Ferrari wasn’t the only one making a big splash at IAA, the Frankfurt Motor Show. BMW officially premièred its X1 (which had already appeared in German TV show Alarm für Cobra 11 two weeks before) and its 5er Gran Turismo—a hatchback version of the 5, if we had to be crude—with chairman of the board Dr Norbert Reithofer arriving in a pre-war BMW 328. Still in the exclusive realm, Bentley released its new Mulsanne, with CEO Dr Franz-Josef Pæfgen speaking at the press conference.
More importantly for the rest of us, Opel showed the new Astra I, which is arguably GM’s most important European entrant. It also showed the electric Ampera, its own version of the Chevrolet Volt, a zero-emission family car.
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