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The best, weirdest and most amazing European cars

Sitting beside Geneva and Paris, the Frankfurt Motor Show is one of the world’s biggest, and gives the European car companies a chance to flex their muscle.

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It begins on September 15, but thanks to some generous pre-show teasing/leaking (whatever you want to call it), we can already start wrapping our heads around some of the weirder and wackier new models and updated premiums.

From the Malibu Barbie-esque Citroen to Peugeot’s futuristic Fractal concept, Frankfurt 2015 is set to be a wild ride.

Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo Concept

Bugatti has shown off an all-new concept that’s said to signpost the future direction of its hypercars.

Called the Vision Gran Turismo Concept, the new car is said to represent “the new form and design language developed by the brand to celebrate the next chapter in its history”.

Inside, the Vision’s cabin offers similar space to the Veyron but, instead of featuring leather and some of finest materials known to man, the concept has a stripped-out race car feel and gets a digital dash and race-car steering wheel.

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Citroen Cactus M Concept

Based on the regular Cactus, the M Concept boasts a wooden-clad more upright windscreen plus a rear rollover bar and gets a raised body and two lightweight frameless (and windowless) doors that feature a larger version of the Cactus’ Airbump impact-absorbing doors.

Boasting a vibrant, floral wrapped dash and seats it’s difficult to miss the M Concept’s interior.

Inspired by the world of surfing, hence the branded roof-mounted surfboard, the interior is also made of waterproof neoprene and salt-resistant materials.

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Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet

It’s taken about six official leaks and teaser releases, but now Mercedes-Benz has shown its full hand with the first S-Class Cabriolet in almost 45 years.

Benz has officially announced it will show an AMG version of the four-seat convertible first in Frankfurt in two weeks, complete with 430kW of power and 900Nm of torque.

The bad news is the S 63 Cabriolet won’t be produced in right-hand drive and therefore won’t be available in Australia.

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Peugeot Fractal Concept

Peugeot has lifted the lid on a futuristic two-door coupe called the Fractal, which could provide clues to the replacement for the new 308 CC convertible.

Described as a “prospective electric urban coupé design”, the Fractal produces a unique sound to alert pedestrians and cyclists of its presence and presents an evolution of the French car-maker’s i-Cockpit concept.

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Smart ForTwo Cabrio

This little baby comes with an electric retractable fabric roof that takes just 12 seconds to peel back. For the new version it can even be operated at the little convertible’s 155km/h top speed.

The roof can also be operated using the key and, for the full topless experience, you can remove the roof rails by hand and store them in a special compartment in the boot lid.

Available with both the 52kW/91Nm 1.0 or the more powerful 66kW/135Nm 0.9-litre turbo the convertible is available with either a five-speed manual or a dual-clutch automatic.

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Updated Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet

Volkswagen has released a single image of its updated Golf Cabriolet ahead of its Frankfurt debut.

Look closely and you might spot the small drop-top gets a new front bumper, side sills and new wheel design.

It’s not known when we’ll get the updated Golf Cabriolet here, or if Volkswagen Australia will increase its base price from the current car’s $48,993 price tag.

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– with motoring.com.au. All images from motoring.com.au.

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