Geneva was definitely the word of the week as almost anybody who is somebody in the industry rushed to announce a prototype or a new model. Another big topic was the announcement that Ross Brawn purchased the Honda F1 team.
Monday
After a teaser some time ago, crisis-stricken Opel decided to unveil the first image of their future Ampera model, but without additional information.
British motorists will now have another reason to worry about as the Highways Agency installed 1090 infrared cameras on highways and main trunk roads to allow the police and MI5 track car trips across the country. Madalina Iancu has more info on the matter.
Probably the biggest auto event of the day was the official unveiling of the Dacia Duster concept, together with tons of pics, specifications and a short video. As Mr. Oagana reports, the Duster Concept is Dacia's first ever crossover, if you don't count some ill-fated in-house projects from the 1980s.
Going from cheap to premium and above, we got official word that Ferrari will showcase at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show the Handling GT Evoluzione (HGTE) package for the 599 Fiorano GTB, as well as the 599XX, the so-called "laboratorio tecnologico." Click here for more details on Ferrari’s presence at this popular European show.
Press days at the Geneva Auto Show 2009 began on Tuesday and, naturally, most of our reports were focused on the new releases.
One of the first was the Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce, described by the company as an "even more powerful, lighter and faster model than the Murciélago LP 640". Bogdan Popa has more info here.
Next in line was the 2010 Volkswagen Polo, which draws its inspiration from the next generation Golf, as well as from the Scirocco.
Under the pressure of the economic crisis, Ford might be forced to get rid of the RS badge. The new 2009 Focus is the first Ford to wear the RS badge since the first generation of the model came into production in 2002. But it may as well be the last one, as no one in the company can see a future for the RS.
Very good news for Merc's fans as the company unveiled on Tuesday new details and photos of the future SLS AMG, also known as the Mercedes SLC/Gullwing. Check out Bogdan Popa's report for more information.
After a sketchy debut on Monday, Opel completed the presentation of the Ampera with a swarm, well maybe not that many, of images.
Another car manufacturer, only this time a bit more exclusivist, unveiled its latest at the 2009 Geneva Show. We're talking about Wiesmann and their new Roadster MF4 model, for which we now have technical specifications list and pricing information.
Nissan came to the 2009 Geneva Auto Show, among other things, with the Qazana concept, which is really “a love it or hate it” kind of affair. As Daniel Patrascu says, the concept is inspired by motorbikes and beach buggies and was built for the simple desire to have fun behind the wheel
Renault put the pedal to the medal the same day with two extremely appealing models, namely the 2009 Renault Megane RS and the Renault Clio RS 200, the sporty versions of their “mundane” Megane and Clio.
The Swiss show was also the launch place for the iosis MAX, the third in Ford's series of iosis concept cars incorporating the company's so-called "kinetic design". Just like the previous concepts, the new model features both interior and exterior design innovations, including new door opening concepts, lightweight materials and advanced aerodynamics.
Nissan's luxury division Infinity showcased a more interesting concept in the form of the Essence, a high-performance hybrid model which puts out out a total output of 600 PS, incorporating both a combustion and an electric engine. Bogdan Popa has more info on the subject.
We ended the day with Aston Martin's One-77 technical showcase at the popular auto show. Click here to find out all the “gory” details of this 7.3l monster outputting in excess of 700 bhp.
Lotus was also present in Geneva with the 2010 Exige S, a two seater sports car that brings a newly designed rear wing and a restyled front end. Without fitting a new powerplant onto the car, Lotus engineers managed to improve engine performance with a few mechanical tweaks. More info here.
The revived Lagonda was finally showcased, obviously at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show, in the form of a four-wheel drive four-seater car. Click here for more details and photos.
Koenigsegg couldn’t stay mum over the whole Geneva thing and they unveiled the NVL Quant, a rear wheel drive vehicle, powered by two AC induction electric motors with variable frequency drive. The twin-motor design eliminates the need for gears or a differential, as they both give constant and controlled power to the rear wheels, in both drive and coast mode.
South Korean automaker Hyundai finally unveiled the ix-onic concept, a prototype model that incorporates several Hyundai firsts as well as a bunch of new features that bring it closer to the "urban nomad" nickname given by its creator, Bogdan Popa reported the same day.
As expected, Ferrari detailed their new 599XX and 599 HGTE package at the over-discussed Geneva Show. We won’t go into any details, but if you want to find out more check out the links above for full information.
After a very enticing teaser at the end of February, Giugiaro finally came out with what they call the fastest and the most ecological hybrid in the world, the Frazer-Nash Namir.
We took a quick Geneva break on Thursday to find out that FOTA has approved a new point system. The new calculation of points will not be based on Bernie Ecclestone's hilarious medals system, but would feature the following format. Mr. Ovidiu Panzariu has more info.
Now back to the event. The long-discussed Yeti SUV designed by the Czech automaker Skoda was unveiled at the European auto show and Mr. Popa has all the details about it.
Some good news for GM as their European division Vauxhall was voted again the best-selling brand in the United Kingdom. Vauxhall sold a total of 9,372 cars in February in the UK, with Corsa, Astra, Insignia and Zafira included in the top ten best-selling cars top released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Not long after it was announced that Brawn was the new owner of the Honda F1 team, the Brawn Grand Prix Formula One Team revealed the first images of their 2009 challenger, designated BGP 001.
British motorists will now have another reason to worry about as the Highways Agency installed 1090 infrared cameras on highways and main trunk roads to allow the police and MI5 track car trips across the country. Madalina Iancu has more info on the matter.
Probably the biggest auto event of the day was the official unveiling of the Dacia Duster concept, together with tons of pics, specifications and a short video. As Mr. Oagana reports, the Duster Concept is Dacia's first ever crossover, if you don't count some ill-fated in-house projects from the 1980s.
Going from cheap to premium and above, we got official word that Ferrari will showcase at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show the Handling GT Evoluzione (HGTE) package for the 599 Fiorano GTB, as well as the 599XX, the so-called "laboratorio tecnologico." Click here for more details on Ferrari’s presence at this popular European show.
Tuesday
One of the first was the Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce, described by the company as an "even more powerful, lighter and faster model than the Murciélago LP 640". Bogdan Popa has more info here.
Next in line was the 2010 Volkswagen Polo, which draws its inspiration from the next generation Golf, as well as from the Scirocco.
Under the pressure of the economic crisis, Ford might be forced to get rid of the RS badge. The new 2009 Focus is the first Ford to wear the RS badge since the first generation of the model came into production in 2002. But it may as well be the last one, as no one in the company can see a future for the RS.
Very good news for Merc's fans as the company unveiled on Tuesday new details and photos of the future SLS AMG, also known as the Mercedes SLC/Gullwing. Check out Bogdan Popa's report for more information.
Another car manufacturer, only this time a bit more exclusivist, unveiled its latest at the 2009 Geneva Show. We're talking about Wiesmann and their new Roadster MF4 model, for which we now have technical specifications list and pricing information.
Nissan came to the 2009 Geneva Auto Show, among other things, with the Qazana concept, which is really “a love it or hate it” kind of affair. As Daniel Patrascu says, the concept is inspired by motorbikes and beach buggies and was built for the simple desire to have fun behind the wheel
Renault put the pedal to the medal the same day with two extremely appealing models, namely the 2009 Renault Megane RS and the Renault Clio RS 200, the sporty versions of their “mundane” Megane and Clio.
The Swiss show was also the launch place for the iosis MAX, the third in Ford's series of iosis concept cars incorporating the company's so-called "kinetic design". Just like the previous concepts, the new model features both interior and exterior design innovations, including new door opening concepts, lightweight materials and advanced aerodynamics.
Nissan's luxury division Infinity showcased a more interesting concept in the form of the Essence, a high-performance hybrid model which puts out out a total output of 600 PS, incorporating both a combustion and an electric engine. Bogdan Popa has more info on the subject.
We ended the day with Aston Martin's One-77 technical showcase at the popular auto show. Click here to find out all the “gory” details of this 7.3l monster outputting in excess of 700 bhp.
Wednesday
The revived Lagonda was finally showcased, obviously at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show, in the form of a four-wheel drive four-seater car. Click here for more details and photos.
Koenigsegg couldn’t stay mum over the whole Geneva thing and they unveiled the NVL Quant, a rear wheel drive vehicle, powered by two AC induction electric motors with variable frequency drive. The twin-motor design eliminates the need for gears or a differential, as they both give constant and controlled power to the rear wheels, in both drive and coast mode.
South Korean automaker Hyundai finally unveiled the ix-onic concept, a prototype model that incorporates several Hyundai firsts as well as a bunch of new features that bring it closer to the "urban nomad" nickname given by its creator, Bogdan Popa reported the same day.
Thursday
After a very enticing teaser at the end of February, Giugiaro finally came out with what they call the fastest and the most ecological hybrid in the world, the Frazer-Nash Namir.
We took a quick Geneva break on Thursday to find out that FOTA has approved a new point system. The new calculation of points will not be based on Bernie Ecclestone's hilarious medals system, but would feature the following format. Mr. Ovidiu Panzariu has more info.
Now back to the event. The long-discussed Yeti SUV designed by the Czech automaker Skoda was unveiled at the European auto show and Mr. Popa has all the details about it.
Friday
Honda had reason to celebrate on the last day of the working week as it was announced the Brackley-based team was sold to Brawn in order to survive financially and make the 2009 F1 grid.Some good news for GM as their European division Vauxhall was voted again the best-selling brand in the United Kingdom. Vauxhall sold a total of 9,372 cars in February in the UK, with Corsa, Astra, Insignia and Zafira included in the top ten best-selling cars top released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Not long after it was announced that Brawn was the new owner of the Honda F1 team, the Brawn Grand Prix Formula One Team revealed the first images of their 2009 challenger, designated BGP 001.
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