At the 86th Geneva Motor Show, over 40 car manufacturers from all over the globe showcased their designs and introduced new cars. As has happened in the past, Bugatti grabbed the headlines at this year’s show with their new hypercar, the Chiron. Aston Martin finally unveiled their long awaited replacement for the DB9, the DB11, which is key to the company’s success and survival in a tough market. And with the current craze of SUVs showing no signs of abatement, Audi showcased a small SUV, Skoda displayed a big one that will hit the roads soon and Volkswagen showcased one with a drop-top. We take a look at the best cars from the show.
Koenigsegg Regera
Koenigsegg kept its hypercar competitors, especially the new Bugatti Chiron, in check at this year’s Geneva motor show with its new Regera. With its 5.0-litre twinturbo V8 paired with 3 electric motors producing 1,500bhp, it’s inevitable to compare this Swedish nutter to the new Bugatti Chiron that develops around the same amount of horsepower. While the Bugatti gets a 7-speed dual clutch DSG gearbox, the Regera does away with a transmission all together. Koenigsegg has fitted an electric motor to the crankshaft of the engine, and two smaller ones to the rear wheels with only a single gear direct drive on the rear differential. The result of that is a claimed acceleration of 0-300km/h in 10.9 seconds, trumping the Chiron’s time of 13.5 seconds. And the €2.1 million (approx. `15.7 crore before taxes and duties) price tag on the Regera is almost a bargain – if you can compare it to the Chiron.
Bugatti Chiron
Offered at an eye-watering price tag of €2.4 million (approx. `18 crores before taxes and duties), and fitted with an 8-litre W16 quad turbo engine that churns out 1,500bhp and 1,600Nm of torque, Bugatti revealed the successor to the Veyron and its new flagship hypercar, the Chiron. Named after Bugatti’s greatest racing driver, Louis Chiron, the car promises to obliterate most of the performance records held by its predecessor. Bugatti claims the Chiron can do 0-100km/h in 2.5 seconds and has a limited road top speed of 420km/h. Unlike the latest trend amongst performance brands, Bugatti has decided to stick with a regular engine and not follow the hybrid path. The Chiron has been built on an all new carbon fibre tub chassis with the power being transferred to all four wheels. Bugatti describes their new car’s design as ‘a combination of significantly more “beast” with a very high level of “beauty”. Around 150 units of the Chiron have already been pre ordered, and Bugatti will cap the production at 500 units. The car will be officially launched sometime later this year.
Aston Martin DB11
After the demise of the DB9, and the DB10 being a bespoke one-off for Bond, Aston Martin is now planning to launch their latest product, the DB11. The new car carries over some styling characteristics from Bond’s DB10 but gets a brand new twin-turbo V12 engine, a first in the brand’s century long history. The manufacturer says the 5.2-litre engine produces 600bhp and 700 Nm of torque. It is also Aston’s first engine which has been made in collaboration with Mercedes-AMG. Performance wise, the DB11 is claimed to do 0-100km/h in 3.9sec and can reach up to a top speed of 320km/h. In terms of design, it gets the iconic wide front grille that every Aston in recent history has sported and the head lamps are quite similar to the gorgeous DB10. But the interior of the DB11 is completely brand new and it gets not one, but two TFT LCD – a 12-inch and an 8-inch – screens, one replacing the traditional instrument cluster, the other taking the mantel on the centre console.
Skoda VisionS Concept
Skoda has revealed a concept at Geneva that once put into production, will mark the entry of the brand into the large SUV segment. At the moment, the vehicle is called the VisionS concept, but it has been reported that the production version will be called the Kodiak. Given its size, the SUV will sit higher in the product lineup than the Yeti and will also feature a plug-in hybrid system. As for the engine in the concept car, the VisionS is claimed to have a 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine mated to a six-speed clutch DSG transmission which generates 153bhp and 250Nm of torque. The electric motor that works in tandem with the engine to power the front wheels produces an additional 54bhp. At the rear is another larger electric motor that produces 114bhp and 270Nm of torque to create a unique All-Wheel-Drive system. It is likely that when Skoda puts the VisionS into production, the SUV might be offered in the Indian market too, but there has been no confirmation as yet.
Audi Q2
Keeping the trend of SUVs going, Audi unveiled an entry level SUV called the Q2, which as its name indicates will be positioned below the Q3. The Q2 will be offered with a range of engines, which in the petrol line up will include a 114bhp 1.0-litre 3-cylinder unit, a 1.4-litre, 3-cylinder turbocharged unit and a 2.0-litre turbo with 187bhp. The diesel engine range will include a 1.6-litre and a 2.0-litre turbo diesel unit with a range topping 187bhp version. The 2.0-litre engines will come mated to Audi’s S Tronic dual clutch autobox. Audi will offer the smaller engines with manual transmissions as standard, with the S-Tronic as options. We expect the Q2 to make its arrival to India, but only with the automatic transmission.
Volvo V40 and Cross Country
Volvo has been updating their entire range slowly but surely. After the XC90, S90 and the V90, Volvo has updated their smallest vehicle they make, the Volvo V40 range which includes the hatchback, the R-Design and the Cross Country with a new facelift. The new updates include mainly cosmetic changes that bring the V40 design along the lines of their new design philosophy.
Volkswagen T-Cross Breeze Concept
Small convertible SUVs seem to be becoming a thing with manufacturers today. Soon after spy pics of the Evoque Convertible surfaced, it seems Volkswagen took the chassis they use on the Polo, planted a big SUV body on it and chopped off the roof. They had the resulting car on display on Geneva, which they call the T-Cross Breeze. Mated to Volkswagen’s 7-speed DSG gearbox will be a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder TSI petrol engine that produces 109hp and 174Nm of torque. The conceptual claim from Volkswagen is that the car would do 0-100km/h in 10.3 seconds and onto a top speed of 188km/h. Its unlikely that the convertible will even make production.
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet
After a very long time, Mercedes-Benz has decided that the C-Class needed a convertible version. And so at Geneva, they displayed the brand new C-Class Cabriolet marking their return to the segment. The Cabriolet has a standard C300 version with a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine making 214hp and 370Nm of torque. The other option, as of now, is the C43 AMG Cabriolet that is powered by a 3.0-litre turbo V6 that develops 362hp and 520Nm of torque. Both engines are paired with the 9G Tronic 9-speed automatic transmission. The car also has the ability to fold its roof in just 20 seconds on the move, but at speeds under 50km/h.
Lamborghini Centenario
To celebrate the 100th birthday of its founder Feruccio Lamborghini, the company decided to present themselves with a celebratory car for the occasion. The car in question is the bonkers looking Lamborghini Centenario. The Centenario is a one-off limited edition version – only 40 examples will be produced (20 coupes and 20 roadsters), with each priced at €1.75 million (approx. `12.90 crore before taxes and duties), and all of which are already sold out. Based on the Aventador, the Centenario is slightly longer and and a whole lot more aggressive looking than the standard car. The body of the Centenario is built entirely out of carbon fibre, and it tips the scale at just 1,520 kg. Bolted in the middle is a 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 from the Aventador. However, the V12 has been uprated to produce 760bhp in the limited model. Making it the most powerful road legal Lamborghini ever!
Write your Comment