Geneva Salon, 06 – 16 March 2014
The 84th Geneva International Motor Show ran between 06 – 16
March, and featured the usual attractions of new models and
concept cars from both major manufacturers and niche market
brands. The show is also a showcase for the latest technical
innovations in the quest for greener forms of transport, whether it
be electric, hybrid, hydrogen power, or cleaner forms of traditional
petrol and diesel engines, all the latest developments in these
fields are represented. Not only is there a constant quest for
improved “greener” efficiency, but also for enhanced safety, with
sophisticated electronics and electro-mechanical solutions to
anticipate and hopefully avoid accidents. Apart from all the latest
offerings, this year the show also had a retrospective element,
with a special exhibition featuring the history of the Le Mans 24
Hour Race.
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On the new car front, the show featured more than 160 World,
European or Swiss market premieres, together with an
abundance of minor model alterations that don’t fall into these
classifications. Amongst the main stream manufacturer, Citroen
introduced the production version of their C4 Cactus model, first
displayed as a concept in Frankfurt late in 2013, which remains
very close to the original design philosophy. Ford presented the
latest incarnation of the Mustang in both coupe and cabriolet
forms, for its European premiere, with the announcement that the
model would be sold in Europe from 2015. There were world
premieres from Honda and Hyundai, the former with its Concept
Civic Type R and the latter with its Intrado Concept, featuring ultra
lightweight materials and a hydrogen fuel cell drivetrain. From the
UK, Jaguar premiered the XFR-S Sportbrake, Land Rover a
stretched long wheelbase edition of the Range Rover, and Morgan
re-introduced the Plus 4 model in its fourth incarnation. There was
a new addition to the McLaren range, the 650S, in both coupe
and spider configurations, which is a step up from MP4-12C, with
features of the limited edition P1 in its design. Rolls Royce
presented a revised Ghost model, featuring a revised radiator grille
and headlights as part of the re-design package.
From Germany there was the world debut of the Porsche Macan
compact SUV, amd European debuts for the 911 Turbo Cabriolet
and Panamera Turbo S Executive. They also displayed there FIA
WEC contender for 2014, the 919 Hybrid, alongside the 911 RSR
GT class contender. Volkswagen introduced the fifth generation of
the Polo, and presented the T-ROC SUV Concept, and there was
also the world debut of the Audi S1, the hot version of the A1,
boasting 230bhp and 4 wheel drive, a real pocket rocket! The star
of the Audi stand was the all new TT, trimming 140kgs in weight
from the previous model, and there was also a TT Concept
pointing the way to the future for the model. Also from the VW
group there was the world premiere of the new SEAT Leon Cupra
together with the Mii-Mango special edition micro city car, and
Skoda debuted its VisionC Concept. At the opposite end of the
spectrum there was the Bugatti Veyron special Legends edition,
of which only 3 examples will be built. BMW had European
premieres for a number of cars in their range, including the 2
Series Coupe, the 4 Series Cabriolet, the M3 Saloon and M4
Coupe. Over at Mercedes-Benz there were European premieres
for the C-Class, GLA45 AMG, S600, S-Class Coupe and S65
AMG, whilst Opel had world premieres of the Astra OPC Extreme
and Adam Rocks.
From the USA, apart from the previously mentioned Ford
Mustang, there was the European premiere of the Corvette Z06,
displayed alongside its racing counterpart, the C7.R. Cadillac
presented their ATS Coupe and the fourth generation of the
Escalade SUV, together with their luxury car concept, the
Elmiraj, and Jeep presented a revised edition of the Cherokee.
There were also a number of new cars and concepts from the Far
East, including the daringly styled Toyota Aygo city car, where
“X” marks the spot, plus their FV2 Future Mobility Concept, then
there was the world premiere of the Mazda Hazumi small car,
with European premieres for their Concept AR, GC and XR
models. Nissan showed the BladeGlider concept and GT-R
Nismo in Europe for the first time, whilst if you wanted something
with real muscle, there was the Lexus RCF GT3 race car.
Italy was well represented with new models or variations on
themes, like the Abarth 695 50th Anniversario, with examples of
both old and new models on display. Actually quite a number of
manufacturers had examples of their heritage on display,
including Alfa Romeo, Honda and McLaren. The Ferrari California
T made its public debut, T for Turbo, with revised body styling
giving the frontal view a more aggressive stance, with company
President, Luca di Montezemolo on hand to launch the latest
version of the model. Alfa Romeo launched a spider version of the
4C model, which made its debut at the 2013 show in coupe form,
whilst Lamborghini revealed the Huracan LP 610-4, which will
replace the company’s most successful model to date, the
Gallardo, which found over 14,000 buyers in its nine years of
existence. Maerati presented their Alfieri concept car, pointing to
future generations of Maserati GT cars, and also showed the
Quattroporte Ermenegildo Zegna limited edition version. Whilst in
Modena, let’s not forget the Pagani Zonda Revolucion, totally wild
in blue and black carbon fibre with wings and trim tabs in
abundance.
There were also a number of really small producers, like
Koennigsegg, who displayed their One:1, claimed to be the
fastest car in the world at 450kph, and so called because the
power to weight ratio is 1:1 (1400bhp/1400kgs). A new arrival on
the scene was Nimrod Performance from Slovakia, with 3 wild
supercars, the Avanti Rosso, the Katyusha and the Zero. Then
there was the Zenvo SV1 from Denmark, plus the resurrection of
the Ermini name, together with a wide variety of offerings from
styling houses, plus tuning and personalisation companies, like
Alpina, Mansory and Hamman.
As mentioned at the beginning of the report, there was a bonus
for visitors with a historical interest, as the Le Mans exhibition
was a wonderful collection of cars that had competed in the great
endurance classic, spanning from a 1923 Chenard & Walcker
Sport model to a 2013 Audi R18 e-tron Quattro, encompassing
examples from every decade of the races existence. This was
really the icing on the cake for another great Geneva show.
Ferrari Models on Display
Ferrari Stand
Model Colour Chassis #
California T White Met’/Blue 199978
California T Red Met’/Grey 200763
458 Spider Red/Beige 200848
458 Speciale Grey Met’-Black & White St’s/ Grey-Red 201544
FF Grey Met’/Light Beige 201437
FF Silver Matt/Grey 201600
F12 Black Met’/Beige 201566
Pininfarina
California T Blue Met’/Tan 200090
Vulcanet
599 GTO Red Met’/Grey 175274
Le Mans History Exhibition
166 MM Barchetta Red/Blue 0014M
290 MM/250 TR Rec’ Red/Black 0606
Keith Bluemel
03/2014
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