The
2014 edition of the Geneva Motorshow was held from
the 6th to the 16th of march, at the exhibition center, the Palexpo.
Last year was characterized by fireworks of new supercars (Mc Laren
P1, Ferrari LaFerrari, Lamborghini Veneno) so this session was necessarily
more quiet. The major event of the 2014 show is the presentation of
the new Lamborghini Huracan, successor to the Gallardo,
promised to a great carrier. It's interesting to note that many manufacturers have introduced styling studies with a rather bold style, wich will be probably decline in future serial models, in close forms. Whether at Volvo, with the ES concept (a nostalgic wink to the old P1800 ES), at Mazda with the Hazumi, the future replacement for the Mazda 2 or at Skoda, with the Vision C, like a Czech VW Passat CC, these 3 cars have a trenchant style that will rejoice nice and charismatic car lovers. |
The novelty on the Ferrari
stand is the presentation of the California T, a
California restyled with hapiness, equipped with a turbocharged V8
engine. The more virile body styling should assure to the model a
good second half of commercial career. |
After more than 11 years
of loyal service, the Lamborghini Gallardo bows with
the title of the Lamborghini the most produced in the history of the
brand, with 6801 cars. The replacement is called Huracan
and features a more consensual line where some curves are reappearing
after several years of sharp edges. The second revolution consists
in the return of aluminium colored rims on a Lamborghini stand, after
years of totally depressing darkness. Come on, one more effort must
eradicate the black rims! |
The 2014 Geneva motorshow
could be an opportunity for Porsche to officially
unveil the 918 Spyder, but that was not the case.
It will settle for a semi-formal presentation... sometimes, the logic
of the constructors totally escapes me. In any case, the level of
finishes of the 918 Spyder is light years away from the pre serial
models one. The Porsche 919 of endurance competitions
was luckier and could enjoy the spot lights and the eyes of the public.
|
Maserati
celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and exhibits a very interesting
concept car, named Alfieri, the name of one of the
Maserati brothers. It is hoped that the Alfieri foreshadows the replacement
for the cutesy Gran Turismo. |
No new this year for Aston
Martin, the range is extended to virtually identical. The
V8 sees rewarded with a N430 evolution, a DB9 series
called Black Carbon appears and 2 special orders of the division "Q
by Aston Martin" are exposed : a Vanquish II Volante
with a modified upholstery and a custom V12 Vantage. |
The Bugatti
job is the same since a long time, get to sell the last remaining
copies of Veyron, before launching the next model.
Two Vitesse models were exhibited, one plum and matte
white, with a grey interior and carbon plum tinted, and the other
much more interesting, part of the "Bugatti Legends"
program. Color caramel and carbon brown tinted, it pays tribute to
the sculptor Rembrandt Bugatti. The elephant, the
Bugatti Royale mascot, adorns the interior, between the 2 seats. |
Mc Laren news is rather
confusing with the announcement of a new model, the 650S,
interposed between the P1 and the MP4-12C. However, the 650S looks
like nothing more than a MP4-12C grafted with the P1 nose. In addition,
the lack of MP4-12C on the Mc Laren stand argues instead for a simple
replacement of the MP4-12C by the 650S. Confused had I said? Novelty
is that I begin to appreciate the P1, especially
in this beautiful artic silver color. |
The Swedish brand Koenigsegg
continues to commercialize the Agera in S
version but the interest of the stand manufacturer is the presentation
of a study called One: 1, meanning a weight / power
ratio of 1 (1,340 horses for 1340 kg). Six copies only will be made. |
For Bentley,
the sports version of the Continental GT called Speed,
appeared in 2012, is already replaced by an evolution aptly named
New Speed (original, isn't it?), near the former
Supersport in terms of performance. The goal is probably to dig a
larger gap with the standard version of the Continental GT. The cosmetic
changes bring a breath of fresh air on the model. |
Like the phoenix,
Gumpert never ceases to resurrect and again expose
the Apollo, relatively old model now. However, a
rather disconcerting novelty is introduced: the Gumpert Explosion.
This is a kind of reincarnation of Group B rally cars, in a specie
near the Audi Quattro Sport. Unfortunately, the rather trivial body
style, the obsolete finishes and its high price (125 k€ inc.
VAT) will probably frustrate the return of Gumpert. Mercedes renews its Haut de Gamme with the introduction of S-Class Coupé. If the front evolves smoothly, the rear part is riskier with soft lines uncharacteristic for the Stuttgart manufacturer. The interior is very refined with original materials and colors, although the design of the dashboard would gain to be less massive. |
Alfa
Romeo uncovered the 4C in Spider
version, and it benefits optical block less unsightly than the coupe. |
Pagani
exhibited at the Geneva Motor Show a yellow Huayra
and its Zonda Revolucion, the final version of the
model. This limited to five copies with a 800 horsepower V12 6.0 L
is displayed at 2,2 millions €. |
News from
Rolls-Royce are a subtle facelift for the Ghost,
called now Series II, with new front lights a little
more sophisticated and new design for rims. The Wraith coupe keeps
the old front of the Ghost Series I. The lastest Jaguar F
Type is now available in coupé. |
On the american
factory stands, the most interesting thing is a concept car from Cadillac,
the Elmiraj, a large 4-door coupe with a sculptural
body style but with typically American dimensions. On the Corvette
stand, the new declinations of the C7 are exhibited,
the racing C7R and the Z06 model,
with the Z07 aero package. |
The danish ST1 from Zenvo Automotive is still alive and two models are exhibited. News for BMW are the definitive version of the haut de gamme Coupé i8, still shaped with a concept car style but not as sexy as the first study, and the new Motorsport evolution of the 3 class, in 4 doors (M3) and 2 doors (M4). |
Always a large
area for the german Porsche tuner RUF, celebrating
the anniversay of the RCT model with the launch of
a new version based on the late 991. An interesting study of a V8
engine is also presented. |
One of the
surprises of this show comes from the tuner Fab Design,
the first to unveil a slightly modified McLaren P1,
one of the most exclusive car. In the same trend, the tuner Mansory
shows a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport modified under
the influence of the Vitesse evolution, called Vivere.
The new Rolls-Royce Wraith Coupé is also revised and corrected. |
Alpina
addresses with happiness the 4-door coupe BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe
into a B6 Biturbo Gran Coupé, simply sublime.
The new B4 in convertible version is another novelty
for the german tuner. |
The Geneva
Motorshow is always the place to be for german tuners : Hamman,
Tech Art, Brabus, Carlsson
or Khan. |
The best and
the worst of the tuning, with the perfectly executed Binz
Borrasca, a widebody version of the Mercedes SLS Roadster,
and the Nimrod heavy interpretations of the Ferrari
458 and the Lamborghini Aventador. |
After the
tuning universe, let's go into the more rafinate coachbuilder one.
Touring presents a new sample of the Disco
Volante, elegantly finished in metallic green with gold metal
rims, side by side with a Coupé Disco Volante from the Alfa
Romeo museum. |
The Volvo
style is enjoying a renaissance as evidenced by the new ES
Concept. Mazda suggests replacing the cute
Mazda 2 by the Hazumi, a small city car with a highly
distinctive style. Skoda evokes a revolution by introducing
a new sedan car in a very seductive style, the Vision C. |
As usual,
many prototype for the japanase brands, always looking to the future.
The Lexus RCF Coupé is interesting but the
japanese style is always too complicated for me. |
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