The 85th Edition of Geneva Motor Show started Tuesday, on March 3rd, with a full day dedicated to press conferences. There were approximately 10,000 journalists attending the show and covering the most important automotive event of the first quarter of 2015. The motor show was dedicated mainly to supercars and family cars, leaving hybrids, green vehicles and autonomous cars in second place. The French manufacturers were granted with a lot of space for their stand and some of them really exploited it well. Renault filled its stand with the new Kadjar, its first compact SUV, built on the same platform as its brother, the Nissan Qashqai. He also squeezed the new Clio RS Trophy at its stand, the most powerful version in Clio’s range. The PSA Group continued to renew its offer with Peugeot introducing the revised 208 city car. The most important changes occur under the hood, where we find the most economical diesel engine in the world. The 1.6 liter HDi guarantees only 3 liters/100 km (78 mpg) in average cycle. On the other hand, Citroen introduced the 2015 C4, returning with fresh energy in compact segment.
BMW Show Cars
Next to PSA Group was BMW, who launched its first seven seats MPV: the BMW 2-Series Gran Tourer. The things inside are a little crowded, as on the last row of the seats only children can travel in comfort. Mercedes was next to BMW and made quite an entrance with the new GLE Coupe, first BMW X6 rival, and with the Mercedes-Maybach Pullman limousine, measuring 6.5 meters.
Ford Show Cars
Ford had also a crowded stand with the introduction of the new S-Max family car and with the European debut of the Mustang muscle-car. Not to forget the European debut of Ford GT Concept, who was first unveiled during NAIAS Detroit, in January. The main attraction was the new generation Focus RS, one of the most powerful hot-hatches on the market, equipped with more than 320 hp and, for the first time in its history, with an all-wheel drive system.
Nissan Show Cars
Nissan also wanted to make a statement in the sportscar segment, introducing a new range of Nismo models. The top of the range Nissan GT-R Nismo is the most powerful Nissan ever created with 600 hp under the hood and some impressive performances on the Nurburgring. The Nismo stand also included the new Nissan 370Z Nismo and the small but angry Juke Nismo RS. Next to Nismo, Nissan placed its most important premiere of Geneva: the Sway concept. The small car prototype shows the most aggressive design since Juke, and paves the way for a future crazy generation Micra. Completing the Renault-Nissan Alliance presence, Dacia was also in Geneva with a special edition available all over the range, celebrating 10 years since the brand was launched in Europe.
Volkswagen Audi Show Cars
The Volkswagen Group occupied a large section of Hall 1, where it introduced some special cars. Audi throws in the second generation R8, featuring a Lamborghini Huracan V10 engine, and offers us the European debut of the new Audi Q7. Also on the stand were the Audi RS3 Sportback, one of the most powerful hot-hatches on the market and the Audi Prologue Avant Concept, anticipating a rival for the current Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake. Bentley went all green with its new EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept, and also introduced a subtle facelift on the current Continental GT range. Volkswagen offered us a glimpse at the future Passat CC with its yellow concept, but tried to attract family customers with the new generation Touran and the facelifted Sharan. Next to Volkswagen was the Seat brand, with Leon Cupra everywhere and the 20V20 SUV concept.
Fiat Chrysler Show Cars
Beside some special editions, that no one was interested in, the Fiat Chrysler Group managed to show us only two important premieres. First was the stunning Ferrari 488 GTB with its 670 hp and 330 km/h (205 mph) maximum speed. Second was the Alfa Romeo 4C range, which now includes the Spider version and also some changes for the coupe.
Honda Show Cars
Honda had one of its busiest motor shows in Europe. The Japanese manufacturer introduced the new generation Jazz with the largest boot in the small segment, and also debuted in the European small SUV segment with the HR-V. For its purist fans, Honda introduced the new generation NSX, a reborn supercar, ready to take further the heritage of the first NSX launched in 1990 with the help of Ayrton Senna former Formula 1 champion. The list was complete with the launch of the new generation Honda Civic Type R, a new hot-hatch delivering 310 hp, all to the front axle.
Among the premieres, Mazda also introduced its first ever small segment SUV, the CX-3, a car that will tackle the new Honda HR-V and Nissan Juke. Mitsubishi finally unveiled the new generation L200, its popular pick-up for Europe, while Koenigsegg brought the Agera RS model, a real beauty dressed all in carbon fiber.
For complete in-depth news coverage see 2015 Geneva Motor Show news.
