Best in Show from Frankfurt

The United States auto industry continues its strong recovery from the near-fatal recession of 2008/9/10. The European auto industry? Not so much. It continues to struggle. Annual sales are expected to be 13 or so million, down five million from the Continent's 2007 peak.

While all carmakers were present and accounted for in Frankfurt, a grim realism dogged the festivities. The bright side is Europe is still doing better than the Japanese market, and there were bright spots on automakers' show stands in all the halls.

That's the challenge with Frankfurt: There are something like 11 halls and this year they were all worth visiting. Performance cars, the whole reason we flew over there, were seemingly everywhere. From the powerful and aerodynamically efficient Ferrari 458 Speciale to the promising Audi Sport quattro concept and Volkswagen Golf R, there was reason to smile on just about every stand. Here's the cream of the crop.

Davey G. Johnson / Autoweek
The Jaguar C-X17 concept is expected to be a lot more than just a Jaguar luxury crossover.

The C-X17 is significant on more than one level: It's an SUV from Jaguar (though some would call it a wagon). It's also quite a step up because it sports an aluminum (pronounced al-you-min-ee-um) space frame. That frame may or may not be the first ever in its class, depending on how you define class. But the real news is that the platform on which the concept sits, and much of that space frame, will most likely be used not only in this SUV/wagon but in a new small Jag sedan aimed squarely at the perpetual-performance-target BMW 3-Series, not to mention the Mercedes C class and Audi A4. Look for more developments on this at the Los Angeles and Beijing shows.

Others considered: Mercedes S-class Concept Coupe, Audi Nanuk concept

Davey G. Johnson / Autoweek
The Volvo Concept coupe at the Frankfurt motor show.

You had to do double and triple takes of the rounded, low-profile, hunkered-down cruise-missile Volvo Concept coupe to register it in your mind as a Volvo, especially from the rear. Your Uncle Olaf is freaking out. He shouldn't be: Once we noticed the Volvo signature grille and the visual of the P1800 on the wall above it, it all suddenly made sense. It certainly looks more P1800 than Bertone Coupe. And it sure looks better than the four-door Volvo You concept from the 2011 Frankfurt show.

Others considered: Opel Monza, Mercedes S-class Concept Coupe

Davey G. Johnson
The VW Golf R is among the Frankfurt motor show debuts we most look forward to driving.

There has always been a cult following for the Golf R and R32 and rightly so. The new R promises to continue the legacy with 296 hp powering all four wheels in the seventh generation Golf chassis, a combination that has to be freakishly good. But the question is always whether more than a few Americans will pay close to $40K for a Golf. Regardless of whether we would buy one, there is no question we look forward to driving it. The Golf R goes on sale in Europe in January and later next year in the U.S., we hope.

Others Considered: Ferrari 458 Speciale, Porsche 911 Turbo S

Davey G. Johnson / Autoweek
It's looking like a go for production of the Audi Sport quattro concept, shown here at Frankfurt.

It was a fairly easy choice to name the Audi Sport quattro concept Best in Show. Why? Because it's the concept with everything: 700-hp, high-tech plug-in hybrid drivertrain, superb heritage, really cool lines and the hope of production. In addition to all those original Coupe Quattros from 1984 on, we got to drive the precursor to this car, the quattro concept of 2010. And while we haven't driven this one yet, we look forward to getting into a production version. When will that be? We're hearing as early as next year, based on an S5 platform but larger, faster and more powerful -- all qualities we admire in a car. In fact, word is it would outpace even the fastest R8. See why it was our favorite?

Others Considered: Mercedes S-class Concept Coupe

By Autoweek editors