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Author: Andrew Frankel
Source: The Sunday Times
Publication Date: 7th March 2010
Let’s keep things simple: this is the best, most interesting, most dynamic and most important motor show that I can remember. And I can remember a few. The Geneva show opened last week and runs until next Sunday, and if you have a passion for cars and an interest in where we will be going over the next five years, you could do a lot worse than travel to Switzerland and wander around the vast exhibition centre.
After perhaps one of the most challenging periods in history for car makers, the show reveals that far from being downbeat, the industry is at its dynamic best: pushing the boundaries of design, presenting new — greener and more powerful — engines and embracing alternative fuels, most notably electricity.
The most important point, though, is that rather than being fantasy concepts that will never see the light of day, many of the cars showcased are ready for the world and will be in the showrooms over the next couple of years. Geneva has drawn back the curtain on the future, and it’s cheeringly bright.
Porsche 918 Spyder
This is the show stopper, the car nobody expected to see. Speculation that Porsche was building a new supercar to replace the Carrera GT has been rife for some time, but few thought we would see it in Geneva, and fewer still thought it would be powered by a 3.4-litre V8 motor from Porsche’s RS Spyder racing car. But the real surprise was that it is also a fully functioning plug-in hybrid with lithium batteries, capable of gliding around town in zero-emission silence. It also proves that green doesn’t need to be boring: it is capable of 0-62mph in 3.2sec, a top speed of more than 200mph and can lap the Nürburgring racetrack faster even than the Carrera GT, Porsche’s fastest, most powerful road car.
Although Porsche says the 918 is officially a concept, Michael Macht, the company’s chief executive, pointed out that Porsche had an unbroken record of putting its “concepts” into production. It is safe to assume that the 918 Spyder, or something like it, will be on sale within three years and possibly by 2012.
Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera
The Gallardo may be seven years old now but it’s still getting madder by the moment. As its name suggests (Superleggera means super-light), weight reduction lies at the heart of this latest development, with 70kg having been shed from what was already an impressively trim waistline.
More than half of this weight loss has been achieved through the use of carbon-fibre for many of the external body panels and even some inside; lighter wheels and Perspex side and rear windows account for the bulk of the rest. And just to make it that little bit quicker still, Lamborghini has coaxed a further 10bhp from its 5.2-litre V10 engine.
This is by far the quickest Gallardo, with a 0-62mph time of just 3.4 seconds, the same as that of the flagship Murciélago. Prices are still a secret but are likely to top £175,000.
Ferrari 599 Hybrid
Implausible though it may sound, Ferrari is serious about hybrids. So serious in fact that Luca di Montezemolo, its president, says every Ferrari will be available with hybrid power within four years, cutting the company’s overall emissions by 35% in the process.
The Ferrari 599 hybrid is the first step down this road, and while it will take a further three years to make it to the showrooms, it’s likely to be worth the wait. Its electric motor puts out 100bhp, boosting outright power to 720bhp from the standard car’s 620bhp, yet because its lithium batteries are flat and slung beneath the floor of the car, space inside the cockpit and boot remains unaffected.
Ferrari is not giving performance figures but, even with the batteries’ weight taken into account, the extra power and, in particular, torque of the hybrid system should cut the 0-60mph time to little more than three seconds and raise the top speed past 210mph.
Mini Countryman
It appears there are no limits to Mini’s ambitions. With hatchback, cabriolet and Clubman versions already on sale, and a coupé in development, Mini has squeezed the brand once again and this
time a compact SUV has popped out. Countryman is another name from Mini’s past but unlike the small estate of the 1960s, the modern Countryman is the softest of soft-roaders.
It’s the first production Mini to come with four doors, the first to offer all-wheel drive and the first to be available with a choice of four or five seats. It’s just 4in shorter than a Golf, which is not very mini at all.
Prices have already been announced, although UK sales do not start until September. The range starts at £16,000 for a Mini One Countryman (that’s £3,270 over a standard Mini One) and rises to £20,810 for a Mini Cooper S Countryman with four-wheel drive and a 0-62mph time of 7.4 seconds.
Bertone Pandion
If there is one car that has left visitors open-mouthed in awe at Geneva it is the Bertone Pandion concept car, writes Jonny Smith. Unlike other car makers, which are keen to emphasise the real-world uses of their new machines, Bertone is refreshingly honest: this is a flight of designer fancy designed to dazzle, not to be driven.
The name of the 444bhp V8 sports car hints at its pretensions: pandion is the scientific name for the osprey. Of course it doesn’t fly, but the Pandion does sport the tallest doors in car history: when the scissor-style objects are open they stretch 12ft from the ground. Strictly speaking, they aren’t even doors — the entire side of the car hinges up from the rear, representing the silhouette of a diving osprey.
Alfa Romeo Giulietta
Alfa needs this car to be a success and we will have a better idea whether it will be after we have driven it next month. The signs are good. The Giulietta replaces the 147, and comes with Italian flair in its styling and a new platform to help put back some of the driving dynamics that have been missing from too many recent Alfas.
More promising still are the MultiAir engines that combine strong performance with excellent economy and emissions. The most intriguing model is the Green Cloverleaf. It may be just a 1.7-litre four-cylinder motor, but Alfa has squeezed 235bhp from it. That’s a record for an engine of this type. Expect a 0-60mph time of six seconds or less and a top speed of 150mph-plus. If it’s as thrilling to drive as it seems on paper, the good times may be back for Alfa.
Audi A1
It’s been a long time coming but the Mini has found itself some competition in the form of this Audi A1. Sales of the compact hatch start in September and if appearance is any guide, it’s likely to be one of the hottest tickets in town. The interior is more conservative than a Mini’s, which some will welcome and others regard as a missed opportunity. Five-door and convertible models as well as a sport S-badged version are in the pipeline but won’t be seen before next year at the earliest. Audi has also committed itself to putting on sale an all-electric version by 2012.
In the meantime, the A1 will be powered by a choice of two petrol and two diesel engines. At the top of the range is a 122bhp 1.4-litre turbo, while the most frugal diesel returns 74.3mpg and has emissions of just 99g/km, exempting it from road tax. Prices are likely to start at about £14,000 and mirror the Mini’s price structure.
Added to the database on 9th March 2010
Keywords: Geneva Ferrari Porsche hybrid innovation