Welcome to the PH Geneva 2016 liveblog! Dan and Matt will be sharing regular thoughts, photos and anecdotes from the show floor right here so keep refreshing for the latest insights from the thick of it. For more in-depth reports and stories check out the Geneva 2016 news hub and don't forget to watch the social media updates under the hashtag
#PHGeneva2016
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In my last blog entry I was marvelling at what rich people with no taste are willing to blow their money on. Here's an example of a rich person doing the same, this time with rather more style. The mind boggles at what owning a P1 and thinking 'you know what, it just looks a bit dull, I need to get it spruced up...' must be like. The owner of this one did and took it to McLaren Special Operations, who clothed it in £220,000 worth (I think that was just the parts costs) of visual carbon fibre to create one stunning looking machine. With lacquer so deep it feels like you could dive into the bodywork it just looks stunning, the fact it's in a subtle colour and set off with mean black wheels just cooler still.
Elsewhere on the McLaren stand I got my first look at the 570GT, which seems to work as a more luxurious take on the S version without seemingly giving much away in terms of thrills. I'd have the S but each to their own . And the 675LT Spider? Nice but, for me, a hardcore car like this works better as a coupe. Still, McLaren's presence at the show is bigger than ever and there's a real sense this is a brand that's now very much 'arrived', graduating from the upper area of the show and an open 'pen' type stand to a properly enclosed job next to Rolls-Royce, Maserati and Aston Martin. Which kind of fits with McLaren's corporate news from the show, which was more business than product.
There's more of that to come though...
Hand on heart I try not to be excited about what folk with more money than taste choose to spend it on. From dogs in handbags to weird haircuts and really, really ugly watches you can't escape it here at Geneva though. Especially with the cars. So to Mansory, via various others, for the compulsory snigger at the lengths the wealthy are prepared to go to in order to stand out from other wealthy people. No, I just don't get it. But it does lift the mood!
Alongside the Evora Sport 410 and Elise Cup 250 we knew about, there was another new car at Lotus that was a genuine surprise: the Exige Sport 350 Roadster.
OK, it's hardly the most shocking product strategy. But to have all the Sport 350's improvements with no roof sounds like a lot of fun. Not sure on the spoiler. Love the tartan.
But the Evora 410 was the highlight for me. It feels and looks like a proper track weapon, with a gearbox that felt a million times better than the last Evora I was in. I can't wait for a drive!
Geneva, as always, is crammed full of very exciting sports cars. But whether Evora 410 or 911 R or Ferrari GTC4 Lusso, they're all pretty familiar.
The Opel GT isn't familiar, and it's all the better for being different. On the stand it looks fresh and modern, the stance and proportions absolutely spot on. It has all the right sports car cues, just on a smaller scale. I even quite like the red tyres...
The 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine has been praised in the Corsa and sounds ideal for a sub-tonne sports car. Fingers firmly crossed that a business case can be made for it!
Earlier in the day I bumped into Aston Martin product development boss Ian Minnards and a couple of colleagues, killing time before their DB11 unveiling by visiting the Lamborghini stand. Must be a bit odd having a late press conference and nothing to do in the build-up to one of the biggest launches in your career? He laughed, saying it was just a pleasant change to take a break from the development programme. "There is a lot riding on it though," he said, a little more thoughtfully. I've just been over to get some pics to update our story and the stand is absolutely mobbed. Whenever two hacks collide on the show floor 'Seen the Aston yet?' is the first question too, which is a good barometer of the level of interest. I've taken refuge in my default motor show hide out on the JLR stand to catch up on stuff and see if the crowds have subsided enough to bag some pics. I'm not too optimistic they will have!
Andreas Preuninger and the cars built under his watch at Porsche are pretty much one and the same. If you like the cars you'll like the man, his arguments for building the 911 R music to the ears of folks like us. Sports cars, he says, are getting faster and more capable than ever. But the price of progress is feel and even he admits "we lost some purists along the way." He identifies a growing trend of buyers deserting new cars for their lack of involvement and buying old ones instead; certainly the case of his back catalogue that would appear to be true. So why not build a GT3-based car to win them back into the fold? The R started out as a manual development hack from the original 991 GT3 programme (yes, they built one...) that was then stripped of its wing and used as the starting point for the R. A production run of 600 was originally planned but, bolstered by response to the Cayman GT4, this has been upped to 991. Why cap it? It's a car for collectors as well as purist drivers he says. But that's not to say its spirit won't be reflected in a more mainstream model in the future. I'll transcribe the whole conversation in due course but a few stats stand out, like the 1,250kg dry weight. That's 40kg less than a 458 Speciale by the same measure, 63kg less than the dry weight of a McLaren 570S and 60kg less than a plain vanilla manual Carrera 2.
Oh, and if you're buying one the must-have option is the single-mass flywheel, at least according to Preuninger. It saves around 5kg off the crank, makes the engine sing properly and asks serious questions of the driver. In that it'll stall in the blink of an eye and generally make you look inept unless you're at the top of your game. Bravo.
It takes some brass ones to show a new part-elecrtric hypercar at Geneva when your immediate neighbours include Pagani, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini and their ilk. But when you're claiming 2,000hp-plus from a combined petrol-electric powertrain and want to get it in front of potential customers Geneva is the place. Arash Farboud winces at the cost of bringing
the AF10
to Geneva but for all the improbability of a small company like his going head to head with industry heavyweights you have to admire the pluck. The car would be worth a look for the 900hp 6.2-litre V8 alone. But the electric motors are really the thing, Farboud saying he just gets inspired by technology and the possibilities it brings. 100,000 euros apiece - there are four of them remember - these motors integrate the inverter and a two-speed gearbox and can propel the AF10 to 200mph on electric power alone, or so it's claimed. The prototype on the stand won't give Pagani et al any sleepless nights in terms of finish but his goal of bringing LMP1 performance to the road certainly ain't lacking ambition!
My hosts for Geneva are Mazda, offering a chance for an exclusive walk and talk around the rather delicious looking RX-Vision Concept with design department boss Ikuo Maeda. This is the first time the car has been shown outside of Japan and it's a reflection of how serious Mazda is about reviving its RX lineage of sports coupes that someone of Maeda-san's standing is here to present it. Does he have board support for the plan? Yes he says, though it's still early days and they're several steps away from a production version. So no further discussion of the promised rotary engine or anything to do with the mechanical parts. Because there aren't any yet, this being just a styling concept. A beautiful one though. Maeda says a rotary engine sits 250mm lower than an in-line four, giving his team enormous freedom to play with form and shapes. The basic proportions bring to mind the old Mercedes SLS but the detailing is much more subtle, Maeda saying many modern sports cars look like they've been styled with building blocks. And the interior is lovely too, the thick leather draped over the transmission tunnel expressing - you knew it was coming - the old Jinba Ittai spirit and intended to look like a saddle, that being connection between rider and said nag.
Will it ever be made? We can but hope!
The Riviera Blue 964 you see here is called an Ultimate. It has 590hp and weighs 1,215kg. Rather nice, isn't it?
The yellow 991 is an RTR. Interestingly it's a right-hand drive car, with a six-speed manual. It produces 800hp at 7,300rpm and will do more than 210mph.
Then there's the gorgeous 2.7 RS, the wild 993 racer and whatever the battleship grey 911 is. The stand is full of stunning Porsches, and there's not a Cayenne in sight. I will go and look at the new and stnadard cars soon...
Ah Geneva! People watching is as good value as tyre kicking here, the man snapping pics of the 911 R with his little dog in a white and pink leather clutch bag was ... must have been ... er ... rich? Dunno but it's never occurred to me to bring an animal to a motor show.
To business and the next door stand to Porsche, this being Lamborghini. I was somewhat surprised to see Stephan Winkelmann holding court still; I'd missed the press conference but apparently he presented the Centenario before publicly handing the reins to StefanoDomenicali. Winkelmann in a sharp suit standing in front of the latest Lambo is a bit of a motor show fixture in my mind; it'll be strange to be at the next one and him not be doing the same. Also knocking about was known Winkelmann fan Chris Harris. "So what is it then, an Aventador in a bodykit?" he asked. Suitably provocative given his recent Tweeting on all things Lambo. Though perhaps not a million miles (or euros) off the mark. Does look properly mental though. And in that sense as 'Geneva' as your man with the dog in a handbag.
1030h, Tuner stands (Matt)
There are always big debuts at Geneva; there are always badly modified cars too, but we'll come back to those another time. Now I want to (briefly) talk about the nicely modified cars at Geneva. Because there are loads.
Brabus always put on a good show, and it's Classic stuff is simply superb. Its black on black with black AMG GT is suitably menacing too. Probably has about 700hp or something as well. Which will be less than the very wide 911s on the Ruf stand; I need a proper look over there soon.
The Alpina B7 looks cool, but nowhere near as good as the green with gold B3 Touring on the same stand. Stunning car.
But the highlight so far has to be the Ac Schnitzer ACL2. Why? Because it's a 2 Series with an M4 engine. A 570hp M4 engine. Full story soon!
0945h, Porsche Stand (Dan)
Even the dog is a fan of the 911 R. But, yes, that is a man with a dog in a handbag.
0924h, Porsche stand (Dan)
Two press conferences in, one life affirming, the other not so much... Bad news first! I was too late to Audi to score a headset so was dependent on GCSE German, which told me the new Q2 is a 'city SUV for young people' which is odd because to me it looks like Audi's take on the much derided Ford Fusion. Which was mainly bought by old people! The point was hammered home though, the press conference bingo card scoring highly on 'connected', 'youthful', 'sportlich' and the rest. And then I saw it. And the tag line 'It's different!'
Better news next door at Porsche! I was interested to see Ferrari top brass including digital marketing head Nicola Boari and board member Amedeo Felisa having a good nose around the 718 Boxster engine and then enjoyed the launch vid for the 911 R. Interesting to see 90-odd km/h on speedo accelerating in second gear - I'll ask Preuninger about the gearing in an interview later. And then duck!
0914h, Honda Stand (Matt)
As a Honda guest at Geneva this year, it's their wi-fi, coffee and croissants I'm stealing for the next few hours. And it's their cars I'm looking at first.
The new Civic looks pretty funky, undeniably Japanese but with a European edge too. A quick interview with the UK management revealed their keen for this 10th generation car to bring back a few customers who may have left with the current car. Let's see.
But of course the big appeal is the NSX, now confirmed with a UK price of £130,000. Or thereabouts. It faces some incredibly tough rivals at that money - can it compete? I can't wait to see. It still looks interesting and the hybrid tech will surely appeal. There could be one or two epic group tests coming!
And I'm in! Huge excitement as I enter the first hall, wondering what exotica awaits and the first thing I clap eyes on is ... a RAV4 Hybrid. Oh. Things can only get better. Turn 90 degrees left and they already have - Hilux Dakar car much more like it. Right, first press
conference awaits - time to see if Audi has anything more interesting than the RS Q3 Performance.
2200h, central Geneva (Dan)
news hub
is in place, the intelligence has been gathered, our team is in the field and we're ready to go - Geneva 2016 is on! Despite not going to the show there's already been plenty of news, embargoes busting wide open left right and centre, pictures and stories leaking and requiring chasing, stories written in planes, trains (lots of trains) and automobiles and lots of exciting stuff to look forward to. I've been promised some time with Porsche GT man Andreas Preuninger, which I'm looking forward to given
one of the leaks
from earlier today. I'm going to behave myself and stay schtum about some of the other stuff coming but, suffice to say, Geneva looks set to deliver on its reputation of being the most PH of all the international motor shows.
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