Geneva Motor Show

Just as the hype was dying down after the 2019 BMW 3 Series’ launch at the Paris Motor Show, BMW has reignited interest in its latest new model. As per a report from L’Automobile Magazine, the German automaker will be unveiling 3 Series Touring at the Geneva Motor Show in March of next year. Actually, it’s not that much of a surprise because the touring has been sold for almost as long as the sedan.

Although critics initially derided the Gallardo as a copout for the Italian automaker, offering two fewer cylinders and a smaller on-road presence than the rest of the lineup, the “baby Lambo” quickly silenced the naysayers by selling well over 7,000 units in its first five years of production. Its performance was so impressive, the higher-ups from Sant’Agata Bolognese decided to usher in a new go-faster version for 2008, upgrading the Gallardo with fresh aesthetics and improved performance. The result was dubbed the LP560-4, and once again, customers flocked to dealers, catapulting the nameplate to the top of Lambo’s list of all-time bestsellers.

Continue reading to learn more about the 2008 - 2014 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4.

Although overshadowed by the Volkswagen Golf, its platform sibling, sales-wise, the Seat Leon has been the more powerful race car in various series around the world. The TCR is one of them, having been set up after Seat designed the Leon Cup Racer, also the car that was used as a template for aerodynamic regulations. The increasingly popular series is still dominated by the Leon, which received an update in 2017.

Renamed the Leon Cupra Evo 17, the Spanish race car is more aggressive than ever. The hatchback sports bigger wheel arches, just like the Volkswagen Golf GTI TRC, a massive rear wing, and the copper highlights we’ve seen on recently unveiled Cupra road models. The Leon will continue to race in the TCR International Series, where it will face competition from Audi, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Opel, Volkswagen, and many more carmakers.

Continue reading to learn more about the Seat Leon Cup Racer Evo 17.

The Skoda Kodiaq Scout represents a remarkable achievement for the Czech automaker. Lost in the madness that is the crossover and SUV segments, the Kodiaq Scout manages to create a little niche of its own. It’s not as premium as a BMW X1 or an Audi Q2. It doesn’t even have the status and name recall of volume models like the Honda CR-V and the Mazda CX-5.Instead, the Kodiaq Scout sits in a sweet point that covers the different needs customer have for the segment. Essentially, it’s compact SUV with enough space, functionality, and practicality. It even costs a pittance, at least relative to the other models already mentioned. You may not want to hear from Skoda, but the Kodiaq Scout is making a loud impression.

Continue reading to learn more about the Škoda Kodiaq Scout.

The third-generation Lotus Exige is six years old as of 2018 and a bit long in the tooth. A brand-new model is underway, but the Brits are keeping things interesting for the current model by building all sorts of special editions. At the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, Lotus paid tribute to two of its most iconic race cars with the Exige Type 49 and Exige Type 79.

Both cars celebrate the company’s past glory in Formula One. The Exige Type 49 marks 50 years since Graham Hill won both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships in the Type 49, while the Exige Type 49 marks 40 years since Mario Andretti did the same with the Type 79. The former race from 1967 through 1970 and won two championships, while also scoring podiums in each season. The Type 79’s career was a bit shorter, from 1978 through 1979.

Both Exige models were crafted by Lotus Exclusive, the brand’s recently established bespoke division. Let’s find out more about them below.

Continue reading to learn more about the Lotus Exige Type 49 and Type 49.

The successor to the Koenigsegg Agera RS is still months away from arriving, but that hasn’t stopped Koenigsegg from teasing the hypercar in somewhat of a cheeky fashion. According to Motor1, a design sketch of the upcoming hypercar was included in an otherwise standard-looking press release about the opening of a new Koenigsegg dealership in Australia. The sketch doesn’t reveal a lot about the car, but it does give us a good idea on what its rear section is going to look like.

Volvo is continuing to step away from attending auto shows after announcing its intention to skip the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. The move is seen as the latest sign that the Swedish automaker is ready to completely drop the auto show model in favor of hosting its own events anytime it has a new model to unveil. That’s now the plan with the new S60 sedan, which the company is unveiling later this month at the opening of its new production facility in Charleston, South Carolina.

Tata Motors might not be a big name in Europe and the U.S., but it one of the most important carmakers in Asia. Founded in 1945, Tata is now selling a wide range of cars and commercial vehicles, but it’s better known for owning Jaguar Land Rover, which it purchased from Ford in 2008. The Indian company is now trying to expand in markets outside Asia, and it’s joining the bigger, global auto shows with new concept cars. One such vehicle is the H5X, which was launched at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show as a preview for an upcoming crossover.

Tata says that the H5X "provides a glimpse of the future generation of Tata Motors SUV’s in terms of design, technology, and sheer capabilities" and that it sports the brand’s upcoming design language, called the Impact 2.0. It’s also the first vehicle based the new Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced Architecture, which developed in collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover. Local media says that the production version will be aimed at crossovers like the Jeep Compass and the Mahindra XUV500 in India. But needless to say, the H5X will probably hit global markets as Tata’s first truly contemporary crossover sometime in 2019.

Continue reading to learn more about the Tata H5X Concept.

While it hasn’t introduced many brand-new models in recent years, Subaru was pretty busy showcasing new design features and technologies with a range of concepts under the Viziv name. The first one arrived in 2013, and since then Subaru has launched a new Viziv design each year. The latest iteration, known as the Viziv Tourer Concept, broke cover at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, and it features a five-door body layout.

Naturally, the Tourer shares many design features with previous Viziv concept cars. It also shares upcoming driver-assist technologies that we will find in production models starting 2020. But unlike some Viziv concepts, which featured hybrid powertrains, the Tourer uses a boxer engine only. The concept could preview a hatchback or wagon version of the WRX, but it could also be an early preview of the next-generation Outback.

Continue reading to learn more about the Subaru Viziv Tourer Concept.

Responsible for some of the greatest automotive designs, Giugiaro lost its place in the spotlight in recent years. But, even though it stopped working with the big automakers outside the Audi Q2 and some Chinese cars, Giugiaro rolled out a few spectacular concepts recently, including the Parcour and the Zerouno. The Italian firm introduced yet another in 2018. It’s called the GFG Sibylla, it’s fully electric, and it was developed in cooperation with Envision, a Chinese company specialized in wind turbines, energy management software, and energy technology services.

Created to celebrate Giorgetto Giugiaro’s 80th birthday, the GFG Sibylla uses Envision’s EnOS energy IoT platform, which allows the car to become intelligently integrated into the wider energy ecosystem. In short, it’s integrating EV charging into the electricity grid, a system that other automakers have been studying for quite a few years now. The Sibylla name was chosen accordingly, as it references a figure from Latin mythology endowed with the ability to provide answers and predict the future. It is also a tribute to Giorgetto’s mother, named Sibylla. Let’s find out more about the concept car in the review below.

Continue reading to learn more about the Giugiaro GFG Sibylla EV Concept.

Originally founded in the Netherlands in 1880 as a producer of carriages, Spyker pivoted to create fighter planes at the outset of the World War I but eventually went under in 1925. However, the name was revived in 2000, and now Spyker produces boutique high-end sports cars, the latest of which is dubbed the C8 Preliator. The coupe iteration was introduced in 2016, while the drop-top Spyder was introduced a year later at the 2017 Geneva International Motor Show rocking a fresh powerplant courtesy of the power-hungry folks at Koenigsegg Automotive.

Continue reading to learn more about the Spyker C8 Preliator Spyder.

Hyundai is ready to look at the future as it reinvents itself and the Le Fil Rouge Concept is a display of how the Korean brand sees its destiny. It’s all-electric, it’s sleek, and it’s luxurious. How a model like this would wear a Hyundai badge and not a Genesis badge is a complete mystery, but the point is that Hyundai has high hopes and extreme desires. You can already see that the exterior is attractive and commanding, but inside you’ll find wood, unique styling, and heaps of technology. Oh, and like all cool-guy concepts these days, it has suicide doors as well. What else does the concept offer as far as vision goes and how much will make it to production? Let’s find out.

Under Aston Martin ownership since 1947, Lagonda stopped making production cars in 1990, with a handful of models unveiled after the Aston Martin Lagonda sedan was discontinued. Rumored to make a comeback in the late 2000s, Lagonda finally returned to the market in 2014, when the limited-edition Taraf sedan was introduced. Four years have passed, since and Lagonda has now unveiled the Vision Concept at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.

A futuristic vehicle with a sleek, shooting brake-like design, the Vision Concept sports a luxurious, four-seat interior that’s ready to give Rolls-Royce and Bentley products a run for their money. Like many modern concepts, it also has autonomous drive and uses a zero-emission drivetrain. More importantly, Lagonda says that the Vision Concept previews a production model that’s scheduled to hit the assembly line in 2021. The upcoming model will have an SUV body style and will borrow styling features from the Geneva show car. Until Lagonda gives us more info on the production model, let’s have a closer look at this intriguing concept vehicle.

Continue reading to learn more about the Lagonda Vision Concept.

Renault has been big on the whole EV self-driver thing for the past few years now, pulling the sheets on several SYMBIOZ concepts back in 2017. The EZ-GO is the latest follow-up, offering the same drivetrain and autonomous tech as before, but with an extra dash of shared mobility services and connected features to boot. The result is a vision of the future of urban mobility, promising improvements to both energy efficiency and quality of life.

Continue reading to learn more about the Renault EZ-GO.

Unveiled in 2012, the latest-generation Seat Leon was updated in 2017 and gained the most extreme Cupra package to date for the 2018 model year. Less than a year has passed, and the Spanish firm gave the same treatment to the ST station wagon model. Introduced at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show in March, the Leon Cupra R ST is identical to its hatchback sibling, but benefits from a larger trunk, which makes it a full-fledged competitor for the Volkswagen Golf R Estate.

The compact wagon arrived with a rather awkward timing, just as Seat turned the Cupra into a stand-alone brand. Starting this year, the company’s high-performance models will no longer have a "Seat" badge, but their own logos, although they will still use the nameplate. However, it turns out that some Seat cars will still wear "Cupra" identification, including this new station wagon. Whether this will go on only until the current models are discontinued is not yet known, but if you want both the "Seat" and "Cupra" badges on your car, you’d better hurry.

Continue reading to learn more about the Seat Leon CUPRA R ST.