GENEVA: Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche will all be looking to out-dazzle each other at this year’s biggest automotive display for supercar-makers but they’ll have to unveil something truly amazing if they’re going to top the new Bugatti Chiron.
The March 3-13 Geneva Motor Show is called the car show for the one percent with good reason. It’s where premium marques come to mark their territory and where the most potent cars money can buy make their global debut.
The Ferrari GTC4Lusso replaces the FF.
Ferrari will be out in force with two new models. The first, the California T Handling Speciale, is a more lively, driver-focused version of its existing convertible GT, aimed at clients that want a boulevard cruiser that’s as much fun in the bends as it is in a straight line.
The second is the GTC4Lusso. A four-wheel-drive, four seater with four-wheel steering and a 680bhp V12 engine. This new family Ferrari is aimed squarely at a younger demographic that wants a supercar that doubles as a daily driver capable of hitting 100km/h from standstill in 3.4 seconds.
Porsche has already taken the wraps off its 718 Boxster and 718 Boxster S and their new four-cylinder turbo engines. However, it won’t be showing off the 911 GT3, the most serious, no-nonsense version of the iconic 911 until March 1.
Only 40 people know for sure what Lamborghini will be unveiling to mark the 100th birthday of its founder Ferruccio Lamborghini. And that’s because they’ve already bought it, despite its multi-million dollar price tag. Expected to be called the Centenario, the company promises that it will be a V12-powered car in its own right, rather than an amalgam of existing models.
British brands will also be busy. McLaren is bringing the 570S Spider, the drop-top version of its everyday, almost practical 204mph (328kph) road rocket. Jaguar will be promoting the F-Type SVR, its first 321kph production car; and Aston Martin will be taking the wraps off the DB11, the replacement for the DB9.
Boasting sharper, more angular styling and a new turbocharged V12 engine, the car will be the first Aston built on a new platform that will pave the way for a host of other new models before decade’s end.
However, the biggest single supercar reveal of all will be the Bugatti Chiron – the car that has to replace the Veyron in terms of desirability and performance. So expect a hybrid powertrain and a 0-100kph of under 2.7 seconds and a top speed in excess of 424kph because Bugatti has promised that the new car will pick up where the old one left off as the fastest in the world.
Keyword: The usual supercar suspects on parade in Geneva