The Geneva Motor Show is about to be invaded by an army of insane supercars
When it comes to the most expensive luxury cars, auto shows are increasingly irrelevant.
For years, the most prestigious car makers in the world have saved their best debuts - and the bulk of their event marketing budgets - for such glamorous locales as the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and the Villa d'Este at Lake Como.
Car shows may draw a lot of people, but with their fluorescent lighting and retro carpeting, they're hardly a seductive showcase for wealthy private buyers.
With press days starting this week and a public opening to run from March 7 to 17, the annual event near Lake Leman will be the first gilded showcase of the year for the likes of Bugatti, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini, and Pininfarina, among others.
"Auto shows for auto makers to send messages to each other - or basically, just show off - are going away," says Matt DeLorenzo, the senior managing editor for Kelley Blue Book.
"That has gotten really expensive. The only show that has that still really going on is Geneva.
"This is where the Italian design houses and the Bentleys and Bugattis of the world can really show off, and they do."
Credit the attitude partly to the fact that no big car maker makes its headquarters in Switzerland, so the country is in spiritually neutral territory, unlike New York, Detroit, Los Angeles, Frankfurt, or Tokyo.
"In Geneva, they actually sell cars to really rich people," DeLorenzo adds, noting that the region holds some of the world's wealthiest people, who are happy to deign to visit the Palexpo centre, where the show is held.
At least it's near the likes of the Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Jaeger-LeCoultre watch houses.
"Aston Martin may skip a show in the US, but they'll be at the Geneva show with a full product line, selling cars from the stand.
"It's a totally different dynamic than any other car show on the face of the Earth."
Each of the supercar brands in attendance is cashing in on the global appetite for extremely expensive, extremely limited editions of cars from heritage brands.
It's a market that seems to be stable, if only in small quantities.
When your cars cost $US2 million each, you don't have to sell many to survive.
"These types of cars are being built in the 10s," DeLorenzo said.
Bugatti's Divo is an $8 million supercar that will turn corners faster than ever. John Wycherley
"There are certainly enough people who want to have one of 10 of something. Or even one of 100."
French brand Bugatti will show an "110 ans Bugatti" tribute Bugatti Chiron Sport to celebrate the anniversary of the brand's founding in 1909.
That is the latest of the Chiron series and follows the $US5.8 million Divo that Bugatti brought to Pebble Beach last August.
More spectacular though, and currently secret, will be a second Bugatti car with a rumoured $US18 million price tag.
It may be a modern take on the iconic Bugatti 57 SC Atlantic that Bugatti has announced it will also bring to Geneva; the new one-off version is rumoured to have been commissioned by former Volkswagen Group chief Ferdinand Pieech.
Sweden's Koenigsegg will bring the much-anticipated successor to the Agera RS, code-named Ragnarok, which is a term from Norse mythology that connotes the apocalypse.
Company executives have said that the model they will show in Geneva may not carry that name, but they expect it boast an update to the twin-turbo, 5.0-litre V8 engine in the Agera RS, with horsepower above 1360. And a whale of a tail.
Italy's dual pride and joys - Ferrari and Lamborghini - will each bring supercars to Geneva, though they'll likely be divided in purpose.
Where the fashion world flocks to Paris for its seasonal runway spectacles, tout le monde from the elite automotive world convenes in Geneva.
United colours of Geneva
This year in Geneva has turned the hypercar knob three clicks to the right.
Koenigsegg will bring a much-anticipated successor to the world record-setting Agera RS; Pininfarina will show the its first-ever production car, an expected all-electric, 1900hp (1400KW), elegant beast; and Bugatti may bring an $US18 million ($25 million) modern take on the iconic Atlantic from 1936.
Source: https://www.afr.com