Geneva Motor Show - Mercedes, Audi, McLaren, Alfa, Renault and Infiniti

You've seen our coverage of my favourite cars at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show over the past few days.  This is the best of the rest.

The new Mercedes C Class was on display at Geneva.  I didn't get a poke around inside but the exterior, some say a mini-S Class, looks great.

The Audi TT was another new car on show.  Most people I've shown the photos to have said it looks boring but the TT 420 on display at Geneva looked fantastic, as you can see below.

The Alfa 4C Spider was on display.  It looks wide and squat - and beautiful.  The new headlights are much better than those in the coupe and it suits a targa shape more than a coupe too.

The Renault Twingo was my favourite small car. It's rear engined, rear wheel drive and looks pretty cool.

Infiniti showed off its new Q50 Eau Rouge concept in a deep sparkly red that looked awesome under the lights.

McLaren's 650S Spider was on display.  Yep, it's a looker.

This is the new BMW M4. Great colour!

By Matt Hubbard

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Geneva Motor Show - Italian Stallions

Two of the most widely anticipated cars at the Geneva Motor Show were the Lamborghini Huracan and the Maserati Alfieri Concept

Neither disappointed.  When Lamborghini first showed us photos of the Huracan there was a ripple of dissent through the petrol head community.  A Lamborghini needs to look mad, we said, but the Huracan almost looks normal, we said.

It is and it doesn't.  In the metal the Huracan is a sensational looking car.  The first press photos didn't do justice to it's shape, to it's subtle curves and to it's harsh slashes.  The rear end in particular is Lamborghini through and through.  Bravissimo!

The Maserati Alfieri Concept, on the other hand, is an Italian sonnet writ in metal.  Ignore the fact it looks a little like a Latin version of the Jaguar F-Type Coupe and enjoy its beautiful curves.  If it weren't for the F-Type Coupe sitting nearby I'd say it was the best looking car at Geneva.

By Matt Hubbard

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Geneva Motor Show - Citroen C4 Cactus

Yes it's yet another SUV but the Citroen C4 Cactus is refreshingly different

One of my favourite cars at the Geneva Motor Show was the Citroen C4 Cactus.  You can read more details about the car here, as well as my eulogising about it.  When I saw it at Geneva, sat in it and had a poke around, I was convinced that it's going to be a huge success.

It's a straightforward, simple design.  The exterior is has something called 'air bumps' on it which  are panels that absorb minor impacts.  If they are damaged they can be replaced cheaply and easily.

The interior is delightfully laid out and uses tough but nice to the touch materials.  Weight is saved in as many areas as possible, including the use of grab handles and a digital dash instead of a full-on instrument binnacle.

It looks good and it feels good when you're sat in it.  There's no word on prices yet but it should be quite cheap.  It's bound to be a success, unless the price is ridiculous, because of the way it looks and feels but also because it's of its efficiency, which will be mainly down to its light weight - it only weighs 965kg.

It was also telling that I could hardly get any photos due to the vast amount of people crammed around each model on display.

In fact the only one I could get a clear photo of was the C4 Cactus Adventure (below) which is perhaps everything the Land Rover Defender replacement should be, although without the slightly daft camo colour scheme.

By Matt Hubbard

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Geneva Motor Show - Porsche 919, 911 Targa And Macan

Porsche has lots of new machinery on display at Geneva, and it all looks rather handsome

I absolutely love racing cars.  The Porsche 919, which will be raced in the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as the World Endurance Champtionship, stands out as a vastly different beast to the array of polished and finished motors at Geneva.

The 919 is light and low.  It's also quite small when compared to the 911.  It is cut from carbon fibre which is left, raw edges exposed and clad in racing livery.  The cockpit is tiny and the small details (lights, wings, floor) are exquisite.  Under that bodywork sits a state of the art hybrid power train.

Porsche is bringing an extra degree of competition to Le Mans.  Add in the company's unparalleled history at the race and the 919 is a hugely exciting car.

Porsche would say its most exciting new road car is the Macan.  I'd disagree and say it's the 911 Targa.  Everyone knows the 911 shape with its glacial evolution (in looks rather than design or tech) but the Targa stands out as the most most beautiful current 911.  It's a peach and the way the rear folds up and out to accommodate the roof is wonderful to behold.

The Macan itself is lower and smaller than you might expect from photos.  It's also quite good looking, although the rear end does look a tad unfinished.  It's certain to be a success for Porsche.  Unfortunately I couldn't get a clear photo of the front, but look here for a full press gallery of the Macan.

By Matt Hubbard

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Geneva Motor Show - Volvo Concept Estate Is Our Favourite Car

After spending many hours pounding around the displays at Geneva and studying the various cars I've decided that the Volvo Concept Estate is the best car at the show.  Here's why.

The Volvo Concept Estate looks pretty good in photos but to the naked eye it looks stunning.  It's the third in a trilogy of concepts that is set to shape the future look, design and technology of Volvo.

You can read more about the Concept Estate and the other two in the trilogy of concepts here.  Aside from revealing how Volvo hopes its cars to look in the future it shows off the scaleable architecture, which is fancy language for the fact it now has its own platform from which it can build more and different models more quickly.

The concepts also show off the interior design direction of future Volvos which, judging from the Concept Estate is both unique and rather lovely, with simplicity and swathes of high-end materials.

But aside from the above it's a simple fact that the concepts shown so far, and the estate in particular, are great looking cars.  The estate's sleek lines, shooting brake shape and well resolved form are both a nod to the past, in the form of the 1800 ES Shooting Brake, and a refreshing future that is resolutely Volvo.

Whilst most concepts, that aren't purely sports cars, are growing taller and are either SUVs or crossovers the Volvo Concept Estate is nice and low to the ground and stays true to the company's history, which in itself is a good thing

By Matt Hubbard

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Speedmonkey Goes To The Geneva Motor Show (And Man Of The Show Award)

I've just flown back from two days in Geneva. But it wasn't all spent at the motor show

I went to Geneva as a guest of Castrol.  I met, at Heathrow on Wednesday morning, with the Castrol team and bloggers Oliver Bock-Brown of oversteer.org.uk and Vince Pettit of TheCheckeredFlag.co.uk.

Castrol has a new product out soon called Edge Titanium FST which was ultimately the reason for our trip.  After we touched down in Geneva we checked into a rather swanky hotel, took in some very late lunch and went for a stroll along the shores of Lake Geneva which laps right up to Geneva itself.

The evening of the first day saw a trip down to the CERN Globe for the Castrol presentation.  It was part of a week of presentations to worldwide media to prepare us for the full launch of the new product this summer.  It also introduced us to something called the Titanium Trials.

The first of these trials is called Titanium Strong Blackout.  The information provided on the night was scarce but it involves professional racing drivers driving in the dark around a barely lit course and will take place in late spring.

After the presentation I was still none the wiser really but when I heard about second trial, which I was told about in full (in confidence so I'm not going to repeat it here) I was pretty excited.  That promises to be a true test of man and speed.  Watch this space.

The second day was a trip to the Geneva Motor Show.  The show sees most manufacturers displaying their latest machinery in a series of vast halls.  Geneva is quite small so the centre of the city, where we stayed, is only a short shuttle hop to the exhibition centre, which itself is next door to the airport.

It's rather odd walking round a hall full of cars with not one engine being started.  In that regard the motor show at the Goodwood Festival of Speed is a more involving spectacle for the average petrolhead.

Notwithstanding that the manufacturers take the Geneva Motor Show very seriously.  They all spend a fortune on their stands and many display their latest models or concepts for the first time either in Europe or the world.

The Germans all had huge, shiny stands, Renault had a rather funky display, with Twingos displayed on little revolving hillocks, Volvo built a uniquely Swedish display of coolness and Ferrari had a small display with just a few cars, but it attracted the largest crowds.

Over the course of the next week I'll focus on some cars and manufacturers and let you know what I think were the most important cars at Geneva.

I'll end with the Speedmonkey man of Geneva award which goes to James Gilbert of Morgan.  James is a salesman, their digital dude (i.e. he's behind the Twitter and Facebook accounts), media co-ordinator (he showed me around there factory two weeks ago) and a host on the Morgan stand.

Whilst all other manufacturer PR teams had gone home (I went on the first public day) James was there pressing the flesh and flogging Morgans.  The vast majority of Morgan sales are made out of the UK so James' time in Geneva is taken up from early in the morning to late in the evening glad handing rich looking European gentlemen, answering their questions and placing their orders.

Well done James!

James, on the left 

By Matt Hubbard

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2014 McLaren 650S Spider

McLaren has revealed its 650S Spider at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show

This is the McLaren 650S Spider and it's painted in a rather snazzy shade called Tarocco Orange.  The 650S Spider is mechanically identical to the 650S coupe but, it has to be said, is a bit of a looker.

You can find full 650S specs here.  The Spider's roof is a retractable hard top which can be raised or lowered at up to 17mph.

By Matt Hubbard

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2014 Honda Civic Type R Concept

Honda has unveiled the Civic Type R Concept at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show

Honda has been teasing us with the Civic Type R for some time now.  This is the concept, which we're promised will at least resemble the finished item when it is released in 2015.

With that bonkers rear wing, bodykit, diffusers, quad pipes and that über cool paint scheme the Type R Concept looks pretty ace.  Will Honda have the balls to at least keep the wing on the production car?

By Matt Hubbard

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2014 Ferrari California T

This is the 2014 Ferrari California T which has been revealed at the Geneva Motor Show. 

In Ferrari-land California means a fast, luxurious, grand tourer and T=turbo.  It may be a grand tourer but it's powered by a turbocharged 3.8 litre V8 with 553bhp and 557 lb ft of torque and will do 0 to 62mph in 3.6 seconds.

Full stats are reproduced under the photos.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

ENGINE
Type	direct-injection 90° V8
Bore and stroke	86,5 x 82 mm (3.41 in x 3.23
Unit displacement	482 cm3 (29.4 cu in)
Total displacement	3,855 cm3  (235.25 cu in)
Compression ratio	9,4:1
Maximum power *	412 kW (560 cv) at 7500 rpm
Maximum torque *	755 Nm (77 kgm / 557 lbft) at 4750 rpm in VII gear
DIMENSIONS ANDWEIGHT
Length	4570 mm (179.9 in)
Width	1910 mm (75.2 in)
Height	1322 mm (52.0 in)
Wheelbase	2670 mm (105.1 in)
Front track	1630 mm (64.2 in)
Rear track	1605 mm (63.2 in)
Dry weight**	1625 kg (3582 lb)
Peso in ordine di marcia**	1730 kg (3813 lb)
Weight distribution	47% front - 53% rear
Fuel tank capacity	78 l (20.6 US gal / 17.3 UK gal)
Boot\Trunk capacity	340 l, 240 l (12 cu ft, 8.5 cu ft)
PERFORMANCE
Top speed	316 km/h (196 mph)
0-100 km/h	3.6 s
0-200 Km/h	11,2 s
Weight/power ratio	2,9 kg/cv (8.69 lb/kw)
TYRES
Front	245/40 ZR19"
Rear	285/40 ZR19"
Front (opt)	245/35 ZR20"
Rear (opt)	285/35 ZR20"
CCM3 BRAKES
Front	390 x 34 mm (15.4 x 1.34 in)
Rear	360 x 32 mm (14.2 x 1.26 in)
ELECTRONICS	ESC with F1-Trac system (Control for Stability and Traction)
GEARBOX	F1, dual clutch 7 gears + Reverse
SUSPENSIONS
Front:	double wishbone
Rear:	Multilink
FUEL CONSUMPTION***	10.5 l/100 km
CO2 EMISSIONS ***	250 g/km
	* With 98 octane fuel
	** With lightweight optional equipment
	*** Combined cycle (ECE+EUDC) with HELE system

By Matt Hubbard

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