Geneva motor show's greatest ever reveals

The 2018 Geneva Motor Show is right around the corner.

It’s where auto-makers from all over the spectrum have historically gathered to flaunt their latest and greatest models, and it doesn’t look like this year’s edition will disappoint. To whet your appetite, we’re taking a look at some of the most interesting cars shown at the event over the years. 

Simca Fulgur (1959)

The phrase ‘future of mobility’ that gets regularly tossed around the automotive industry isn’t new. In the 1950s, the future of mobility looked just as wild as it does today. Take the 1959 Simca Fulgur concept, for example. It illustrated the French firm’s vision of a family car for the year 2000.

Designed by Robert Opron, the Fulgur came with an atomic-electric (!) hybrid drivetrain that offered a 3100-mile range. Simca already envisioned embedding an on-the-go wireless charging system into public roads. The concept’s front wheels retracted into the body above 93 mph so the driver steered the car using the massive wing on the back. The specifications sheet also listed an electronic suspension, a screen in lieu of analogue gauges and radars that scoped out the road ahead. It didn't make production.

Jaguar E-Type (1961)

The E-Type opened a new chapter in the story of Jaguar design. It turned heads at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show with a contemporary look characterized by swept-back headlights, an extra-long hood and an almost fastback-like silhouette. At launch, the E-Type used a 3.8-litre straight-six engine. Jaguar later filled the cavernous space under the hood with a V12.

Peugeot 504 Coupe and Cabriolet (1969)

The Peugeot 504 saloon made its public debut in 1968. The French company teamed up with Pininfarina to introduce the Coupe and Cabriolet variants the following year at the Geneva show. Both offered style, power and a well-appointed interior at a reasonable price point.

While Peugeot sold the standard 504 in America, it decided not to ship the Coupe and Cabriolet models across the pond for reasons that remain murky today. It’s too bad. The 504 was one of Peugeot’s most popular models in the US and we think both two-door body styles would have sold fairly well. 

Lamborghini LP500 prototype (1971)

Lamborghini wasn’t even a decade old when it unveiled a prototype named LP500 at the 1971 Geneva show. The name revealed a lot about the car. LP stood for longitudinale posteriore, which means longitudinal-rear and refers to the direction and location of the V12 engine. 500 denoted its 5.0-litre displacement. Painted bright yellow, the concept commanded everyone’s attention thanks a wedge-shaped body penned by Bertone and a pair of scissor doors.

Stylists tweaked the LP500 concept into the Countach, which took the torch from the Miura in 1974. Numerous little details changed (like the shape of the air vents) but the silhouette made the leap from concept to production without major modifications. That sealed the concept’s fate, unfortunately. It was so close to the production model that Lamborghini sacrificed it as a crash test mule.

Volkswagen Scirocco (1974)

Imagine visiting Volkswagen’s stand at the 1974 Geneva show and seeing the brand-new Scirocco. The Golf wasn’t out yet at the time so the coupe shared floor space with the usual assortment of rear-engined, air-cooled cars like the Beetle that hadn’t undergone significant changes in decades. It must have looked completely out of place. And yet, it announced the dramatic technical and visual turn the brand would soon make. It also signalled the end of the Karmann-Ghia’s 19-year production run.

Peugeot 604 (1975)

The public’s positive response to the 504 convinced Peugeot there existed a market for a flagship model. Appropriately named 604, it competed in the same segment as the Renault 30 introduced that same year and the Citroen CX unveiled the previous year in Paris. It was a commercial flop, however. Critics argued it looked too bland and complained it wasn’t quick enough, even when fitted with a V6.

Unlike its rivals, Peugeot tried selling its range-topping model in America. In 1977, the 604 carried a base price of $10,990 (about $45,000 today). To put that figure into perspective, that same year a Mercedes-Benz 280E cost $16,616 and a Jaguar XJ6 started at $15,000 ($68,000 and $61,000, respectively). The Peugeot was a bargain compared to its rivals but Americans shunned it.

Monteverdi Safari (1977)

Swiss boutique car manufacturer Monteverdi announced the Safari, a luxurious SUV based on the International-Harvester Scout, at the 1977 Geneva show. It distributed pamphlets to interested buyers that highlighted the car’s main features, including a frame designed in-house. Manufacturing the chassis proved too expensive so the Monteverdi’s Range Rover competitor launched on the Scout’s frame.

Audi Quattro (1980)

Today, we take all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive for granted. 4Motion, xDrive, 4Matic and All4 have entered the automotive dictionary. Up until the 1970s, the best option for getting horsepower at all four wheels was buying a Jeep. That changed in 1980 when Audi introduced the Quattro.

Audi made the original Quattro for homologation reasons. The coupe dominated rally events across the globe until rivals caught on and built their own four-wheel drive systems. 

Ferrari 288 GTO (1984)

The Ferrari 288 GTO must have confused show-goers in 1984. To the untrained eye, it looked like a 308 GTB lazily updated with different lights and a more aggressive-looking body kit. There’s much more to the story. As Ferrari explained in Geneva, it was a race car designed for Group B Circuit Racing events and sold to the public only to satisfy homologation requirements. Ferrari built 207 examples, enough to homologate the car, but the Group B Circuit Racing series got cancelled and the 288 GTO never raced.

Today, they are extremely valuable. A 1985 example was sold at auction in 2016 for US$2.1 million (£1.5 million).

Volvo 480 (1986)

The Volvo 480 made its public debut at the 1986 Geneva Motor Show. It was an important model for the Swedish brand. It stood out as the first front-wheel drive Volvo and it looked like none of its predecessors. In Geneva, Volvo also announced the then-upcoming launch of a turbocharged 480.

The safety reflectors on both ends signal Volvo’s brave intent to sell the 480 in America. It was, for all intents and purposes, a US-spec model right out of the box. The company cancelled its trans-Atlantic plans due to the unfavourable exchange rate between the dollar and the Swedish krona. 

Mercedes-Benz SL (R129, 1989)

The Mercedes-Benz SL introduced in 1989 broke all visual ties with the outgoing model. Admittedly, that surprised no one. While the R107 SL had changed little since it arrived on the market in 1971, Mercedes had gone through two distinctly different design languages by the time the R129 broke cover in Geneva. Company insiders suggest Mercedes began developing a successor to the R107 in the 1970s but it put the project on hiatus to focus on the W201 190, the so-called Baby Benz.

The R129 went on sale with six- and eight-cylinder engines. It later became the first factory-built SL powered by a V12. While it shared many of its mechanical components with the S-Class, it used an evolution of the platform found under the W124, the E-Class first introduced in 1984.

Volkswagen Golf Country (1989)

In 1989, Volkswagen announced its intention to plant the second-generation Golf in the same segment as the Lada Niva and the Fiat Panda 4x4. This was news. The Golf Country came with a suspension lift, skid plates to protect vital mechanical components and bull bars on both ends. It wasn’t all about looks, though. Volkswagen’s Syncro four-wheel drive system made the Country seriously capable off the beaten path. But while about 3000 examples found a home, it must not have lived up to expectations. It was Volkswagen’s first, last, and only Golf Country. 

Looking at today's car market with its many high-riding models, it was ahead of its time.

Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W140, 1991)

It takes years for Mercedes-Benz to develop an S-Class. The company started designing the W140-generation model in 1981, about two years after its predecessor, the W126, went on sale. The W140 should have appeared in 1989 but Mercedes reportedly pushed back the launch in response to the original Lexus LS, which arrived that same year. When it finally broke cover, the stately S-Class stood out as the most technologically advanced saloons available anywhere in the world.

Audi A8 (first generation, 1994)

With the original A8, Audi finally had a car to take on Mercedes-Benz and BMW in the upper echelons of the market. The company’s flagship looked the part, and its powerful engine options bolstered its range-topping status, but credibly taking on Germany’s finest was easier said than done. Luckily, it had two tricks up its sleeve to lure buyers into showrooms.

Audi made its Quattro all-wheel drive system available on the A8. The system added traction and, inevitably, weight. Well ahead of its time, the German company relied on aluminium to offset the extra weight and increase structural rigidity. 

Volkswagen Concept 1 Cabriolet (1994)

The Volkswagen Concept 1 introduced at the 1994 Detroit motor show remains the yardstick by which to measure the popularity of a concept car. Headlines in dozens of languages boomed about the Beetle’s retro-fantastic heir. The public and the press couldn’t get enough of it. The Concept One Cabriolet unveiled shortly after at the Geneva show generated the same kind of response.

Volkswagen’s miserably unadventurous 1990s line-up needed a car like the Concept One. Executives swiftly gave the design study the proverbial green light for production and engineers spent the next few years honing it into something the company could profitably build and sell. The production model broke cover at the 1998 Detroit Motor Show.

Mercedes-Benz Vario Research Car (1995)

Mercedes-Benz unveiled a four-in-one concept car that, while never approved for production, had a formative influence on the brand and its identity. Users could configure the Vario Research Car (VRC) as a coupe, a pickup, a convertible or a tall people-mover by simply removing the top. The procedure took no more than 15 minutes, according to Mercedes.

Obvious safety, cost and packaging concerns quickly banished the concept to the automotive attic. Besides, Mercedes already made coupes and convertibles, and it was well into the SLK’s development cycle, so it didn’t need more two-doors. A pickup would have stretched the brand too far – no one dared imagine the X-Class back then. The idea of a people-mover took roots in Stuttgart, however, and eventually blossomed into the original A-Class in 1997. Like VRC, the A rode on a front-wheel drive platform, a first for a Mercedes-badged production car.

Volkswagen W12 Roadster (1998)

The W12 Roadster concept hails from an era when Volkswagen thought it could conquer the world. With the lull of the 1990s behind it, the Wolfsburg-based firm explored how to make a splash by expanding into unexpected segments. The W12 Syncro introduced in Tokyo in 1997 previewed what a Ferrari-fighting Volkswagen could look like. The W12 Roadster shown in Geneva the next year followed the same path but without a roof.

Volkswagen had other grand plans at the time. The 1999 Concept D became the Phaeton, which was available with 10- and 12-cylinder engines. The Passat received a W8. The AAC Concept from 2000 loosely previewed the original Touareg. The W12 supercar remained a chimera, however.

Ford Focus Cosworth Concept (1999)

Ford bought famed British engineer Cosworth in 1998. It celebrated the purchase (and its decades-long partnership with its new acquisition) by showing a Focus-based concept car in 1999. The aptly-named Focus Cosworth Concept was presented as the latest in a long line of Cosworth-tuned Ford economy cars built to go flat-out on asphalt or gravel.

Starting with a standard two-door Focus, Cosworth added blacked-out lights on both ends, fender flares and a lowered, sport-tuned suspension. Power came from a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that channelled an estimated 200hp to the four wheels through a five-speed manual transmission.

The Focus Cosworth Concept remained just that: a concept. It was an influential one, however. Every generation of the Focus RS traces its roots to the Cosworth Concept. 

Smart Crossblade (2001)

Smart showed the Fortwo’s fun side with a concept named Crossblade. Edgier than the standard city car, it came without a windshield, without a top of any kind and with doors that looked like the barriers you’d expect to find blocking your way at a toll booth.

Smart stressed it built the two-seater to turn heads on the auto show circuit, not to preview a production model. Surprisingly, the Crossblade was considered street-legal in Europe. Also surprisingly, it landed in showrooms in June of 2002, though Smart capped production at 2000 examples. 

Alfa Romeo Kamal (2003)

Armed with an unusually high amount of foresight, Alfa Romeo could have beat many of its rivals to the lucrative luxury SUV segment. The 2003 Kamal concept showed how to inject the brand’s DNA into a soft-roader that looked sporty and drove fairly well. It would have been relatively cost-efficient to build because it sat on the same platform as the Brera and the 159. Alfa entered one of the darkest periods of its history shortly after and the Kamal remained a design study.

The first modern-day Alfa Romeo SUV, the Stelvio, made its debut at the 2016 Los Angeles Motor Show, over 13 years after the Kamal broke cover. Meanwhile the BMW X3, one of its main rivals, is now into its third generation.

Porsche Carrera GT (2003)

Porsche wants to gradually move away from the auto show circuit, but it’s almost guaranteed to have a presence in Geneva. It made waves at the 2003 edition of the show by presenting the production version of the Carrera GT concept from 2000. In hindsight, it was the last old-fashioned Porsche supercar. Its naturally-aspirated 5.7-litre V10 engine used no electric assistance and spun the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission.

Its successor, the 918 Spyder, adopted an advanced plug-in hybrid powertrain and a dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Fiat Trepiuno (2004)

In 2004, shortly after the Geneva show, Fiat told Autocar that ‘the Trepiuno probably won’t be made.’ With hindsight, the design study (whose name means ‘three plus one’ in Italian) served as an accurate preview of the modern-day 500 introduced in 2007. It got bigger as it transitioned into a production model, and it became a four-seater rather than a three-seater, but its overall design remained largely the same. It still looks the same, in fact. 

Maybach 57S (2005)

For decades, Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler didn’t need to worry about Bentley and Rolls-Royce. Both were under-funded, firmly entrenched in the past and neither presented a significant threat. The landscape changed when Bentley joined Volkswagen and BMW acquired Rolls-Royce.

In response, Daimler resurrected its long-dormant Maybach brand in 2002 with two models named 57 and 62, respectively. The 57S shown in Geneva in 2005 gave buyers a sportier option powered by a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12. Other special variants (including the eye-wateringly expensive 62 Landaulet) failed to keep the brand afloat. Faced with mounting losses, Daimler shut it down in late 2012. The name has since returned as a top-of-the range trim on the S-Class.

Porsche 911 GT3 (997, 2006)

The 997-series Porsche 911 GT3 arrived at the 2006 edition of the Geneva show. Like the previous 996-based model, it put a strong emphasis on track-oriented performance with a 415hp 3.6-liter flat-six engine and a stripped-out interior. This year, Porsche will introduce the updated 2019 911 GT3 RS. It’s a swan song for the current 991-generation 911.

Mini Rocketman concept (2011)

Mini built the Rocketman concept to illustrate what a car positioned below the Hardtop could look like. It was a so-called mini Mini that stayed true to the original 1959 model’s ethos. Company officials acknowledged the Rocketman would make for an interesting production car, especially if equipped with an electric powertrain, but it sounds like they decided to shift the concept to the backburner. 

Rolls-Royce 102EX (2011)

With the experimental 102EX, Rolls-Royce tested its customers’ reaction to an all-electric model. With few exceptions, they courteously replied ‘thanks but no thanks.’ The feedback the company gathered suggested the average Rolls-Royce owner had, at the time, zero interest in re-charging a car like an iPhone or dealing with range anxiety. Rolls-Royce stopped the project in its tracks and focused on what buyers actually wanted: massive V12 engines.

Times change, markets evolve and the idea of an electric Rolls-Royce echoes louder than ever. Executives also confirmed a plug-in hybrid model is in the cards. Electrification is coming to the brand after all. So is an SUV, and you can bet they won’t be mutually exclusive.

Volkswagen XL1 (2013)

Volkswagen designed the XL1 to be as efficient as the Bugatti Veyron was fast. For the German firm, the XL1 represented the result of a development process that began in 2002 with the launch of the original 1-Litre prototype. Volkswagen kept its promise of using the lessons learned from the numerous concept cars and prototypes to build a production model but there was a big catch. It limited production of its super-commuter to 200 units and priced each one at £98,515 (around US$148,000 at the time).

For many buyers, Volkswagen’s asking price was only slightly less than an insult. Those able – and willing – to foot the bill got one of the most aerodynamic and technologically advanced cars on the market. Its diesel-electric plug-in hybrid powertrain and its low weight helped return 313mpg on the combined cycle. At the 2014 Paris Motor Show, Volkswagen teased us with the prospect of a Ducati-powered XL1 named XL Sport but the concept never reached production.

Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (2016)

Geneva is normally not where you go to see the newest Chevrolet Corvette. The brand typically hosts its major sports car debut at the Detroit or Los Angeles shows. It made an inexplicably surprising exception in 2016 when it chose to reveal the Grand Sport model at the Swiss show. The Grand Sport is a mid-range model many have described as the thinking man’s ‘Vette because it offers the Z06’s track-derived handling hardware without the supercharged engine – or the supercharged price.

The 2018 show

As we approach this year’s edition of the Geneva show, we have a better-than-decent idea of what to expect. It’s a big one. The highlights include the next-generation Audi A6, Bentley’s first plug-in hybrid model, the racing-inspired Ferrari 488 Pista (pictured), the first two-door Range Rover in decades, AMG’s first standalone four-door saloon, Porsche’s most powerful naturally-aspirated 911 and Volvo’s newest estate. And, as a bonus, we’ll even see a 21st century interpretation of the Lancia Stratos.

The event opens to the public on Thursday March 8th, until March 18th. The first press day is on Tuesday March 6th, and Autocar will have full coverage - please join us then.