Frankfurt Auto Show Highlights

The Frankfurt Auto Show has seen a number of exciting models from the big marques. Here's a look at some of the big ones so far:

quattro

As promised, Audi has unveiled its Sport Quattro Concept here at the Frankfurt Motor Show, which takes inspiration from the 2010 Paris Motor Show debut known simply as the Quattro Concept. Both cars clearly seek to draw upon the company's legendary 1980 Ur-Quattro and its closely related Sport Quattro short-wheelbase rally special, yet this concept car looks more production-minded than the 2010 starlet.

Despite its more conservative duds, this handsome and muscular coupe actually packs significantly more power than the 2010 Paris showcar. In fact, it musters 700 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque from its plug-in hybrid powertrain, versus the Quattro Concept's more historically appropriate 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbo with 408 hp and 354 lb-ft. We're not going to complain about a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 plus an electric motor, nor will we grouse about its 3.7-second 0-62 mph dash, 190-mph top speed or 2.5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers on the Euro cycle.

Volswagen E-Golf

 Germany's largest automaker is a major player in both gasoline and diesel internal combustion engines, but it has also dabbled in hybrid powertrains more recently, and it's cranking up its pure-electric campaign as we speak. A key part of that initiative is the new e-Golf that has just rolled out on VW's show stand here at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

The e-Golf is powered by an 113-horsepower motor that generates 199 pound-feet of torque with juice supplied by its 24.2-kWh battery. VW board member Christian Klingler tells Autoblog that the hatchback is slated to come to select North American markets in early 2015, but declined to confirm whether the car will be available for purchase or a lease-only scheme.

Lexus LF -NX

Lexus is drawing crowds with its sharply styled LF-NX Concept, a car that previews a competitor for the likes of the BMW X1, Mercedes-Benz GLK (also debuting at Frankfurt) and Audi Q3. We previewed the LF-NX last week, but we've since gotten a bit of in-person time with the compact crossover on theFrankfurt show floor.

There's a lot of show-car tinsel here, but the makings of a production model are fairly visible. That trademark Lexus face, with the separate headlight and running light arrays and an even more extreme version of the "spindle" grille, is present and accounted for. The styling is sliced and carved, like the Lexus IS, although it's difficult to tell if the production model will be quite so extreme in its looks.

Porsche 918 and a new world record

It's been a long time in the making, but Porsche has finally revealed the final production version of its long-awaited 918 Spyder here at the Frankfurt Motor Show. And yet that's not even the big news surrounding the hybrid hypercar.

No, the big news is that, while Porsche was preparing to take the wraps off the car here in Frankfurt, elsewhere in Germany a team was setting a blistering lap time at the Nürburgring. And not just any blistering lap time, but a new world record.

Porsche claims that, on the morning of September 4, a team of three drivers (including former rally champ Walter Röhrl and Porsche test drivers Timo Kluck and Marc Lieb) broke the Nordschleife lap record, Lieb finally setting the best time at 6:57 at an average of 111 miles per hour.