Geneva Motor Show 2024: You can’t miss these ten cars!

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The variety of car brands on display at the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) is quite modest this year. Besides the two Chinese brands BYD and MG, as well as the US manufacturer Lucid, only Renault and Dacia are large. Although manufacturers such as Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche are not among the fair audience, some models of these brands can still be admired in the hall. In the upper exhibition hall 2 of the Palexpo area, GIMS organizers have brought together several dozen vehicles, all of which have been exhibited at the Geneva Motor Show over the last 100 years and even celebrated their world premiere here. After our little journey through time in this exhibition, we have compiled and listed ten automotive delights from the past Geneva Motor Show times.

The gull wing was first celebrated in New York in February 1954 and later made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show. It became the fastest sports car of its time, reaching speeds of up to 260 km per hour. Mercedes produced the 300 SL as a coupé until 1957, followed by a roadster version. Approximately 1,400 copies of the coupé alone were produced, and together with the roadster, a total of 3,258 copies were produced. (Also interesting: Current driving report of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing).

In 1963, Porsche introduced the 356’s successor, the Porsche 901, at the International Automobile Show (IAA) in Frankfurt. Production of the 901 began in September 1964, but was interrupted after only 82 units were built due to objection from Peugeot, after which it continued under the model name 911. Reason: The French legally protected three-digit numbers with a zero in the middle as model names. One of 82 Porsche 901s produced is currently at the Geneva Motor Show.

From 1971 the first 3.0 CSL (Coupé Sport Lightweight) coupés were created in cooperation with Alpina. The model, introduced in Geneva, dates back to 1972 and is part of the private car collection. The 3.0 CSL has three different engines ranging from 180 to 206 hp. It is considered the first product of the company that later became BMW Motorsport GmbH, which was still a division of BMW at the time, and can therefore be called the first M model.

The legendary and difficult to pronounce Countach, the successor to the Miura, was first introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1973. Approximately 2,000 examples were produced in five series between 1974 and 1990. Designed by Italian designer Giotto Bizzarrini (1926–2023), the V12 mid-engine has different engine displacements depending on the model and produces power between 355 hp (LP 400 S) and 455 hp (LP 5000S QV).

From 1987 to 1992 Ferrari produced the legendary F40. The model name was chosen to celebrate the brand’s 40th anniversary. By then, the F40 was considered the fastest and also the most powerful Ferrari of its time, with 478 hp (352 kW) and was the last Ferrari created under the management of Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988). Power is sent to the rear wheels from the 2.9-litre V8 biturbo petrol engine via a five-speed manual transmission. Ferrari has built 1,315 examples of the F40, and one of them will be in Geneva by Sunday evening.

A family van with a V10 engine from Formula 1? Yes, that’s what Renault did with the Espace in 1994. The Renault V10 engine was previously used in F1 during the 1993 season and was later fitted to the Espace. The 3.5-liter engine produces a whopping 810 hp (595 kW) and accelerates the van to 100 km/h in less than three seconds. However, this project run had serious thermal problems and required ten minutes of cooling after each flight lap. Only two examples were built; It is a working car housed in the Matra Museum and is currently a trade show exhibit vehicle that can be admired in Geneva.

28 of the 106 McLaren F1s were produced as GTRs. GTR is the racing version of the F1 hyper sports car. The McLaren is powered by a V12 that produces 680 hp (500 kW) and enables the F1 GTR to reach speeds of up to 370 km/h. In 1995, Yannick Dalmas (62), Masanori Sekiya (74) and JJ Lehto (58) achieved overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the McLaren F1 GTR. One of the 28 copies is now in Geneva.

The Veyron was the first Bugatti model produced after its takeover by the VW Group in 1998. In 2003, Bugatti completed the first ready-to-drive prototype, and mass production of the super sports car started in 2005, with 450 units produced until 2015. The German-French is powered by a massive W-16 gasoline engine with four turbochargers. Depending on the version, the Veyron produces 1001 or 1200 hp.

Ferrari presented the LaFerrari as a new top model at the Geneva Motor Show in 2013. Eleven years later, Ferrari returns to the Geneva venue, powered by an electrically assisted V12 petrol engine. The Italian super sports car delivers 963 hp (708 kW) to the rear wheels, reaches a top speed of 350 km/h and reaches 100 km/h in three seconds. A total of 500 coupés and 210 open Apertas were produced. The Ferrari Enzo is considered the forerunner of the LaFerrari.

In the McLaren Speedtail, the driver sits in the middle. And there are two more seats set back slightly. The Speedtail has a hybrid drive with a four-liter V8 engine. In total, the British has 1070 hp (787 kW) and can reach speeds of over 400 km/h. It is considered the successor of the legendary McLaren F1, so it has three seats and is also strictly limited to 106 examples. GIMS organizers managed to direct one of them to the hall in Geneva.

Source: Blick