Every year automakers use auto shows around the world to showcase solid production models, innovations, and concept cars. The concept cars usually receive more news than everything else at these shows combined, and they should. After all, concepts showcase technological breakthroughs and design cues that will ultimately trickle down to the production vehicles of the brands that build them. In that spirit, here are a few of the top concepts coming out of the Frankfurt Motor Show this year.

The big concept from Jaguar this year is an Austin Powers (James Bond if you don't know who he is) type of car that actually includes a power boost button. Jaguar has been reinvigorating its sedans with the help of chief designer Ian Callum. His latest proposal is the C-X16, a sleek, compact, two-seat sports car with a lightweight body, six-cylinder engine and a hybrid system that uses a boost button to vault the car around slowpokes on the highway. Where are the oil slick and machine gun mounts?

The Mercedes F125 is a big sedan with a sports car stance. That is always a bonus, but according to experts, its fuel-cell/plug-in hybrid power system could be prohibitively expensive, so this one will mostly likely stay a concept.

The Land Rover DC 100 is a redesign of the African safari sized Defender. The Defender has been essentially untouched since 1990 and Land Rover is using this concept and others to find out if there is a need for the redesign in the eyes of the public.

Volvo Concept You is a big sedan with wooden floors, suit fabric on the seats, and a sound system that uses fresh air from outside the car to power the subwoofers. With a few practical refinements, this could be Volvo's answer to its dwindling marketshare.

Audi Urban Concept lets you jump right in, literally. There are no doors, you get in through the roof area. The Urban Concept only weighs 1,058 pounds and is purely electric. It could be a create short range commuter and is a lot hotter looking than a Smart Fortwo.

Each of these could be fun cars to drive, but only two (personal opinion) will probably make it all the way to production: the Jaguar and the Land Rover. The Mercedes would probably be too expensive even for high-end buyers, the Volvo is probably not conservative enough to appeal to the company's standard demographic, and the lack of doors could prove unnerving for Audi buyers. Of course, concept cars are rarely built to go into real production. Rather, they are exercises in design and engineering, allowing designers to stretch the limits of their creativity without the burden of practical implications.

Teddy Blackburn just wishes he could report on these concepts in person from Germany. For more industry news and details, he recommends visiting New Concept Cars. For more information another Jaguar hybrid supercar concept, check out this post on TSR Performance: Jaguar C-X75.