Ladies night

The worlds' biggest motor show, at Frankfurt in Germany, is being held this week, reports ALASTAIR SLOANE.

So you think only blokes turn up at motor shows, eh? That the women looking on are only along for the ride, most of them reluctantly accompanying boyfriends and husbands?

Not so. About 37 per cent of the more than 400,000 people who visited the Geneva show this year were women. Last year, women accounted for 34 per cent. Next year, women might push up the numbers towards 40 per cent. Who knows?

But what is known is that many of the women were hotshot executives, movers and shakers from all walks of life, who wanted to see what direction the car industry was taking.

The annual Geneva show is small compared with the one at Frankfurt. The sprawling Frankfurt event alternates with a similarly expansive Paris display. This year it's Frankfurt, next year it's Paris.

But where Geneva has an advantage is that it is easier to get around - one big hall the size of one and a half rugby fields with a mezzanine. It is easy to keep tabs on numbers. You can sweep through the place, shoot pictures, pick up everything past and present about the cars on show and find which carmaker is serving what for lunch.

Last year it was a toss-up: Skoda had Czechoslovakian beer but finger food; BMW had bottles of Rothschild red and a French chef who made pastry parcels so light they had to be held down with the Rothschild bottles lest they floated off to the next table.

Frankfurt and Paris, on the other hand, are battlegrounds, each the size of many rugby fields. Most people never get to see everything on show. Visitors must use guide maps and plan ahead. The latest Mercedes-Benz could be at one end and Toyota's new sports car at the other. It is wise to lunch somewhere in the middle.

The sheer size of the Frankfurt and Paris shows makes it difficult to narrow the numbers. But already word has filtered through that more women than ever are going through the Frankfurt gates this week.

Perhaps it is to feast their eyes on the bright red and brushed aluminium interior of the new James Bond car, the BMW Z8. Or the Vision SLR Roadster from Mercedes-Benz.

Maybe BMW's M3, which is unveiled for the first time and which sets all sorts of benchmarks, the best being that it is now more of a stand-alone model than ever. Or the Bugatti Chiron, a four-wheel-drive concept supercar.

Perhaps even the new Volkswagen Polo, softer and more rounded than the present car. Or the petrol-electric Honda Insight, which might make it to New Zealand next year.

The two BMWs and the Mercedes-Benz have attracted most interest. The M3 will go on sale in New Zealand late next year. It is more aggressive-looking and more powerful than previous M3 models. Its 3.4-litre straight-six engine produces 250kW and revs out to nearly 8000 rpm thanks to BMW's Double Vanos variable valve system.

The Z8 "Bond car" is unlikely to be available in right hand drive until 2001. It is an aluminium spaceframe design powered by a 5-litre V8 producing 294kW at 6600 rpm and 500Nm of pulling power at 3800 rpm. Front to rear weight balance is 50:50.

The Vision SLR Roadster also made its debut at Frankfurt and is an indication of the way Mercedes-Benz will look at future sports car design. The car is powered by a supercharged V8 engine producing a massive 410kW. It will accelerate quicker than the 360 Ferrari Modena and go on to a top speed of 320 km/h.

Back in the real world, where rough red replaces Rothschild, the new VW Polo comes with a choice of engines but New Zealand is most likely to get the 1.6-litre.

The Honda Insight uses a 1-litre petrol engine delivering 50kW under petrol power only and 56kW when the electric motor kicks in. The car's fuel consumption - something every carmaker is aiming to improve - is said to be around 3 litres for every 100km.