Last weekend I was at Geneva to analyse the automotive market and I saw beautiful things that I want to share with you.
First of all, I’m going to write about the best projects and products for me but there is a lot of interesting other ones.
6 – Holy Star by Holy Spokes
Well, I’m starting this top 6 with a motorcycle. That’s why it is a top 6 and not a top 5. I really wanted to share this because it’s a particular little vehicle. It’s made by Holy Spokes. The 7 cylinders engine is radial like we used to design for aircraft some times ago. It’s a real challenge to put such an engine in a tiny motorcycle. It’s not optimized at all for that kind of vehicle but the entire motorcycle looks formidably vintage.
5 – RUF CTR
RUF has been founded 80 years ago now. For this anniversary I really want to integrate the RUF CTR 2017 derived from the first CTR 1987 to this top 5. This is not a newbie but this car is again present at Geneva Palexpo and it’s for me the most beautiful prepared car I’ve ever seen. Sincerely, the Porsche expression and the RUF modern touch are beautifully mixed to shape this CTR. LED lights are really worked to fit the spirit of this car. Porsche new cars are unbelievable but clearly RUF cars are pushing the limits between sportiveness and minimalism. That gives me a real interest in those automobiles.
4 – Espera Sbarro RENNER
I was invited to the Geneva Motorshow by my university because the UTBM get a partnership with Espera Sbarro. So, I couldn’t not visit their stand. I have been really surprised by the quality of the work. Like every year Espera Sbarro students realize a project they present to the Geneva Motorshow. Last year that was a futuristic single seater named Dilemme, this year it’s a tribute to GT cars of the 60’s. The RENNER is inspired by the Porsche 904. Incredible fact : this car has been built in 56 days. Considering the quality of the bodywork and the interiors this is a feat. As UTBM student, I know that we can push the limits to get speed results but trust me this is totally amazing to build such a car in less than 60 days. So congratulations to the Espera Sbarro team (students & teachers) for this beautiful tribute.
3 – Citroen Ami One concept
Citroën is 100 years old this year. To celebrate that, Citroën present a new 100% electrical urban concept car : AMI ONE. This cube car isn’t just another little car that we will not be noticed. This one was designed to be economical with a lot of identical parts. Moreover, this tiny car looks extremely acidulated to make your city dweller day colored. The designer & leather worker Damien Béal collaborated with Citroën to create a collection of bag related to the interior of this car to keep AMI ONE’s energy with you all the day.
2 – Bugatti La Voiture Noire
Bugatti… another French brand. This year is really special for Bugatti because they break their tradition to produce little series of car to produce a single car. Due to that particularity, this car worth 16.5M euros, which make it the most expansive car of all time. Why they named it La Voiture Noire ? Because for their 110 years Bugatti want to make a tribute to the Bugatti Atlantic designed by Jean Bugatti in 1934. A car that really looks classical now but was modern during his commercial period. La Voiture Noire means The Black Car in French and referred directly to the teint of the Atlantic Bugatti. The architecture isn’t really the same due to norms and actual frame I think. Actually, the car doesn’t look like the original car but it’s clearly a piece of art. Central part of the front cover is worked in a way that we hadn’t seen from a long time ago at Bugatti. Front wheel arches slightly stand out to ensure a nod to the Type 57S (Atlantic). Even if the shape isn’t really the same the mystic appearance is respected. That car draine as people as the Ferrari stand.
1 – Piëch Mark Zero
Piëch is a name we haven’t seen for a long time in the foreground of automobile sector. To briefly sum up Ferdinand Piëch is part of the Porsche family. He owns the Salzburg racing team during 70’s. It has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 with a Porsche 917. He’s also the instigator of the Audi Quattro project. Ferdinand Piëch is more than a businessman, he is a formidable engineer with significant intransigence. That intransigence permits to a lot of projects that he manages to succeed. Ferdinand Piëch is now 81 years old so this Mark Zero isn’t a project of Ferdinand but a project of his son Anton Piëch and an industrial Designer named Rea Stark Rajcic. They would like to create a new generation GT integrating the most advanced electrical powertrain. And it seems aesthetically successful. But I always though that electric cars are not a real solution first of all because of the autonomy and then the time to charge the batteries. The Piëch teams think more than just delivering an electric vehicle, they think to the user experience. So they present a charging station with the car that is able to charge 80% of the car batteries in less than 5 minutes. Is it true or pure optimistic view ? We don’t know but there’s just those kind of arguments that can bring consumers to use electric cars. Concerning car specification, it’s a 1.8 tons car with 620hp and 500km WLTP range autonomy.
Conclusion
To conclude this review of my Geneva Motor Show tour, I have appreciated the organization of this international Motor Show. There is less brands than last year’s event but those present are showing advanced technology and shape and that’s clearly the role of that kind of event. I’m a little bit disappointed I didn’t see hydrogen cars.