Frankfurt 2011: beyond the fringe

While the paps elbowed their way through the scrum around the big boys' show stands, one intrepid TG.com reporter dived off onto the show's back streets to see what other stuff was lurking around. Here's what he found...

WARNING: one picture involves semi-naked Germans wrestling

We warned you about the semi-naked men. Here are two of them having a hug. We asked the girls what was going on. They shrugged and gave us a tin box with a USB stick in. We loaded it up. It was about lorry gearboxes.

WOMAN DEFIES GRAVITY. We thought for literally seconds about how this was achieved. Then went and got a currywurst and forgot all about it.

A Porsche made entirely of metal. Which is more unusual than it sounds.

Hankook debuts ginger tyres. Apparently, these are actually going on DTM cars next season. Hence the DTM cars.

Roaring ahead of the world media, Top Gear's uncovered next year's concept model for the 2018 Ampera. Either that, or we've found AN APPLE with AMPERA on the side.

DISCOVERED: the world's most depressing car.

Subaru celebrates its boxer engine. Involves chrome. Chrome and Perspex.

Original. Shiny.

Second-gen. Shinier.

Current lump. Well Cheshire.

German man has too many steins. Starts on Bumblebee.

Defender platform gets new body via Tecdrah. It's plastic, 70 per cent recycled. Reminds us a KTM X Bow. And a Trabant Kübelwagen.

Swizz Beatzzzzzzzzzz parks up at Lotus. Probably.

Geiger Camaro, for no obvious reason. Velvet paint wins.

Holy Amphibious Volkswagen, Batman. It's a 1944 Schwimmwagen.

From MH VIP Design's stand, we present the inside of a £150,000 Mercedes Viano. From the brochure: "our vehicles are ideal as a mobile office or doing konferezen."

A2? Poppycock. Urban Spyder? Tish and pish. We'll take this, please.