‘The fashion world has Paris. The car world has Geneva’
The show where everything from a Toyota to 1,800-HP ‘Missile’ hypercar creates a buzz
NEW YORK— Next week, Switzerland will be the centre of the car world.
While automakers have become increasingly picky as to when and where they show their latest wares, they continue to land unfailingly at the Geneva Motor Show, which this year runs Thursday to March 18 at the city’s Palexpo centre.
Whereas the Los Angeles and New York car shows have focused heavily on “mobility” — autonomous driving, electric- and hybrid-energy, pod-like creations that aren’t exactly cars — Geneva remains the premier venue for debuting exciting, expensive automobiles that consumers will actually want to drive, regardless of price or efficiency.
This is the place to test brand identity — or come up with a new one. Exhibits A and B: Volvo’s new performance line, Polestar, will show off a sexy coupe and Jaguar will expand its excellent sedan fleet with a sporty wagon. Even the typically off-road-focused Range Rover will show a four-person “coupe” hand-built from its special operations division.
“Geneva is a grand vision show,” says Michael Harley, managing editor of Kelley Blue Book. “There’s a lot of news, a lot of buzz . . . The fashion world has Paris. The car world has Geneva.”
Whether it’s a glitzy halo car, a concept model or a limited-edition product, brands choose the event to showcase the cars they most want to be known for in the coming year.
Generally, extreme supercars generate the most hype for brands — and for the fan boys — at this show. For 2018, McLaren will show the 789-horsepower Senna, its most powerful road-legal car. The company has already sold all 500 units of the $1-million (U.S.) supercar: “That’s the thing with Geneva,” Harley points out wryly. “By the time they hit the stand, many of the cars are already sold out.” Deliveries start later this spring.
Hennessey will bring the even-moreexpensive $1.6-million Venom F5 from Hennessey Special Vehicles. This one is primed to break records: It weighs less than 3,000 pounds and has more than 1,600 horsepower. The company debuted it to a select group at the SEMA show in Vegas last year, but this will be its launch on the international scene. The target top speed, company officials say, is more than 480 km/h . Rival Bugatti will bring its 2019 Chiron, a $2.6million coupe.
Bugatti and Hennessey, who each make far fewer than 1,000 cars worldwide annually, will also face a new contender to that top-speed title: an obscure company called Corbellati. The family-owned brand has announced it will show a 1,800-horsepower V8 “Missile” hypercar that will be able to touch 500 km/h. It’s easy to say things on a piece of paper without having to back them up in the real world, so skepticism should remain high about that claim.
Elsewhere in this elite peer group, Ferrari will show a special-edition 710-hp 488 it’s calling the Pista; this is Ferrari’s most powerful V8. Pista means “track” in Italian, which is fitting: The lightweight coupe goes from zero to 100 km/h in 2.85 seconds, while its top speed is 340 km/h. Lamborghini is trying to build excitement around what it’s bringing, which will be a major update to an existing model (no specifics supplied). And Aston Martin will bring the all-new Vantage, along with the DB11 Volante and Coupe.
Along with such six- and seven-figure flash, the luxury brands with higher production figures — and slightly more affordable price points — will also bring plenty of treats.
BMW will show a first-ever-seen concept vehicle, probably the M8 Gran Coupe. This model is similar to the sharklike 8-Series it showed in Frankfurt last year. It’s also debuting a next-generation X4 crossover, which was redeveloped in partnership with Toyota.
Porsche will show its aggressive new 911 GT3, a $187,500, 523-horsepower coupe that is 0.1 seconds to 60 mph faster than the previous model. (The new one can hit that mark in three seconds flat.)
Not surprisingly, it’s the SUVs that will showcase the latest electric technologies.
Hyundai will premiere a battery-powered version of its small Kona crossover, while Lexus will show the production version of the UX it showed in 2016 in Paris. Lexus hasn’t disclosed what engine variants it’ll offer with the small crossover vehicle, but since it’s based on the same platform that underpins the Prius, a hybrid version is likely.