Michelin Challenge Bibendum's pit lane

It's a pit lane like no other in the world. And most of them silent as they circle the track.

This is the eleventh Michelin Challenge Bibendum in Berlin. And while the event has become a regular pilgrimage for new car technology, this year is a landmark in having an open day for the public as proof that interest in green vehicles has boomed.

Whizz-bang technology is a wonderful thing, but if it doesn't make it to the real world - or isn't accepted once it gets there - it's reduced to well-rehearsed science fiction.

However there is a strong call for realistic solutions across the entire event, starting with Michelin president Michael Roller's opening ceremony remarks that "sustainable mobility must be the highest agenda - it's important for progress, modernity and trade".

"In 1998, at our first Challenge Bibendum, no one was prepared to speak openly about ideas around carbon reduction technologies, about sustainability or about collaborative mobility projects. Now, there are 280 vehicles on display outside showing advances and innovations in intelligent mobility for the future."

The importance of transport innovation in the face of growing populations was echoed by Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit - whose city is home to 3.4 million people.

"Megacities cannot be car-friendly," Wowereit said. "There must be solutions, and technologies must be more user-friendly."

He also called for effort towards making new technology more accessible with lower price tags. "If it is to be successful, it must be affordable for all and without government subsidies."

Most of the talk at the sessions revolved around electric cars, and there was a good dose of concepts and oddities sprinkled around.

But with the public access and focus on accessibility, logically the majority of participants were mainstream brands featuring vehicles that were either fresh on the market or about to hit it.

The leading edge of vehicle technology was being sharpened by the university teams showcasing their research in everything from adjustable car bodies to the Holy Grail of electric cars - a 10-minute charger.

Most of the cars were available to drive - and a few precious ones just to ride in -- on short test tracks.

But there were a couple of notable absences, with the 2012 electric Ford Focus and Renault Twizy slated to go on sale later this year nowhere to be seen.

You could admire a toy model of the latter at the Renault stand, but somehow that made the odd pod seem just as distant as it's been in its string of 'look but don't touch' motor show appearances over the past two years.