The Geneva Motor show begins next week so to mark the occasion, here are JOE’s top five things to look out for.
Motor shows as large as Geneva are the equivalent of Mecca for most petrol-heads. The Geneva Motor Show, one of the biggest in the world, runs from March 8-18 and it will feature some of the coolest, classiest and meanest cars that have ever been built.
However, there’s a bit of a misconception that motor shows are just about looking at the newest BMW or the latest Bugatti cars – they’re not. With that in mind, here are five things to look out for at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.
Electric cars
This year’s Geneva Motor Show will feature plenty of electric cars and hybrid cars, as well as their fuel-powered cousins of course. Now, the purist petrol-head inside you probably cringes when the word electric is pushed up against the word car, but there seems to be a few descent electric motors that could shape the entire market. Yes, we know, shocking stuff indeed.
Tesla Motors will unveil it’s newest all-electric family car, the ‘Model X’, which is a crossover that takes much of its design from Tesla Model S sedan. Tesla seems to be the only company who have pretty much mastered the art of electric vehicles, so it will be interesting to see more of their new Model X.
One-off dream machines
What motor show would be complete without featuring some one-off dream machines, built specifically for the ridiculously rich? This year’s Geneva Motor Show will showcase the one-off masterpiece Bertone ‘Nuccio’.
The Nuccio has been built for an ‘individual private buyer’ and it’s named after the company’s founder Giuseppe Bertone, whose nickname was Nuccio. We have absolutely no idea as to how much the Nuccio cost, but guessing is half the fun of it.
Concepts for the future
Although looking at one-off dream machines is most people’s idea of heaven, it can leave you rather deflated knowing that such beauty and craftsmanship will never see the roads. However, car manufacturers are always investing in concept cars that take both practicality and the ‘totally for the sake of it’ aspect into consideration.
One concept car that could very well take shape as a road going model is Citroën’s DS4 Racing Concept. The car is absolutely breath taking, mainly because it has been developed by Citroën Racing – the company’s seven-time WRC winning motorsports division. It’s basically a road going version of their rally spec car, so to see this on the road would be a welcome surprise.
Innovative technology
Looks aren’t always the most important aspect of a car – what’s on the inside counts too. This year’s Geneva Motor Show promises to deliver a multitude of new innovative technologies that could have a serious influence on how the cars of the future will be made.
One car that is making major headway with new technology is Mazda’s TAKERI concept. It features the i-ELOOP technology, which is short for “Intelligent Energy Loop”. It’s the company’s first regenerative braking system and it uses a unique solution that converts kinetic energy to electricity during deceleration and stores it in an electric double layer capacitor. In other words, it’s like the KERS on an F1 car.
Sexy extras (and we don’t mean the models)
Well, okay, so we do mean the models. The Geneva Motor Show always has gorgeous models presenting the cars. Whether they’re sitting in the new cars or simply draped across them wearing tiny dresses, the girls are sure to entertain. However, there actually are some other sexy extras that you should keep an eye out for.
TECHART, the German-based automobile tuner specialising in existing Porsches will unveil the completely newly developed TECHART exterior design for the Carrera and Carrera S models. It’s the sort of stuff boy racers from the 90s dream of.
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