But away from these stunning headline grabbers, there's still a huge variety of cracking machinery to stir the soul. Stuart Milne reports.

It might be the Vauxhall Insignia, Ford Focus RS, Lotus Evora and Alfa Romeo MiTo which are this year's British International Motor Show's poster boys, but there's still enough glitz and glamour to go round the other manufacturers.

And those superstars come in some unlikely places.

View more images of the British Motor Show's stunning cars

Visit the Hyundai stand, and you'll see one of the most sensational sports coupes in London's ExCeL. It’s the Hyundai Genesis Concept, and away from the prog rock-inspired name, it’s a real belter.

Pictures of this have been going the rounds for a while, but it looks even better in the flesh – like a Ferrari F430 from some angles, with the naked aggression of a modified street racer. Hyundai hasn't said when – or if – it'll come to the UK, but if it does, it'll feature a 310bhp V6 engine under that vented bonnet.

And while we're on affordable exotica, the Chevrolet Camaro drop-top looked sensational, and GM's vice president 'Maximum' Bob Lutz said its hardtop brother will feature a 26mpg V6 and a big V8 powerplant, which has clever technology to shut off half of the cylinders for improved fuel consumption.

The crowds flocked to the Nissan GT-R – somewhat unsurprising given recent episodes of Top Gear extolling it as one of the truly great performance cars of its generation.

Speaking of incredible performance cars, the wraps were pulled off the new Ford Focus RS for the first time – and very nice it looks too.

But more importantly for most car buyers, the Ford Fiesta Zetec-S and Ford Fiesta ECOnetic were unveiled.

The former is a warm hatch, expected to offer plenty of thrills for very few bills, but the Fiesta ECOnetic is officially the greenest car on sale today. It emits just 98g/km of CO2 – beating the previous record held by the Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion and Seat Ibiza Ecomotive by one gram per kilometre.

Ford Focus RS and Ford Fiesta slide show

It might not sound much, but is yet more of an indication of how the motor industry is combating climate change.

The Honda Open Study Model was shown for the first time on these shores, and some say its styling points to how the next generation Honda S2000 could look.

And sitting in among a rollcall of jaw-dropping supercars – including a Koenigsegg, Invicta, Wiesmann, Maserati Quattroporte and several Ferraris – was a corking Spyker C12, rebodied by Zagato, making it one of the world's rarest cars.

It may seem like time stands still at Morgan's factory in the Malvern hills, but nothing could be farther from the truth. A retina-burning orange Morgan Aero 8 was sitting pretty, next to the company's hydrogen-powered Lifecar.

And for those who think Morgan's are for life's Toad of Toad Halls, think again. It has produced a version of its classic 4/4 which emits just 139.5g/km of CO2 while still delivering a 0-62mph time of eight seconds and a 117mph top speed. Old car charm with modern car technology.

One car that's sure to get petrolheads salivating is the Renault Megane R26.R; a car which marks the final incarnation of the Megane before it is replaced. It's a hardcore version of the R26 hot hatch, but with a number of standout features, including a carbon fibre bonnet and an optional rollcage.