The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SWISS geez!
Fantasy and reality collide in a place where it’s difficult to tell the two apart
For new concept and production cars that combie cutting-edge technology with elegance and visual impact, the annual Geneva Motor Show (March 8-18) continues to be the place to go.
Not surprisingly, this year’s show leaned heavily on electric and hybrid vehicles, although there were plenty of high-performance cars with conventional internal-combustion engines as well.
ASTON MARTIN LAGONDA VISION CONCEPT
The Britain-based automaker said the all-electric Vision Concept is planned to go into production as early as 2021, the first offering for Aston-Martin standalone sub-brand Lagonda. The concept is described as “a new range of state of the art, emission-free luxury vehicles.” Range of the bold and sleek luxury sedan is 400 miles thanks to solid-state batteries.
AUDI E-TRON QUATTRO
In a clever bit of marketing strategy, Germany-based automaker Audi unleashed some 250 lightly camouflaged e-tron Quattros on the streets of Geneva, which it promoted heavily on social media. The big takeaways are that the e-tron Quattro is a premium, all-wheeldrive utility vehicle that can be charged for long-distance cruising in just 30 minutes.
HYUNDAI LE FIL ROUGE
A swoopy four-door concept sedan, Le Fil Rouge — “the red wire” in English — previews what Hyundai calls its “Sensuous Sportiness” design language. One thing is for certain: The huge front grille makes a bold, unmistakable statement that drew polarizing comments from critics.
JAGUAR I-PACE
The first all-electric offering from the venerable British marque is a handsome utility vehicle with a 240-mile range and zero-to-60-mph acceleration of 4.5 seconds. Priced at about $10,000 less than a Tesla Model X 75D, the new Jaguar could be serious competition in that market, which is likely to get crowded soon.
LAMBORGHINI HURACAN PERFORMANTE SPYDER
Not every new vehicle in Geneva was battery powered. The new Lamborghini Huracan Performante Spyder is an old-fashioned dose of Italian sexiness, combining an open top with a 640-horsepower 5.2-liter V-10 engine that undoubtedly sounds as outrageous as the car looks. Lamborghini says its new car is quicker around the Nürburgring race course than a Porsche 918 Spyder.
MCLAREN SENNA GTR
Named after the three-time Formula One World Driving Champion Ayrton Senna who died in a race in 1994, the GTR is a track-only version of the McLaren Senna. As such, McLaren said it’s the next best thing to an F1 race car, which speaks volumes of its robust performance capabilities. “Exact technical details of the McLaren Senna GTR will be confirmed later in 2018, but it will be the most extreme McLaren ever,” the automaker states on its website.
PORSCHE MISSION E CROSS TURISMO CONCEPT
After what seemed like an eternity of teasing, Porsche’s first vision of an electronic future is finally here, and it’s stunning. Looking like a cross between the wagon version of Panamera passenger car and the Cayenne utility vehicle, the new offering has 600 all-electric horsepower. And it also had the best tagline of the show: “It simply screams performance. Even though you can barely
hear it.”
RANGE ROVER SV COUPE
The definition of a coupe is being somewhat abused, thanks to the newest offering from Range Rover, which looks mostly like a conventional utility vehicle but is referred to by the automaker as “The world’s first full-size luxury SUV coupe.” Powered by a 557-horsepower supercharged V-8, this is the fastest full-size production Range Rover ever built. Just 999 will be built worldwide with U.S. prices starting at a wallet-melting $295,000.
SUBARU VIZIV CONCEPT TOURER
Some journalist referred to this new Subaru as a replacement for the late, lamented WRX wagon, while others fancied it more as a utility vehicle, in keeping with the latest automotive craze. Either way, it’s a seriously aggressive-looking machine, although Subaru has not divulged power details other than to note it will of course have allwheel-drive.
VOLVO POLESTAR 1
Polestar is Volvo’s new electric performance brand and its first production model, the aptly-named Polestar 1, is now available for ordering in 18 countries, including the United States and Canada. This 600-horsepower 2+2 coupe turned a lot of heads in Geneva, even though Volvo will only build 500 examples a year.