More Geneva Motor Show Highlights
So the Australian Motor Show has been cancelled, which means that we’re back to talking about the Geneva one instead of building up the anticipation. So let’s dive on in, having already rambled on about the weirdness that this year’s show produced.
The Geneva Motor Show wouldn’t be the Geneva Motor Show without some hot and exciting new cars put on display to an eager world. These days, we all know that frugality and fuel economy and reducing the carbon footprint are very in things indeed. But behind the doors of the Geneva Motor Show and under the bright lights, you can leave that behind and return to the fantasy of the muscle car and the sports car in all its glory… well, almost!
As expected, there were some drool-worthy new offerings unveiled by lots of the major European designers. Lamborghini has a new in-your-wildest-dreams car that looks like Batman should be behind the wheel, the new Veneno (they say that it’s named after a fighting bull but is the Spanish for poison. Go figure). McClaren had a bright yellow sports number that looks as though it’s escaped from the racing track, apart from a few extra curves or so; this was the MP4-12C. The MP4-12C has a nod towards being eco-friendly, as it is a hybrid car… but it certainly doesn’t look like your typical Nissan Leaf , to say the least. Rolls-Royce also decided to get sporty with the Wraith (someone’s been reading Lord of the Rings) and has put out what it considers to be a rival to Bentley’s Continental GT. Alfa Romeo has turned the concept of the 4C that was shown as a prototype at the 2011 show into a reality, with the 4C now entering production and going on sale in the UK in September this year (fingers crossed – it might make it Down Under, too).
Volkswagen also got on the sporty bandwagon (bandwagen?) with the XL1, which claims to have the lowest drag coefficient ever seen on a car. Again, VW has gone for the eco-friendly thing and has made sure that the XL1 has low emissions and a hybrid engine. It also claims to be the most efficient car in production and was discussed in an earlier post .
Volkswagen also had a more down-to-earth offering with the latest incarnation of the Golf. Audi has also got something worth waiting for. Three somethings, in fact, in the form of the RS Q3, the S3 Sportback and the A3 e-tron, which we’re confident will make it down here and be added to our reviews page when the time comes.
Subaru managed to turn a few heads with a new concept. This was the Viziv. Now, how do you describe the Viziv (the name’s supposed to be derived from Vision for Innovation)? Well, when I first started writing car reviews for Private Fleet, many years ago, a mess-up in the list to be reviewed asked me to describe a “Subaru Impreza Forester ”. The resulting query from my end as to which model was to be described was clarified soon enough (both of them, of course) but also attracted the comment that the blend of the sporty Impreza with the sturdy AWD Forester would be an interesting crossover. Well, that pretty much describes the Viziv, which has the 4×4 drivetrain and the super-sporty handling (and looks). Oh yes – it’s a hybrid vehicle, too
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