Geneva 2015: The Hyper Cars

While Toyota and Volkswagen claim to have produced more than 10 million cars in 2014, most of the manufacturers that grab the headlines at the Geneva motor show are the ones that make one-millionth as many. Like Koenigsegg for instance: to take on McLaren’s P1, Ferrari’s LaFerrari and Porsche’s 918 Spyder (all hybrid supercars that have been grabbing headlines in the rather recent past) the Swedish supercar maker has come up with one that is claimed to be even more powerful. The Regera – Swedish for reign – is capable of a staggering 1,500bhp! And, at a price of US$ 1.9 million (Rs 12 crores), a handful, at most, will be made every year.   

The Geneva motor show, more than any other show in the world, is the place to check out all these highly-specialized small scale ‘cottage industry’ carmakers, many of whom are showcasing either cutting edge technology or amazing craftsmanship. With the 1,100bhp twin-turbo V8 working in tandem with a 700-horsepower electric motor, the Regera has the potential to develop more than 1,500bhp, good enough for a V-max that could very well top the Hennessey Venom’s 435km/h, other than leaving the Bugatti Veyron in the dust…

About time, one may say, as the almost-a-veteran ten-year-old Veyron bid ‘goodbye’ with the Final, a red-and-carbon-black one-off that is the 450th Bugatti produced under VW-stewardship. The car already has an anonymous buyer in the Middle-East for a price that is estimated at € 2.3 million (Rs 16 crores). Geneva was also the occasion for Volkswagen Group sibling Bentley to showcase the EXP-10, a relatively-smaller sports coupé concept that is underpinned by a new modular platform that will be used for the development of several other models for the four prestige brands of the Group: Porsche, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Bentley.

Fellow compatriot unveiled the Mercedes-Maybach S 600 Pullman, a 6.5 meters long limousine that, not only revives the Maybach brand once again, but brings back sybaritic luxury of the highest level, with the rear a real living room: pivoting and reclining seats, an 18.5-inch TV screen, and much else. With a little less space, but with much greater style and panache the Lagonda Taraf concept from Aston Martin regaled selective clients and special guests, hidden within the Aston stand. With styling cues that hark back to the 1970s Lagonda, the new design is much better proportioned, yet no less dramatic.          

Of much greater drama though were two new Astons outside, in the open: the DBX crossover concept and the Vulcan, a serious performance machine, with a sequential six-speed gearbox, monocoque carbon fiber chassis, carbon-ceramic brakes and 800bhp from a 7.0-litre V12. Apart from a spectacularly aerodynamic form, the lights and the minimalist grille may indicate a change of design orientation of the brand, which, I get the feeling, may not be a bad thing. At € 2.5 million (Rs 17 crores), the Vulcan isn’t exactly for everyone, but selling the 24 units that they plan to, should not be difficult.

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Rounding out the performance big-hitters were the once-again facelifted GTA Spano from Spain, the Danish Zenvo and the American Glickenhaus prototypes. Featuring a V10 Dodge Viper powerpack boosted by two turbochargers to get to 925bhp, the Spano has been trying to break into the ranks of the hypercar market for a while now, as has been the 1,100bhp Zenvo, but rather challenging styling for both these cars have deterred enthusiasts from flocking to either. American moviemaker and businessman James Glickenhaus, known for his collection of cars and for having commissioned a one-off Ferrari, the P4/5, has decided to take the plunge and make his own car. The spectacular SCG 003, presented in road racing version, as well as in street legal form, is a purposeful, yet appealing design, a ready-to-race car that is set up for the GT3 class of endurance racing. Price? Starting at € 2.1 million (Rs 14 crores)…

Crazy prices, absurd engine outputs, wacko performance figures – who said that there was a crisis, that people were downsizing, that green was in? With the first sign of economic recovery, with falling oil prices, and with the sales of cars in Europe finally heading north, not only is confidence back, but so is chutzpah and ambition, with the show at Geneva throwing up a delectable mix of the fast, the furious and the utterly insane.