[updated: this blog updated 17th September to show some details from the new BMW 7 Series which has some cool new tech]

Vehicle history check expert Cartell.ie likes to keep up-to-date with the latest developments on the motor show circuit and the Frankfurt show is certainly one of the biggest shows on the planet. German manufacturers generally pull out all the stops on home soil and we’ve heard this year is no exception- BMW managed a 400 metre test track indoors for instance – but all the German’s have been upstaged in 2015 by Jaguar when stunt driver Terry Grant drove the new F-Pace SUV through a huge loop-the-loop! Pretty impressive!

And what about this Bugatti Vision concept which the French company rolled out today at the show. The head of the company’s design team is quoted as saying the next Bugatti will adopt a toned-down version of the concept’s looks: “Given the nature of the project, our concept car for Vision Gran Turismo is overstated and pushes performance to the limits, but its progressive design language will clearly show the direction that Bugatti’s design will take in the coming years.”

Still up in the clouds the final vehicle featuring here is the wildly futuristic Mercedes Concept IAA – unveiled at a show known as the IAA. Mercedes, as many readers will know, are often pioneers in the automotive sector with new innovations which roll out into everyday vehicles over time. With that in mind the IAA (Intelligent Aerodynamic Automobile) showcases some incredible advancements: this is a vehicle which will “talk to traffic lights” and “other vehicles”. It automatically switches from ‘design’ mode to aerodynamic mode when it reaches 50mph, with elements in the tail section extending to increase overall length by 390mm. Personally, I think the aesthetic is not pleasing on the eye but the purpose of this design is to improve the aerodynamics of the machine and reduce the surface area of the rear to make it incredibly aerodynamic.

Finally, many readers will have seen or heard about the unfortunate collapse of BMW CEO Harald Krüger earlier this morning 3 minutes into his first presentaton at the Frankfurt show. It’s good to hear he is stable and recovering well. In the meantime the incident has provoked a considerable amount of comment: the Financial Times for instance has used the incident to highlight the issue of stress on CEOs and in another article that paper quoted an industry adviser as saying the life of an automotive CEO is “pretty hard core” and involves a significant amount of international travel. In any event it would be a shame for this incident to distract from some of the innovations launched by the Bavarian company at the Frankfurt show this year.

The BMW 7 Series for instance brings to market, for the first time in a mainstream production car, laser headlights – which afford much better visibility and with super low power consumption. Also the new key fob in the 7 series has a touch screen and gesture controls can control the main hub inside the vehicle. The key fob can even instruct the vehicle to park itself – see the following demonstration video on Facebook by CNET.