Part 2 of our report from the Geneva motor show. Stories and pictures by Sebastian Geisler.
Lexus LF-A
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Spy shot from 2006
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The LF-A has been unveiled the first time in Europe at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. It A features a radical lightweight V10 powerplant (front mid engine placement) capable of developing more than 500bhp and with a Vmax of 200mph-plus.
Official the LF-A is still a concept car, but spy shots (see above shot taken early last year during a test on public roads with a prototype) show that Toyota is working on a production car -- Lexus's definition of a supercar.
Koenigsegg
Koenigsegg had three cars on display at Geneva. The orange car is a special customized CCX, with special carbon nose and front wing, in front air intake, visible carbon on front bumper, visible carbon on front bonnet, visible carbon on rear view mirrors, visible carbon on rear bonnet ventilation area and side markers, special interior.
The white car is the CCGT, a race car for the FIA GT3-series, 600 hp, 5.0-litre V8 engine weighing just 1,100 kg (it carries 100kg ballast in order to reach the series 1,100 kg minimum weight)
The black car is the CCXR, a concept car with bio-ethanol, 1018bhp. Top speed is over 250mph with acceleration of 0-62mph of 3.2 seconds.
Tramonta
A Spanish custom car company that incorporates the design qualities of the iconic Italian sports cars and the mechanical expertise of the classic British models -- or so they say. Inspired by Formula 1 racing cars and fighter jets, the car's designed to be "a combination of a Formula 1 racing car and a Fighter Jet that can be driven on the street."
The carbon-fibre bodied car houses a central V12 bi-turbo -- and you can select how much of its power you want -- 550bhp to 720bhp -- using a selector in the dashboard. First units are expected by summer 2007.
Morgan AeroMax
Just 100 AeroMaxes are to be built from early 2008, and only 29 of them remain unsold.
The first Gran Turismo coupe from the Malvern factory since the unique Plus Four Plus in the 1960s, the new car was styled by Matthew Humphries in response to a special request from Swiss Morgan owner and enthusiast, Eric I Sturdza. The AeroMax uses the aluminium chassis from the Aero Eight but is coachbuilt in the traditional Morgan fashion using a laminated ash wood skeleton skinned in "A class" superformed lightweight aluminium panels.
The AeroMax combines lightweight construction with advanced technology. The car is available with a 6 speed manual gearbox or the latest ZF automatic 6 speed transmission to increase economy and reduce emissions. Reassurance and security are provided by electronic brake distribution, cruise control, tyre pressure monitoring, ABS and Siemens electronic airbags.
The engine is BMW's 4.8 litre all-alloy V8 with valvetronic technology. The combination of Morgan's lightweight construction and BMW's motor leads to low CO2 emissions as well as high performance. This will be the first Morgan to use Canbus technology to control not only the engine functions but also the body technology such as lighting, wipers and instrumentation.
The all-up weight minus driver and fuel is expected to be under 1,200Kg.
There's more! Part 3 follows shortly...