Newest & Coolest: The Geneva Run-Down
Italia!

As you read this, the Speedhunters team is on the ground in Geneva getting the scoop on all the hot new machines debuting in Switzerland this week. While we wait for their first-hand reports from the show floor, I thought I’d go ahead and serve up a little appetizer using some of the pretty press shots that have been released over the last couple of days.

Let’s get to it…

140211_CaliforniaLaterale_RED

Last year Ferrari debuted the jaw-dropping LaFerrari in Geneva and this year they followed that up with the new California T. While the LaFerrari is a no-holds barred machine that represents the pinnacle of the brand’s engineering, the California T is a much more practical and attainable automobile – speaking relatively of course.

E67B4157

When it comes to the California T, the big story is under the hood – which is where you’ll find a 3.9 liter direct-injected and turbocharged V8. 560 horsepower is the output and despite the snail on the side, Ferrari is claiming zero turbo lag with this set-up.

140211_r_Trequarti_posteriore_Blu

With turbo power and the latest version of Ferrari’s F1-Trac system, the California T will get to 62 in just 3.6 seconds. Of course all the performance technology in this car would be pointless if it wasn’t a looker, but thanks to styling done in collaboration with Pininfarina, it doesn’t have much to worry about there.

1

Also making some noise was Maserati, who showed off a new concept car called the Alfieri, built to celebrate the brand’s 100th anniversary. Rather than the four-door models the company has released of late, the Alfieri calls back to the sexy 2+2s of Maserati’s past.

2

Beneath the sleek and simplistic styling both inside and out lies a chassis design shared with the GranTurismo MC Stradale. Power comes from a 460 horsepower, 4.7 liter naturally-aspirated V8.

74781alf-115335_10_5

The Alfa Romeo 4C is a car that I personally find quite interesting, and Alfa chose Geneva as the place to debut the open top version of the car – which is not surprisingly called the 4C Spider.

AR_4C_Spider_01

I’m one of those guys who generally prefers sports cars with a fixed roof, but given the 4C’s lighter weight and focus on driver involvement, adding some wind in the hair can only be a good thing here.

030314lam-2

We’ve been drooling over Lamborghini’s Huracán for a few months now, and Geneva saw the official debut of the hugely anticipated replacement for the Gallardo. You can bet we’ll have more on this thing during our in-depth show reports.

McLarens to Mazdas
LeadImage-McLaren_650S_01

Another car that I’m guessing you’ll already be familiar with is the McLaren 650S. If you somehow missed our special early look at the car, go and check it out. Geneva is the first chance the public will have to get a glimpse at McLaren’s lastest.

74845aud_AU016711

Moving on to more attainable machinery now, we have Audi who took the wraps off the all-new third generation TT in Geneva. Design-wise, the new TT is both thoroughly modern but also has elements that call back to the original model of the late 1990s.

74845aud_AU016712

The TT will be available with a few different powerplants, including a 310 horsepower 2.0TSFI motor that will power the top level TTS model to 62 miles per hour in just 4.7 seconds.

dsc4206

From the same corporate family comes the SEAT Leon Cupra 280 – with that final number designating the car’s horsepower. Not surprisingly, that makes the Cupra 280 the most powerful car SEAT has ever built.

dsc0012tr

What’s even more impressive is the car’s 7:58 lap time around the Nürburgring, which makes it both the Ring’s quickest front-wheel drive production car, and the first to break the eight minute barrier.

VX_14030

Like your performance in a small package? You’ll probably dig the new Opel/Vauxhall ADAM S – car which has its sights set clearly on the Fiat 500 Abarth.

VX_14029

With a 150 horsepower 1.4 liter turbo under the hood, the ADAM S also features upgraded bodywork, big brakes, stickier tires – and of course a pair of Recaro seats up front.

040314maz_Mazda_HAZUMI

Another cool small car to keep an eye on is the Mazda Hazumi Concept, which provides a rather realistic look at where the next generation Mazda2/Mazda Demio is heading. I certainly like what I see here.

Porsche919-04

Another car that we’ve been watching for a while is Porsche’s much talked-about Le Mans challenger: the 919 Hybrid. With just a few more months to go before the big race, Porsche used the Geneva show as the place to debut the completed machine.

Porsche919-03

With a two liter V4 engine mated to pair of energy recovery systems, Porsche is claiming a power output of about 500 horsepower. Will that be enough to win Le Mans? Porsche seems to think so.

Porsche919-02

As company Chairman Matthias Müller says, “In 2014, it will not be the fastest car that wins the World Endurance Championship series and the 24 hours of Le Mans, rather it will be the car that goes the furthest with a defined amount of energy. And it is precisely this challenge that carmakers must overcome. The 919 Hybrid is our fastest mobile research laboratory and the most complex race car that Porsche has ever built.”

LexusGT301

When I first saw this car, I thought Lexus had brought its RC F Super GT racer over from Japan – but it turns out this is the RC F GT3 Concept, and there are some very big differences between the two.

LexusGT302

The RC F GT3 will be powered by a 540 horse V8 not unlike the one that comes in the production version, and Lexus is claiming a final weight of 2,756 pounds (1250kg).

LexusGT303

While 2014 will be dedicated to testing, Lexus is planning to have the car ready for customer competition for the 2015 season.

Volvo-Estate01

With all this high performance machinery being shown, is it strange that one of my favorites is a Volvo Wagon? Okay, it’s not just a Volvo Wagon, but the Concept Estate – which hints at the company’s new design language.

Volvo-Estate02

Needless to say, I’m very excited to see the real images of this thing coming up in our full Geneva reports. Just look at it!

q501

The Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge Concept is a car that we already saw in Detroit, but when the car arrived in Geneva this week, it came with a very hot powertrain.

ENGINE_SS

That’s right, the Eau Rouge features not just the R35 GT-R’s twin turbocharged V6 making 560 horsepower, but also its brilliant AWD system. A four-door GT-R is something the world absolutely needs, so here’s hoping that Infinti makes this thing a reality.

That will do it for now, hopefully this has whet your appetite for our ‘real’ Geneva coverage. Stay tuned!

Mike Garrett
Instagram: speedhunters_mike
mike@speedhunters.com

ADVERTISEMENT

Comments



Comments are closed.

22 comments

by Oldest
by Best by Newest by Oldest
1

well done Porsche. but please, put a Martini or a Gulf livery on that beauty!

2
Speedhunters_Bryn

I want a 4C, it's like a sexy Italian Exige.

3

The Eau Rouge sounds like a M3 annihilator with tuning capabilities! Look forward to the production model....if ever!

4

That Lexus GT3 ! Make it full black / bare CF and you've got one mean racecar... Would love to see this one in the Blancpain pack.

5

I heard something about the Nissan IDX concept (that weird looking Datsun 510 homage thing). Was it from Geneva?

6

Really dig that Volvo "estate" concept. modern take on a grass roots Volvo P1800ES, Of modern retro builds like the challenger / mustang, this one nailed it and I really do hope that Volvo proceeds with this wagon.

7

Speedhunters_Bryn  ..with eyes ripped from a gigantic spider out of Harry Potter's forest!

8
Speedhunters_Bryn

maxproof I keep coming back to the images with a dewy eyed look... :)

9

;) ... thank god they fixed that with the spyder! Exhausts looking nice as well!

10

That Lamborghini, 650, and TT are all horrid. The Lambo is just so flat and tasteless, it repulses me. The 650s doesn't know what the hell it is and the TT is one of the worst looking cars of this decade.
On another note, that Maserati is STUNNING, the Mazda 2 is awesome, and the RCF and Infiniti are tugging at my heart strings <3

11

Oh god yes

12

q50? infinity version of the gt-r? nissan's answer to the rc-f, m3 and what not???? HELL YES.

13

True. Lamborghini lost its italian identity.

14

maxproof  Speedhunters_Bryn The Spider does indeed look much better than the standard 4C - those standard 4C lights creep me out!

15

Am I the only one that find the Porsche 919 ugly ? Is is so boxy, almost square in the front and distorty on the side.

16

Serge914  I was thinking the same thing.  And I had 3 people that don't know anything about cars comment why the front headlights were flat and somewhat boxy.

17

d_rav  Why not? There is no way the GT-R drivetrain goes in that for much less than $90k. Would you still say HELL YES if it was $20k more than the M3?

18

COOL

19

Those are nice but the real eye-popper was the Koenigsegg one:1.

20

@Boron ... and that is why it became a good product. Your sense of aesthetics will change in the course of time. In ten years you will write how good things looked back in 2014... .

21

Pffff, all wallpapers, in better resolution, could be gotten in another site.

22

i was kinda sad after walking all around the porsche stand only to find no 918... :(

OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS