Alright, we’ll admit it – we weren’t there. But, we’ve kept pretty close to the coverage of this year’s Geneva Motor Show, and if it all seems a bit much, your friends at GSD have distilled it down to a few awesome, impressive, and completely insane vehicles you shouldn’t miss.
It’s official – 4x4s have taken over
Ok, this should come as a shock to no one. The car-buying public’s love for big cars has been growing with some speed in recent years, and every brand under the sun has jumped on the bandwagon. You name it, there’s a pumped-up four-wheel-drive ‘off-road’ version of it. (We’re looking at you, Fiat 500x…)
So what’s new? Well, the offers this year ranged from good, to great, to absolutely mental.
So first off, we liked the look of the Mercedes-Benz G500 4×42. And it’s got the added bonus of actually having a good chance of making it to our roads. It’s also every bit an off-roading juggernaut, with a clever portal axle system offering 18 full inches of ground clearance, and a beefy 422hp.
Veering on the positive side of wacky was the Kahn Design Flying Huntsman. It’s a converted Land Rover Defender, and technically a 6×6. Stretched by almost four feet, and given two extra wheels and a 430bhp GM LS3 V8, it’s a little bonkers, but we’re convinced.
Alright, so let’s get this over with. The outstandingly named Jeep Wrangler Renegade Trailhawk “Hard Steel” has so far been called “adorable” by Autoblog and “too cute” by Car and Driver – not the first thing we’d want from a 4×4. Still, it’s the hi-tech trailer (and its inexplicable fuel cap, pictured) that had tongues wagging. Its large touch screen is impressive, but begs the question …why?
It’s just a concept, granted, but unless you want to show muted repeats of Breaking Bad to the car behind in a traffic jam, we’re stumped.
The sports cars aren’t built for you… but they are
More of a Geneva mainstay, however, are its sports concepts, which for the most part will never see our roads, nor probably even a track. The message this year was once again: “Look what we can do!” And to be honest, if some of these stats don’t make you giddy, you may be in the wrong industry.
Ok, so let’s start at the top. 0-250mph in under 20 seconds. Yep, you read that right. 250mph in twenty seconds. Say what you want about it, the Koenigsegg Regera is an absolute beast. Remember earlier in this very article where we were waving 430bhp around as if it was going to change the world? Try a claimed 1,800bhp on the Koenigsegg. It’s a completely insane, turbocharged monster, and, if we’re honest, sort of what we were hoping for from Geneva.
Back in the real world, the all-new Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept is shaping up to be really something. The brand has been steadily perfecting the mix of supercar power with ultra-luxurious elegance, and now they’ve swayed a little further towards the track, eschewing two of its seats to concentrate on true sports performance. Hats off.