Geneva International Motor Show 2011

About the Event

Everyone has learnt something in the last two years, a time which has demanded some painful readjustment. First, ‘green’ can be fun a glance at petrol prices (which, for exorbitance, match the cost of hotels in Geneva at show time) drives home the point better than any nannying lobby group. So: economical, cute, urban runabouts are definitely ‘in’.

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Secondly, not only can the likes of MINI, Fiat and Citroën make environment-friendly cars with Classic Driver appeal, so too can the Grand Marques. The two stand-out supercars from the Show, the 691bhp Lamborghini Aventador and the first ever, road-going, four-wheel-drive Ferrari, the 650bhp FF with its standard stop-start function, are far more efficient than their predecessors.

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Over at Porsche, the Stuttgart company now firmly in the Volkswagen Audi family was showing a hybrid version of its pavé-pummelling Panamera, the S Hybrid.

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And there was the electric Rolls-Royce 102 EX, Aston’s sprightly Cygnet a plus for the British company, as it helps lower its CO2 average across the range and Bentley’s FlexFuel technology Supersports ‘Ice Speed Record’ convertible.

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Leaving the figures to one side, let’s slip on a comfy pair of shoes, take off the rose-tinted specs and have a look round the stands. First seen at the VAG party on Monday night, the new Lamborghini Aventador was a stunner.

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This or the all-new Pagani Huayra, also debuting at Geneva?

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Over the way at De Tomaso, the ‘SLS’ was a Pininfarina-designed large saloon in the style of the BMW 5 Series GT. An interesting idea but the streets round here, at least, are not exactly packed with the trend-setter from Munich.

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Speaking of which, on BMW’s customary ground-floor stand was the Vision ConnectedDrive, a two-seat concept car with a raft of technology which may/may not see the light of day. What probably will, is the new styling direction that can be seen in variations of ‘surface treatment’ (in the artistic, design sense) and the front and rear ‘family’ panelwork.

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At nearby MINI, the Rocketman concept looked as good in the carbonfibre/composite as it promised. This is a very nice little car and was one of the stars of the show.

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Mercedes had its new C-Class coupé which was, it has to be said, a touch forgettable, and an updated C-Class saloon and estate range (with the latest 6.3 AMG versions).

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Back at Porsche, set upstairs in the ‘VW Hall’, the new hybrid Panamera was joined by ‘Black Edition’ and ‘GTS’ 911s (the last versions of the 997 before an all-new car hits us later this year) and the stunning 918 RSR hybrid race car. Close relation Audi was showing the ‘A3 concept’ a four-door saloon with a 408PS, five-cylinder FSI motor which was joined by the recently launched RS3 Sportback.

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Over at Aston Martin, in addition to the new Virage and V8 Vantage S, a Rapide and a Cygnet, was one of Zagato’s most famous designs: an original DB4GT with the Milanese coachbuilder’s seductive GT bodywork.

The reason was in recognition of the model entering full production 50 years ago. The pale metallic blue car, DB4GT/0189/R, was the very last completed in period and was the subject of a full Works Service restoration in 1995.

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Finally, to finish on another high note, and a Jaguar-related one to boot, the wraps came off the Bertone Jaguar B 99 Concept. This just about summed up the 2011 Geneva Motor Show: stylish, exciting, a vision for the future and proof that the great manufacturers of the last 100 years have plenty of life in them.

Most liked pictures of the event