
fuel-cell experiments, the F600 has a cell stack 40 percent smaller and 16
percent more efficient. And in terms of real-world use, Benz says the integrated
lane-change cameras, child seats with their own custom stroller design, even
cupholders that warm and cool beverages are signs that the company is taking the
future of fuel cells very seriously.
Email This Page