Of course we also have our own highlights from the IAA 2023.
Well, we can get through it again with the broom roads. The IAA Mobility 2023 in Munich is already over. Well, almost gone: depending on when you read this. It took some getting used to. Normally the IAA was in Frankfurt and that was a huge fair.
Nowadays the design is completely different and that takes some getting used to for us dinosaurs. Now we must note that we see everything through our glasses, and not through those of the consumer.
In addition to a new design, there is also clearly a new approach. It is also about new forms of mobility and of course electrifying or making current mobility more sustainable. That sounds more boring than it is, because we saw how the major car brands adapt to the times to remain relevant in the coming years.
Last week you were able to read various articles and… not onebut even two videos can see from the IAA.
In addition, especially for your loyal readers, we also have the highlights of the Autoblog editors present at the IAA 2023:
Loek:
“The highlight of the IAA in Munich for me? The ‘correct’ answer is of course that it is always fun to go on such a trip with your colleagues and editor-in-chief. The atmosphere is always great! And as a nice bonus, seeing both the Z4 and 330d from the Autoblog Garage in their home city, of course.
But of course it’s more about what we saw at the fair and it has to be said, besides some ‘old’ models that you are now seeing in the flesh for the first time, the flush was a bit thin in terms of rock hard firsts. For me there can only be one correct answer to the question ‘what was the best scoop’ and that is the Volkswagen ID. GTI. I personally have no problem with Volkswagen lending the GTI label to an electric hot hatch if the recipe goes something like this.
Cool and recognizable appearance, front-wheel drive, hopefully not too high a weight and you really have a brilliant hot hatch. Preferably in red with a tartan motif in the seats, then I would like it.”
Machiel
“Beautiful weather, a beautiful city, good beer and fun: there were plenty of highlights this IAA. In terms of cars, less so, because I had hoped to be able to mention a supercar with a big V8 or V12 as an automotive highlight (the new Revuelto for example).
I should have known better: the IAA is now all about sustainability. Unfortunately, the cars with combustion engines could be counted on one hand. This did not go far enough for the activists present, because they only wanted to see bicycles. But that’s besides the point.
For the experience at the fair, it makes a complete difference whether the cars have a V12 or an axial flux motor, because you can only look at them anyway. That is why I choose as a highlight the car that I found the most spectacular to see: the Porsche Mission And the great thing is that this Porsche will probably also go into production, unlike some other concept cars.”
Martijn
“Luckily I ate a delicious German schnitzel with @Wouter, because if this is the future of the car fair, they better stop it immediately. Nothing but uncertainty about the (near) future for the car as we know and love it, so the manufacturers had to rely on ‘daring’ concepts that we will of course never see in a somewhat interesting production form.
The ID of those concepts could also be found. GTI and BMW Neue Klasse appeal to me the most. If the utopian street scene has to consist mainly of EVs, then at least make them look a little interesting!”
Michael
“I was at the unveiling of the Concept CLA and thought it was a real improvement compared to the CLA, which I am not a fan of in terms of design. At Mercedes I secretly thought the new AMG GT was even more beautiful. But I was especially greedy for the E-Class All-Terrain that was also presented at the IAA.
The fair definitely did not have the shine it did years ago due to less than half the program in the fair building. The city area was fine, but not very suitable for taking photos and videos. You can’t have everything, so to speak. Too bad MINI didn’t bring a different color than the blue new Electric that we also saw in our video.
Another highlight was the Porsche stand in Munich. Very nice job with that iconic Porsche shape of the Porsche stand.”
William
“As a spectator, such a fair is slightly different than for the automotive press. The weather was beautiful, Munich is an incredibly beautiful city and the brands had made a big splash in the pavilions. In addition, various ‘concept stores’ had also been opened. You have to walk a long way, but don’t forget that was also the case at the IAA in Frankfurt.
The MG 4 XPower is my favorite when it comes to the highlights of the IAA 2023, although the Cyberster also scores highly. Yes, I know it has nothing to do with MG from the past, but that doesn’t matter. The MG4 XPower looks nice in that green with orange accents, accelerates like crazy and doesn’t cost the top price. It’s not a super premium car, but it’s all very orderly. With a few effective mods you should be able to turn this into a nice bomb.
Another highlight was the… Opel Astra Stationwagon Electric. Admittedly, I don’t have a poster hanging above my bed about this. It’s just refreshing to see that in addition to a lot of very expensive electric cars (mostly crossovers), there are also EVs coming that are useful and don’t show off ‘being EV’.
Because the time when you could distinguish yourself with an EV is over. The Astra had nice seats, plenty of room and actually smelled quite good. Just lower it a bit and put on a nice set of rims from an undisclosed German brand and you have a nice car for dad.
Oh, finally: it was funny that we in the editors witnessed two hugely influential designers shaking hands. Marc Lichte (design director of Audi) came to take a look at BMW’s Neue Klasse Concept for Adrian van Hooijdonk. This is what it must feel like for normal people to see Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney having lunch together. Or something.
Wouter:
Wouter was short and German about his highlights for the IAA 2023:
“ID GTI, Neue Klasse, Cyberster”
But he does go through all the news with you below:
And part 2:
It was fun again, see you in two years!
This article These were our highlights of the IAA 2023 first appeared on Autoblog.nl.
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