Top Marques Monaco: PH Photo Gallery

Well where else are you going to see a car with an aquarium in it?

By ThomasHowarth / Monday, 1 May 2017 / Loading comments

Top Marques is an annual supercar and tuner car show - emphasis there on tuner - held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. It plays host to luxury and performance brands such as Lamborghini and Lotus, but the real attraction - if that's the right word - is the selection of wacky, wonderful and occasionally dreadful concept and modified cars, many of which make their debut at the show.

One of the headline cars was the Vanda Electrics Dendrobium, first revealed at the Geneva show but given another airing to the Monegasque audience. Will its design and performance be enough to convince the hypercar buyers of the world that electric is the way to go?

Another electric supercar on display was the nautically themed Frangivento Charlotte Roadster. This Italian concept is far from being drivable, it should be said. However, its striking Bertone inspired design and aquarium - yes, an aquarium, with live fish in it - behind the seats certainly turned heads. The car has been developed in partnership with Sparco and Pirelli, and even features stingray skin on parts of the interior.

Elsewhere in the show the David Brown Automotive Mini Remastered was certainly getting people talking. This modern revamp of a timeless classic is proving popular, but will the price be a stumbling block? Around £80K is lot to pay for an updated Mini with some LED lights...

Tuning companies in attendance included Brabus, Hamann, Overfinch, Liberty Walk and Prior Design. It was disappointing to see nothing too outrageously horrendous this year, to be honest, with most companies playing it quite conservatively with bigger rims and a splashes of carbon on luxury SUVs. A notable car which made its debut at the show was the Clive Sutton CS800 Mustang, which as the name suggests is tuned to 800hp for a not too frightening £65K.

Also on display was the Aeromobil flying car, which features 110hp electric motors for driving and a 300hp combustion engine for flight. This car-plane hybrid costs around £1million and is claimed to be able to do up to 224mph in flight.

A wide variety of cars were seen around the show, with some being taken on test drives - such as the Honda NSX and Donkervoort D8 GTO-RS - and others simply visiting the show. Look out for an album of the supercars seen in and around Monaco during the show soon!