This year was the 85th year of the International Motor Show at Geneva and when looking at the line-up before I set off I could tell it was going to be a big one. There was a long list of cars I looked forward to seeing from the world’s leading manufacturers, many of which were unveiled for the very first time.
The show opened to the motoring press on 3rd and 4th of March and we’ve put together a comprehensive list of the best and most cars on show at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show.
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Vulcan
Aston Martin Vantage GT3
Aston Martin DBX
British based luxury car makers Aston Martin came to Geneva this year with speed in mind, displaying an array of performance focused cars on its stand.
First up was the Aston Martin Vulcan. The new limited edition track-only hyper car will rival the likes of the Ferrari FXXK and the McLaren P1 GTR. Only 24 examples of the all-carbon fibre Aston Martin will be made, with more than 800bhp this car promises to deliver extreme performance.
Aston Martin also unveiled its new V12 Vantage GT3 and will be limited to just 100 examples. Boasting 595bhp, huge weight reduction and aero improvements this track focused car won’t be hanging around. A surprising addition on the AM stand came in the form of the DBX crossover concept, a sign that Aston could bring its own SUV to the market in the near future.
Audi
Audi R8
Audi RS3
Audi brought along the second-generation RS3 super-hatch to Geneva. On paper, the RS3 stacks up well against opposition such as the new Ford Focus RS. With a 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo engine that’s capable of producing 362bhp and is displaced to all four wheels via Audi’s famous Quattro system, the hot-hatch will launch from 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds and has a top speed of 174mph.
The new generation of Audi’s R8 Supercar also made its world debut this year at Geneva. Audi say the new R8 will implement the running gear of Lamborghini’s latest baby supercar – the Hurcan, and will be offered in V10 form. There was even a hybrid powered R8 on show and if put into production would rival the likes of BMW’s i8.
Bentley
Bentley EXP 10 Super 6
Bentley Continental GT Speed
Luxury car makers Bentley took Geneva by storm this year when it unveiled its latest concept – the Bentley EXP 10 Super 6.
The all-new hybrid supercar concept will likely rival the likes of the Aston Martin Vanquish. Also making an appearance on the Bentley stand was the new Continental GT Speed.
BMW
BMW 1 Series
BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer
Ten years after its initial launch, premium car brand BMW has treated the 1-series to a face-lift. Almost two million 1 series have been sold since first went on sale and BMW will be hoping for more of the same as it takes on rivals such as the Audi A3 with its updated styling, an upgraded interior and a new range of engines, including three-cylinder engines for the first time.
BMW also unveiled a 7-seater version of the 2 Series Active Tourer, which has been named the Gran Tourer. Apart from the obvious edition of two more seats at the back, the Gran Tourer will remain much the same as the regular 2 Series Active Tourer.
Bugatti
Bugatti Veyron Grand Finale
Bugatti came to this years Geneva Show displaying what it says will be the last ever version of the Bugatti Veyron – aptly named the ‘Veyron Grand Finale’.
Ferrari
Italian stallions Ferrari had a hotly anticipated unveil this year at Geneva, with the successor to the 458 – in the form of the new 488 GTB.
Ferrari’s latest offering will be a rival to the likes of McLaren’s 650S, and tipping their hat to the 308GTB, Ferrari have gone for a mid-to-rear engine supercar. Some Ferrari purists may be concerned with the controversial decision made to turbo charge the V8 found at the heart of the 488GTB. However, this new prancing horse isn’t shy of power, producing 661bhp and 760 Nm of torque, enabling it to reach 0-60mph in just under 3.0 seconds.
Ford
Ford Focus RS
Ford GT
Ford Mustang
Ford is continuing their recent performance car onslaught with the addition of the Focus RS to their ranks. The RS was initially unveiled in Cologne at the beginning of the month – much to the upset of Ferrari who unveiled the 488GTB on the same day. The news of a new Focus RS has excited fans of the hot hatch and with a price tag of around the £30K mark; it makes it an attractive proposition when stacked against rivals such as Audi’s RS3 and the VW Golf R.
Also proudly on display on the Ford stand at Geneva was the new Mustang, which will be released in RHD form in the latter half of 2015.
Honda
Honda Civic Type-R
Honda Jazz
Honda HR-V
Honda NSX
In a similar vein to Ford, Japanese firm Honda have also turned up on the heat in the performance car world after showcasing both a hot hatch and supercar at recent motor shows. The production version of the NSX made its European debut, while the production ready Civic Type R also made its world premiere at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show in a striking Championship White colour scheme. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum for Honda, two new production-ready models – in the form of the European-spec Jazz and new HR-V small crossover – were also on show.
Hyundai
Hyundai i30
Hyundai i20
Korean carmakers Hyundai have updated the i30 range with a new 183bhp turbocharged model, which will make its debut at Geneva. There will also be a sporty new three-door Hyundai i20 Coupe.
Kia
Kia Picanto
Kia Shooting brake concept
Korean firm Kia brought their Picanto model to Geneva this year. The little city car has undergone a recent refresh, complete with a slight re-style, some tech updates and improved emissions to its 1.0-litre petrol engine.
Alongside the Picanto will sit an updated version of the Rio, Venga and Optima (which reportedly will now come in estate form) and the Sorento SUV.
Another big talking point on the Kia stand this year came in the form of the shooting brake concept, further hinting that the firm is keen to make a name in the performance sector of the motoring market.
Koenigsegg
Koenigsegg Agera RS
Koenigsegg Regera
Swedish supercar creator Koenigsegg unveiled a new Agera ‘RS’ at Geneva, which is an even more extreme version of the already frightening Agera R hypercar (which has 1100bhp, and can reach speeds of 250mph). This latest creation from Koenigsegg will be a competitor for the likes of the McLaren P1 GTR and the Ferrari FXXK.
Koenigsegg also had the car of the show (in my opinion) with an all new game changing hypercar – the Regera. The speed shattering performance car (that’s name translates as “to reign”) has 3 electric motors and promises a total power output of 1,782bhp and 2,000Nm of torque.
Lamborghini
Lamborghini Aventador SV
Lamborghini Huracan
Ferrari rival and Italian supercar maker Lamborghini unveiled a new hardcore Aventador SV.
The SV will become one of the fastest road cars Lamborghini has ever produced, with its 6.5-litre V12 mustering around 750bhp and a top speed heading towards 220mph. The new Aventador SV was also on the stand, as was the Aventador Pirelli edition and the new baby of the Lambo line-up – the Huracan.
Lexus
Japanese luxury car makers Lexus brought along a number of new cars to the Geneva show. It looks like the brand is preparing to tackle the premium supermini market with the radical LF-SA concept, although it’s only a concept for now it’s an insightful preview of how the smallest Lexus ever could look.
Lotus
British based sports car manufacturer Lotus debuted their face lifted Evora at the Geneva show, with refreshed styling and a better quality interior. The biggest change is a 15% increase in power over the current car, launched in 2010. The previous Evora produces 276bhp in standard form and 345bhp from the supercharged ‘S’ variant.
Mazda
Mazda had quite a large stand at Geneva this year, with a wide range of new and striking family friendly models on display including the Mazda 2,3,6 and its crossover the CX-3. Also proudly on display was the latest variant of the best selling sports car ever – the MX5.
McLaren
McLaren 650S
McLaren 675LT
McLaren P1 GTR
Woking based car firm McLaren meant business this year at Geneva with several new editions to their line-up, the first of which came in the form of the 675LT.
The car was aptly named based on its power output, which is 675PS (666bhp) and the ‘LT’ harks back to the legendary ‘Long Tail’ McLaren F1 GTR.
Also dominating on the McLaren stand was the P1 GTR, complete in its racing livery, the 650S and the original F1 GTR Longtail.
Mercedes
Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake
Mercedes C-Class PHEV
Mercedes AMG GT3
Mercedes had quite a large stand at Geneva this year with a number of new models on display.
The CLA Shooting Brake small estate made its European debut, as did the C350 plug-in hybrid compact executive saloon. Catering to racing fans Mercedes also had the FIA GT3 racing variant of the new Mercedes-AMG GT supercar on show.
Morgan
According to the British based firm the new Aero8 is the most refined Aero product to date and is a fitting evolution of Morgan’s most technologically advanced range of vehicles. The power plant of the latest derivation in the Aero line-up is a powerful V8 motor. Morgan have combined this with a stiffer all-aluminium chassis, improved the suspension and re-worked the aerodynamic performance of the hand sculpted body.
Nissan
Nissan GT-R NISMO
Nissan 370Z NISMO
Nissan GT-R LM NISMO
Nissan Pulse
Japanese car makers Nissan had quite an impressive stand at Geneva this year with an array of performance vehicles from its NISMO range, including the flagship GTR and 370z. Also on the Nissan stand was its new innovative front wheel drive Le Mans challenger car, which was very impressive to say the least.
On the other end of the scale Nissan had what is said to new successor to the Micra – the Nissan Sway.
Porsche
Porsche 911 GT3 RS
Porsche Cayman GT4
The iconic sports car creator caused quite the stir when they unveiled the most hardcore version of the latest 911 at the Geneva show. The GT3 RS will get a brand-new naturally aspirated six-cylinder engine, and the only gearbox option at launch will be the PDK automatic. The RS will be more even more extreme than the GT3, with weight reduction and aerodynamic modifications
The GT3 RS wasn’t the only hardcore Porsche at Geneva this year, as earlier this month Porsche revealed the all-new Cayman GT4. Billed by Porsche as the most extreme Cayman to date, it harnessed a 380bhp 3.8-litre flat-six engine at its core – the same unit that can be found in 911 Carrera S. With a top speed of 183mph, the Cayman GT4 has a 0-62mph of just 4.4 seconds and will come equipped with a 6 speed manual gearbox. Prices start from £64,195.
Renault
Renault Kadjar
French firm Renault recently announced an all-new midsize crossover SUV, which they will be brought along to Geneva. The Kadjar will face stiff competition though, as they’ll have to take on the likes of the top selling Nissan Qashqai and Mazda’s stylish CX-5.
Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus
SCG003
SCG or Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus unveiled a road legal race car at Geneva 2015 with the SCG003. It will be available in race or road car form with minimal difference between the two – and the company also announced that the SCG003 will be raced at the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
Seat
Seat Leon Cupra ST 280
Spanish firm Seat’s star of Geneva will be the Leon Cupra ST 280, a practical estate that packs performance. The estate variant of this hot hatch will rival the likes of the Golf R estate and for around £29,000 you will get yourself a spacious boot with 587-litre of space and a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with 276bhp under the bonnet. Top speed is 155mph, with 42.8mpg fuel economy and CO2 emissions of 154g/km.
If that’s something that interests you then you should know that the Cupra ST 280 is set to go on sale in the middle of this year.
Skoda
Skoda Superb
Skoda unveiled the third-generation of their Superb range at this years Geneva show. The Czech firm say there’ll be five petrol engines available for the new Superb – from a 123bhp 1.4-litre with active cylinder management to a 276bhp 2.0 – and three diesels, from an 118bhp 1.6 GreenLine to a 187bhp 2.0. The UK will definitely get the diesel range, while discussions about the petrol engines are ongoing. Sources estimate the price will kick off at around £20,000, rising to £35,000 for top models and its expected it will reach our showrooms in the middle of 2015.
Vauxhall
Vauxhall Viva
Vauxhall Corsa VXR
Vauxhall took its new city car to Geneva, reviving the iconic ‘Viva’ name from the 1970s. It will take on rivals such as Skoda’s Citigo and the Hyundai i10 – and is expected to get a starting price of under £8,000 when it goes on sale in Spring 2015.
Also debuting for Vauxhall at this year’s Geneva show was the second-generation Corsa VXR. The recently revealed small hatchback has a noteworthy 202bhp, which comes from its 1.6-litre turbocharged engine. With a 0-62mph time of 6.8 seconds and the option of a limited-slip differential, Vauxhall will be set on taking on the likes of the Fiesta ST. Prices will start at just under £20,000 and it is expected to go on sale in May.
Volkswagen
Volkswagen Golf GTD Estate
German firm Volkswagen took its new hot estate to Geneva. However unlike the aforementioned petrol-powered SEAT Cupra ST 280, the Golf GTD is a diesel-powered estate that’s looking to take on Ford’s recently launched Focus ST diesel estate. Despite being diesel powered, the Golf GTD Estate has a decent amount of power – producing 181bhp – yet is still capable of achieving 64mpg and comes with a spacious 620-litre boot, all for a cost of just over £27,000.
Click here to see our full album of pictures from Geneva motor show.