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Geneva Motor Show
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Giugiaros and Piech
SWISS SHOW. With no auto industry of its own and a very healthy market,
Switzerland is an important target for manufacturers across the world. Even U.S.
brands not known for their exporting activities sell to wealthy Swiss customers,
who like variety and quality in their car purchases. That makes the annual
Geneva Auto Show one of the great events on the calendar not only for the
salesman, but also for the top brass of the world’s manufacturers. In the
country that has developed the art of neutrality to a fine art, industry bosses
can take a look at what the opposition is up to, and they do. It’s no surprise
to see executives on the competition stands here – in fact it’s almost expected
that at some time during the press preview days, most of the industry bosses
will stroll round the show to see what’s new—occasionally finding an opportunity
to set in motion projects that could see light at some future Geneva show.
Could there be more than casual conversation in a meeting between VW boss
Ferdinand Piech, and Italian designers Giorgetto Giugiaro and son
Fabrizio?
FILO DOUGH. With no show in
Turin this year, the Italian designers have taken the opportunity of the show
closest to their home territory to show off concepts such as the Bertone
Filo--the Italian word for wire. The thinking behind the name is that the car is
a showcase for the next step in automotive technology, the adaptation of
aircraft-style ‘fly-by-wire’ technology to the automotive scene. Built in
collaboration with SKF, the engineering company, Filo’s brakes, throttle and
steering are controlled by means of electronics rather than a mechanical
linkage.The traditional steering-wheel is replaced with an aircraft-type yoke
connected not to a traditional steering column, but as an extension of the front
seat arm-rest that curves round in front of the driver.

2001 Aston Martin Vanquish concept
PERFECT VISION? Will we be
seeing Twenty-Twenty in the near future. Certainly, that’s the hope of
ItalDesign, the Turin styling house that grew from the design genius of
Giorgetto Giugiaro, Working on the base of an Aston Martin DB7 Vantage, Giugiaro
and his son, Fabrizio, have created a smooth convertible that looks true to the
roots and traditions of Aston Martin, but which utilises an innovative
construction system, with a visible aluminum framework that supports the body
panels. Aston Martin collaborated by supplying components for the car, but the
company insists that this is not a lead to how a DB7 replacement might look.
Giugiaro also showed an unusual 4x4 concept. It’s based on a design exercise
that was shown at the Turin show last year, but it has been modified in line
with one of the oldest traditions of the coachbuilders’ art, that of the
custom-built vehicle. The customer in this case is famous photographer Helmut
Newton, who has created a calendar for Italdesign in his own inimitable
style.

2001 Fioravanti Vola concept
AVANTE
FIORAVANTI. Less
well-known internationally, but destined to join the top design ranks is
Leonardo Fioravanti, who cut his teeth in the Pininfarina studios. Now he has
his own company, and his stand at Geneva shows a car that could be unexpectedly
mainstream. It’s a two-seater sports car based on an Alfa Romeo platform, and
named the Vola. Clean and elegant, it features an unusual hardtop, that pivots
forward from its position atop the trunklid.

2002 Lancia Thesis
LUXURY SHINES. In terms of
production cars, it was the luxury segment that was in Geneva’s spotlight.
Italy’s Lancia showed its Thesis sedan, that will go up against the big luxury
newcomer at the show, Jaguar’s X-Type. Thesis was shown as a 2002 model, but it
has some elegant touches that will appeal to more traditional customers, who are
Lancia’s specialty.

2002 Renault Vel Satis
Another 2002 luxury model unveiled at the show was Renault’s Vel
Satis, a car indicative of the stance the French industry giant is taking – of
being the alternative, the car for those who want something that isn’t like all
the others. Vel Satis has styling that that is totally original, and that’s what
will make it sell, according to company bosses. “A top-end sedan doesn’t have to
be German” is Renault’s credo, and the Vel Satis, together with the Avantime GT
car that will go on sale this fall certainly underline that philosophy.
FRENCH FEAST.
Peugeot has a knack for creating stylish small
and medium-size sedans that ride as well as they look, and the 307 is bound to be
another sales success for the company. Bear in mind that the market segment
at which the 307 is aimed accounts for about a third of
the European market and you’ll see why Peugeot is doing very nicely,
thank-you.

2001 Peugeot 307 concept
Even with a brand new model to show, Peugeot still felt the need to
put a concept car on the stand. Called the Camelio, it is a kind of cross
between a European-style mini MPV and a pickup. Since the French company started
by building bicycles and is still one of Europe’s largest bike manufacturers,
the Camelia’s rear bed carries a couple of Peugeot brand mountain
bikes.

2002 Rover 75 Wagon
WAGONS, OH? There’s a
feeling in the industry that the station wagon is about to make a comeback, and
if that’s true, MG Rover have made a timely move by introducing a wagon version
of their 75 sedan. The 75 came out at the same time as the Jaguar S-Type, and
suffered by being compared with the more expensive and more powerful car from
Coventry. The 75 then got involved in the whole BMW/Rover mess, but now that MG
Rover is back on an even keel and making some progress, the 75 is improving its
reputation. The automaker hopes the wagon will increase its appeal by adding
load space to the elegant sedan shape. There’s even a more powerful MG version,
but it’s not been decided whether the concept will be put into
production.

2001 Pininfarina Citroen Concept
OPEN
SESAME. There should be
no trouble getting into the gaping clamshell of the Citroen Concept created by
Sergio Pininfarina. Dubbed the Osee, it’s the latest in a series of prototypes
the designer has brought to Geneva over the years. In contrast to so many of the
show’s prototypes, the Osee is an unusual, mid-engine three-seater. Despite its
supercar ambitions, Pininfarina aims for it to maintain the proven Citroen
qualities. According to André Pininfarina, the third generation of the family to
play a part in the company’s management, the suspension “allows non-aggressive
performance similar to a magic carpet.”

2001 Rinspeed concept
SWISS CHEESE. Switzerland
hasn’t had a car industry since the 1920s, but each year Geneva showcases for a
couple of local companies who always concoct something to grab attention. Franco
Sbarro is an expatriate Italian who has become a part of Swiss motoring lore
with an assortment of oddball designs. The oft-taciturn German-Swiss also have
their wild side, expressed in automotive terms by Rinspeed. This tuning
specialist builds flights of fantasy that it could, if you were crazy enough and
rich enough, build for you. This year’s offering is a single-seater with claims
to a green ecological side symbolised on the show stand by a racing fuel filler
crammed with fruit and vegetables.

2001 Nissan Swiss Cheese concept
Even the major manufacturers are not immune to a little Geneva
craziness. Nissan showed a cube-shaped city car whose blunt nose was totally
devoid of anything remotely resembling a grille. All it had was a pattern of
simple holes that in these surroundings reminded you more than anything else of
a Swiss cheese.

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