Geneva Motor Show 2008 - the big round-up

Renault Twingo RenaultSport

The Renault Twingo pocket rocket looks the business and will sit ably alongside its RenaultSport big brothers, the Clio and Megane. And it will also offer car buyers a cheaper way into the hot hatch world. The bodykit and alloys gives the Twingo the look while the 133bhp engine should give it some punch up against the forthcoming Fiat 500 Abarth.

Volkswagen Passat CC and Passat R36

When we saw teaser snaps of the Passat CC we got pretty excited. A Mercedes CLS on a VW budget was a good proposition. But when the official shots came out there was an air of disappointment. However, when we saw in up close, we were extremely chuffed. It looks stunning and is a great addition to the Passat range, which includes the Passat R36 – a machine which didn’t look as hot and mean as it could. This might appeal to those looking for a Q car – a machine which may not look rapid but will still hit 155mph.

BMW M3 Cabriolet and Saloon

As a three-door coupe, the BMW M3 is an awesome performer and at Geneva, the M3 Cabriolet and Saloon models made their world debut. The convertible looks aggressive and sexy while the saloon is a bit more discreet and conservative – a wolf in sheep’s clothing. But as with the coupe, you’d expect both to handle brilliantly with the convertible outselling the saloon.

Future and concept cars

View more pics of Geneva's concept cars

Hummer HX

I’m pretty sure if the US Forces used the Hummer HX to storm countries, they’d be laughed at. The Hummer HX looks like a toy car. Something which would look more suited to the cinema screen in a Transformers sequel than in the real world. And I love it. Hummer needs to make this vehicle. 

Seat Bocanegra

While Volkswagen unveiled the Scirocco, Seat took the wraps of its own sports hatch – the Bocanegra. Seat – which is owned by VW – tend to add a little more flair to its motors and it’s no different with the Bocanegra, which has an aggressive black front (Bocanegra translates to black mouth) housing the sexiest of front lights. The rear gets a centrally-mounted exhaust while Seat says the Bocanegra offers clues to the design of a key future model. Translated, this means something looking similar to the Seat Bocanegra will hit production as the next Ibiza, with a few minor changes and at a significantly cheaper price than the Scirocco.

Volkswagen Golf TDI Hybrid

Volkswagen is already at the forefront of eco-friendly technology with its super-green BlueMotion models. But they’ve taken things a step forward with the Golf TDI Hybrid. It uses a 1.2-litre diesel engine combine with an electric motor and a seven-speed semi-automatic gearbox. The best bit – it can do 83mpg and emits just 89g/km, making it tax exempt. It’s a concept at the moment, but VW, this must absolutely go into production.

Dream cars

View more pics of Geneva's dream cars

Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe

The Rolls-Royce Phantom is huge with a giant H. And you’ll need even bigger pockets to afford one – it will cost you £300,000. But what a car. When BMW bought the rights to the Rolls-Royce name and little else in 2003, no one knew what to expect. But thanks to models like this and the Phantom and Phantom Drophead Coupe, Rolls-Royce is once again the ultimate in luxury.

Maybach Landaulet

If a Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe isn’t expensive enough a car to be chauffered around in, there’s only one other brand to look at – Maybach, and more specifically the Maybach Landaulet. At £630,000 it’s one of the world’s most expensive cars and it has the feel and finish to match the price-tag. But we can’t help feel you’d be wasting £300,000. The design of the semi-convertible isn’t the most enticing, especially when you could pick up a Roller for half the price.

Nissan GT-R

The Nissan GT-R is a dream car in every way – bar the price. We were amazed to find the Japanese supercar will cost just £52,000 – almost half the price of the comparable performing Porsche 911 Turbo and the same price as the BMW M3. Nissan won’t be able to build the GT-R quick enough. It’s just a shame they won’t officially be hitting UK shores until 2009.

Modified cars

View more pics of Geneva's modified cars

Mansory

Mercedes McLaren SLR, Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead and Ferrari 599

German company Mansory’s stand genuinely took our breath away. We didn’t know what to look at – and they only had three cars on show, but they were three pretty mad cars. 

Sitting behind the Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead’s 22-inch alloys were enormous 413mm disc brakes (the same size as set of alloys on a Ford Focus). Then there’s the orange trim, fitting as it’s likely to be driven by super-rich Californians.

Then there was the Mansory Stallone – based on the already amazing Ferrari 599. And with 720bhp under the hood, this white monster has more muscle than Rambo and The Terminator put together.

But the craziest thing on the Mansory stand wasn’t the Rolls-Royce or the Ferrari – they were outdone by the ‘Renovatio’ – a matt-bronze Mercedes McLaren SLR. And it’s not all-show-no-go either – the Renovatio chucks out  a colossal 686bhp. 

Brabus

Bullit, Mercedes McLaren SLR and Smart

As the best known tuning company to us Brits, Brabus didn’t disappoint – showcasing the sublime Brabus Bullit Black Arrow. Based on the Mercedes C-Class, the Bullit is a 720bhp motoring monster which hits 62mph in 3.9 seconds and has a top speed of 225mph – making it one of the fastest four-door cars ever. But it’s not the performance we love, we knew about that anyway – the best bit is the matt black paint job. The car looks amazing, but that paintwork will be a nightmare to keep looking fresh.

The Mercedes McLaren SLR only has 25bhp more than the normal model, but it does have a special pearlescent paint job and red leather interior which matches identically with the Smart Fortwo (named Ultimate 112). And the two come as a package – for £535,000.

Startech

Chrysler 300C and Dodge Nitro

No, we hadn’t heard of them either. But German tuning house Startech – which is part of Brabus – has taken the already out-there Dodge Nitro and Chrysler 300C and made them even crazier than normal. Both were bright white and featured 22-inch alloys – proper posing cars, which would look perfect on Cribs, and in Man United’s training ground car park.

Craziest of all

Fab Design Mercedes SL

Of all the crazy modified cars, most of them were Mercedes McLaren SLRs.  But nothing was quite as mad as this slightly slower Merc – the SL. Fab Design has taken a Mercedes SL and St Tropez’d it to the max – creating a car, with a bronzed look, inside and out. So if you’re shy and retired and don’t want a car with an alligator-skinned interior you should probably look at something different than the Fab Design.