2005 Geneva Motor Show Index by TCC Team
(2/13/2005)
A mini-MPV concept from
Hyundai, the first Lexus diesel, an all-new luxury Citroen and the convertible
version of the Ferrari F430 are the latest additions to the list of new cars to
be unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show, which opens to the public on March 3. They
join new production cars from Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Mazda, Subaru, and Bentley, plus
concepts from Nissan and others yet to be announced, in a flow of introductions
that underline the Salon de
l’automobile’s standing as the world’s most
truly international auto show.
Mazda
Miata

2006 Mazda Miata
Mazda has issued a tease picture of
the all-new Miata (sold in Europe as the MX5) clad in the disguise-panels
designed to spoil the day of spy photographers such as TCC's Brenda Priddy. The
wraps will come off (literally) at a press conference to be held on Tuesday
March 1 at the Geneva show. Naturally, TCC will be there to
bring news and pictures as they happen over in
Switzerland.
—Ian
Norris
Hyundai HED-1

2005 Hyundai HED-1 concept
The Hyundai concept, the HED-1,
follows up on themes already explored in the E3 concept first shown last year.
Hyundai sees the two styling studies as conversation-starters on the subject of
future MPVs designed with city use as a major part of their owners’ lifestyles.
Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer
at Hyundai’s European design studio near
Frankfurt, said of the concept: “As our customers demand
more flexibility, and ever-increasing levels of quality and sophistication,
total concept cars such as the HED-1 allow us to prepare for these demands, but
also to gauge the reaction of potential future customers.”
Lexus IS
Lexus will bow to the importance
of the
Geneva
show by choosing it for the world premiere of the new IS sedan. It will also
show its awareness of the importance of the European market by displaying the
car with the first diesel engine to power a Lexus. Led by Mercedes and BMW,
European luxury manufacturers are finding that a diesel option is vital for
success in the business-car market. Lexus’ introduction of a diesel for its
smaller sedan shows
Toyota's upmarket arm is able to respond to market forces —
although it is among the last of the top manufacturers to offer
a diesel.
Citroen
C6

2005 Citroen C6
The Lexus will face a new
competitor in
Europe in the shape of the
Citroen C6, a new top-of-the-line car from the French manufacturer. Citroen has
been without a luxury sedan for some time, but in the year that marks the
fiftieth anniversary of the introduction of the legendary DS series, the company
is about to unveil a car that follows the pattern set by its illustrious
forebear.
The C6 lacks the radical elements of styling and
engineering that marked the DS, but it promises to be a worthy successor as a
smooth and comfortable freeway cruiser. Powered by new V-6 engines, a 3.0-liter
gasoline unit providing 215 hp and a 208-hp 2.7-liter diesel, both linked to
six-speed gearboxes, the car features a new active suspension design with
variable dampers. Comfortable cruising is high on the designers’ list of
priorities for the C6, and the interior is meant to make the occupants feel at
home —
Citroen describes the ambience, which is influenced by
modern furniture design, as “a rolling living room.” One feature that isn’t from
the past is the provision of a head-up display for the
driver.
Exterior styling has the family
style of other Citroens introduced since the company took the line of returning
to its roots and providing cars for individualist. There’s a hint of the DS in
the car’s smooth lines and the lack of a trunk as a prominent feature of the
overall design.
Ferrari F430
Spider

2005 Ferrari F430 Spider
The rear end of the C6
is noticeable for a convex rear window, and Ferrari’s new F430 Spider,
the convertible version of the much-praised F430 coupe announced last year, also
has a different look behind the cockpit. The Spider’s soft top has a rear
window that will bring back memories of those used in Ford products on both sides
of the Atlantic back in the 1950s and ’60s. Nearer to the vertical than the
reverse slope windows found in the Mercury and British Anglia models, it sits
close behind the seat backs, leaving room for a glass cover for the engine
compartment that leaves the 490-hp, 4308-cc V-8 open to public gaze.
Fitting a compact
electrically-powered top to a mid-engine car like the F430 must have posed
problems to the designers at Pininfarina, which is responsible for the shape of
the Spider and the F430 coupe.
The Spider embodies
all the F1-derived technology that was introduced with the coupe, enabling it
to record a 193-mph top speed and a zero-to-100 km/h (62 mph) time of 4.1
seconds.
Dodge
Caliber

2005 Dodge Caliber Concept
A concept car from Dodge will take the
stand at the Geneva Motor Show —
and likely will appear in
U.S.
showrooms in early 2006 as the
replacement for the Neon sedan. The five-door Caliber concept is a striking
hatchback with global intentions; Dodge says the vehicle is what it's planning
for worldwide markets as the Dodge name is about to be brought to Europe. The
concept sports the crosshair Dodge grille atop a C-segment chassis that's shod
with 19-inch wheels. No powertrain has been announced but Chrysler officials
reference the coming range of global four-cylinders as potential powerplants for
a production Caliber. Dodge's planned introduction into the European market is
scheduled for 2006. The
Geneva
show opens to the press on March
1.
Alfa
Romeo Brera

2006 Alfa Romeo Brea
Alfa
Romeo will use the
Geneva
auto show as the launch platform for a
glamorous new coupe, the Brera. The car takes its styling keynotes and name from
a concept shown in
Geneva
in 2002 by famed Italian designer
Giorgetto Giugiaro. That Brera was obviously much more than a concept, however,
for it made a number of public appearances where it was driven under its own
power, something that most concepts are not capable of doing. It was the star of
the show three years ago, and it is no surprise that it now sees the light of
day as a production model.
A two-door 2+2 coupe, the Brera is of comfortable size
—
72 inches wide, 174 inches in length and 54 inches high —
but its style, with deeply tapering lines
at the front and rear, ensures it does not look bulky. A unique feature is the
glass roof, which provides natural light for all four occupants and avoids the
enclosed feeling rear passengers have in some 2+2 coupes.
The car will be available in three trim levels, and
there will be a choice of three power units: a 2.4-liter turbo-diesel producing
200 hp and two gasoline engines, a 185-hp 2.2-liter and an exciting
top-of-the-range 3.2-liter good for 320 hp. Automatic or six-speed manual
gearboxes will be available, suspension is quadrilateral at the front and
multilink at the rear and Alfa's Q4 traction-control will be fitted on some
versions. The car goes on sale at the end of this year. —Ian
Norris
Subaru
R1

2006 Subaru Minicar
Subaru
has taken the unusual step of giving two new models their European debut at
Geneva — although neither will be sold in
Europe . The fact that the two cars are aimed
one at the Japanese market and one at the USA emphasizes the international
importance of the Geneva show, which will be reported in depth in both the US
and Japan as well as all over the rest of the world.
Geneva
will give the
Japanese firm more bang for its promotional buck.
The
Japanese market introduction is the R1, a minicar that has just gone on sale in
Japan
in that county's important
'K-car' segment for cars of a maximum of 660cc. Despite its diminutive size and
engine capacity, the R1 boasts all-wheel drive and CVT (continuously variable
transmission). The body, whose shape is likened by Subaru to an egg, contains a
luxurious interior designed for the driver and one passenger.
Also
available with two-wheel drive, the R1 is one of the most fuel-efficient cars in
Japan
. It also complies with new
Japanese regulations, which demand a fifty percent reduction over 2005 levels,
to be considered as an Ultra Low Emissions vehicle.
The
second Subaru is more likely to have Europeans salivating over something they
cannot have. It's the B9 Tribeca SUV, which, as its name implies, is mainly for
the
US
market. The big seven-seat off-roader is a
new departure for Subaru, which although it is one of the
world's leading manufacturers of all-wheel drive cars, has never produced an SUV. With seven seats
and a 3.0-liter flat-six engine, the Tribeca is quite a change for
the company.
To
be produced at Subaru's plant in Indiana, the
Tribeca will be sold only in the U.S., Canada , and Chile. With its
aggressive style and luxurious interior, the Tribeca could persuade a few Swiss
buyers to book tickets to Santiago. — Ian Norris
Nissan
Zaroot
Nissan is another
company that will show a new concept at the
Geneva
show in early March. The Zaroot is
billed as Nissan's view of how sporty SUVs could look in the future, combining
SUV values with futuristic styling that includes gullwing doors. The doors
stretch from the windshield pillar back to the rear of the passenger
compartment, giving access to both front and rear seats on each side. The design
cuts out the normal B-pillar, but the look is not one that could warrant the old
coachbuilder's term of pillarless, since the rear edge of the door is
considerably thick.
The overall look of
the vehicle is tough, with aesthetics that follow those of a real off-roader
such as a Jeep rather than the soft-roaders that have become a Japanese
specialty. Judgment on the design will have to wait until the Zaroot has been
seen in the metal, but it must be said that gullwing doors were first seen in
the 1950s from Mercedes and the "window in a window" format this concept uses
was featured in the 1989 Subaru concept that went into production in 1992 as the
SVX coupe.
On the
production-car front, Nissan has announced that it will add another model to those produced
at its plant in Sunderland, England , from
2007. The new car, codenamed P32L, is based on the Qashqai concept car unveiled
at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show. This was the first model to be styled at Nissan
Design Europe in Paddington, London . It was developed at Nissan Technical
Centre Europe in Bedfordshire, U.K.
Qashqai, pronounced
"Cash-Ky," is a crossover vehicle, part people-carrier, part hatchback, with
available all-wheel drive. Nissan believes it will fill a growing niche in the
market for vehicles designed to live a dual life and will be aimed at young
professional people who enjoy living and working in the city during the week but
who want to escape at the weekend. It is the second new model to be announced at
Nissan Motor Manufacturing U.K. Ltd. (NMUK) in just six months, following
confirmation that a production model based on the Tone show car unveiled at the
Paris Motor Show last autumn will go into production in January 2006.
Initial production volume of the Qashqai (It is unlikely
that the name will be applied to the production version) will be around 130,000
units per year. This would increase the plant's total annual volume to around
400,000 units —
strengthening
Sunderland's position as the U.K.'s biggest car plant. NMUK
currently employs around 4100 workers, capable of producing up to 500,000 units
per year based on a three-shift system. —
Ian Norris
Saab 9-3
Wagon
Saab is extending
its 9-3 model range by a station wagon, due for launch at the upcoming Geneva
Motor Show in March. The photos are showing a prototype of the new wagon with
some disguise on the rear end during cold weather testing in northern
Scandinavia. The matching four-door sedan has been on the
market since 2002, followed by the 9-3 convertible in March 2003. The car sits
on the GM Epsilon platform and uses the same engines as the
sedan.
Email This Page