Ladies and gentlemen, the 2018 Geneva Auto Show is now in full swing and we’ve seen dozens of big announcements hit the wire from all the big car brands. There truly is something for everyone in Geneva, from road-ready sports cars and stunning production supercars to crazy concepts that will never see the light of day… but they sure are fun to look at.
We’ve dug through Tuesday morning’s avalanche of announcements to pick out five cars in particular that deserve your attention. Some of the concepts you’ll see in this article are closer to reality than others, but even the concept vehicles are exciting because they give us a glimpse at what’s coming down the road tomorrow as well as what the premium auto industry might look like a decade from now.
Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo
The world has been anxiously awaiting Porsche’s answer to Tesla ever since whispers of an all-electric Mission E first emerged. The company has been teasing a sleek sports car with the promise of insane performance for quite some time now, and today that initial vision has morphed into something much more realistic. As expected, it looks a whole lot like an electrified Panamera, and it’s called the Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo.
First, the bad news: this still isn’t a final design, so don’t expect this car to come rolling off the assembly line anytime soon. That said, the Mission E Cross Turismo is much closer in design to the actual Mission E Porsche plans to release next year. “The proportions and dimensions give you a hint: this is more realistic than the first Mission E concept,” Porsche’s design boss Michael Mauer said.
While the company’s updated vision doesn’t look quite as aggressive as the design we’ve seen floating around until now, it’s still a screamer — Porsche says it’ll do 0-62 mph in 3.5 seconds, and 0-125 mph in 12 seconds flat. Also of note, performance will not be limited as the car’s remaining charge depletes, which is a criticism some enthusiasts have had of Tesla’s cars.
In terms of range, Porsche says the Mission E Cross Turismo will store enough juice to travel just over 300 miles on a full charge, though that figure obviously sinks dramatically when the car is pushed to its limits.
Aston Martin Lagonda Vision
While Porsche’s big announcement shows us a design that is nearing production, Aston Martin-owned Lagonda showed off a vehicle concept that will undoubtedly undergo a major facelift before it finally finds its way to the road. That said, the shift to electric is enabling a new breed of ultra high-end cars that aim to offer breathtaking beauty, lavish luxury, and beastly performance, all wrapped up in one vehicle. And that’s exactly what Aston Martin aims to do with its Lagonda brand.
“As Aston Martin Lagonda we have a bandwidth that’s unique,” Aston Martin Lagonda’s exterior design chief Miles Nurnberger said. “Rolls-Royce can’t make a Ferrari, Ferrari can’t make a Rolls-Royce. But with these two brands, we can do both.”
The Vision concept is a whopping 17.4 feet long, making it even longer than a Mercedes S Class sedan. The interior is far more spacious though, because electric drivetrains ditch many of the components that occupy space and shrink the interior. It’s designed to be something of a futuristic electric limousine that also packs some serious punch. Here’s a view of the cockpit:
We’re definitely interested in seeing exactly what Lagonda’s Vision concept becomes once it finally materializes.
Renault EZ-GO
Among all of the vehicles unveiled at this year’s show in Geneva, the Renault EZ-GO might not be the furthest from reality, believe it or not. That said, you definitely won’t see EZ-GO vehicles zipping around your city anytime soon.
The fact that it has four wheels it pretty much the only resemblance the Renault EZ-GO has to a traditional car. There is no steering wheel and there are no pedals. There isn’t even a driver’s seat or a dashboard. Instead, this futuristic electric taxi is an autonomous vehicle concept designed to usher customers around urban settings. The interior of the vehicle is home only to passenger seating, which is pretty nifty (until it comes time to stow large luggage).
Renault imagines limiting the all-electric EZ-GO to 30 mph since it’s intended only for urban environments. The robo-taxi also would feature inductive charging so that the autonomous driving system could navigate to a charging station and recharge without anything having to be plugged in.
Bentley Bentayga Hybrid
Of all the vehicles we’re covering in this article, the Bentayga Hybrid is the only design that will see the light of day without any significant changes.
The Bentayga Hybrid is the first hybrid car Bentley has ever created. It packs a plug-in system and batteries to power its twin electric motors, and they accompany a 3.0-litre V6 turbo gasoline engine. The result is just 75g/km of CO2 emissions, which is obviously far less than any of Bentley’s three other Bentayga models.
Bentley says the vehicle’s electric motors offer up to 30 miles of range before the gas engine kicks in, and a full charge can happen in as little as 2.5 hours at a high-output charging station. No pricing has been announced yet, but you can expect it to be very expensive.
Toyota Supra
The new Toyota Supra is here! The new Toyota Supra is here! OK fine, not really. But Toyota Gazoo Racing on Tuesday unveiled its new Supra Concept, as Toyota works toward reviving one of the most beloved compact sports cars of the 1990s. That’s right, the Supra was in fact beloved long before it appeared in any Fast and Furious movies.
This Supra concept is obviously aimed solely at the track, with lightweight composite materials for the body and a stripped-down interior. The design is unmistakably Supra, though, and the nostalgia rating is off the charts.
The actual fifth-generation Supra will be a sports car built in collaboration with BMW, and it should be a sight to behold when it finally materializes.
