During early March every year, the Geneva Motor Show is the battle field for the world's biggest automobile manufacturers trying to outdo each other with new cars and concepts that set the stage for the rest of the year. Their neutral playground is Geneva's Pal Expo right next to the airport. There is enough to interest everyone from around the world because unlike the other European car shows, Geneva often has premieres that are spread across categories and across market geographies.

The Geneva Motor Show has often been referred to as the barometer of the global automotive industry's current prospects. So, the fewer mass market cars and the proliferation of electrics of the last few years has been indicative of what was to come.

Yet, this year's show - the 83rd edition - was an eye-opener of sorts, going on to reaffirm the fact that a recession or an economic slowdown has a much lower impact on exclusive luxury cars. The impact of the ongoing global slowdown, didn't stop this year's Geneva Motor Show from being dominated by super luxury and super performance sports cars both from the regulars and also from new comers. And many of the premieres were limited editions too.

While the big boys of the segment Lamborghini, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Porche were all set with their new cars and concepts, the one that joined in with its own equally eye-catchy new sports car was McLaren with the P1. The other big launch at this year's Geneva was the Rolls-Royce Wraith, which represented the revival of the marque's famous brand. Others like Toyota with its FT-86 Open Concept, Honda with its NSX Concept, and Nissan with the 370Z NISMO were attempting to break into the serious sports car club or at least announcing their intentions.

There was more for speed lovers at this year's Geneva with the soon to be launched Jaguar F-Type, the Audi RS Q3, the new Chevrolet Corvette and the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse. Here are more details about some of the stars of the show.

Rolls-Royce Wraith

Rolls-Royce has so few models in its line-up that a launch of a new model line is always waited upon with bated breath. The Wraith made its debut in Geneva this year in the middle of one of the brand's trademark launch parties.

The Wraith will revive one of the most famous Rolls-Royce names first used in 1938. Rolls-Royce which calls it a fastback says that the Wraith alludes to an almost imperceptible force, something rare, agile and potent, a spirit that will not be tethered to the earth.

A shorter wheelbase, wider rear track, power of 624 bhp derived from the twin turbo V12 engine and a 0-62 mph or 0-100 kmph in 4.6 seconds add to the drama of the car’s dynamic looks.

Wraith debuts the most intelligent drive train ever to feature in a Rolls-Royce, including the application of technologies like Satellite Aided Transmission (SAT). This processes GPS data to predict the driver’s next move and automatically selects the right gear for the road ahead. Unnecessary gear changes are thus avoided, augmenting the famous Rolls-Royce trait of waftability and ensuring Wraith is constantly poised to deliver on its dynamic promise. Following a sweeping bend, for example, the optimum gear is always pre-selected for effortless acceleration.

Ferrari LaFerrari

The debut of the LaFerrari was one of the most closely guarded and most anticipated news. The car also called earlier the F150 is said to be successor of the iconic Enzo Ferrari and has one of the most surprising powertrains coming from the house of the Prancing Horse. Only 499 units of the LaFerrari will be built and the beautifully sculpted and absolutely futuristic car you see in the picture will be the one to hit the roads and it is a hybrid! The question in the minds of many of the show-goers was “With Ferrari going hybrid, is this the future direction of the super-performance category?”

For Ferrari the development of a limited-series special like the LaFerrari represents an opportunity to experiment with all the tech solutions that will later filter down onto its production cars. The most important in this context is the introduction of the hybrid system which, making full use of Scuderia Ferrari’s F1 KERS technology, has been adopted to help LaFerrari perfect the Italian brand’s fundamental values – performance and driving thrills.

The hybrid technology used, known as HY-KERS, represents the perfect combination of maximum performance and lower emissions. LaFerrari in fact emits just 330 g/km of CO2 but without resorting to electric-only drive which would not fit the mission of this model.

With a 6,262 cc V12 engine that punches out 800 CV and revs to a maximum of 9,250 rpm. It also features a very high 13.5:1 compression ratio and a high specific output equal to 128 CV per litre. The engine is coupled with a 120 Kw (163 CV) electric motor, giving it a combined power output of 963 CV or about 950 bhp.

Lamborghini Veneno

Lamborghini has had a history making interesting debuts and concepts at the Geneva show. This year, to mark its 50th anniversary Automobili Lamborghini presented an extremely exclusive model - the Veneno, a concept car which will also be road-legal and be extremely rare. Only three unique units of the Lamborghini Veneno will be built and sold. Its design is focused on optimum aerodynamics and cornering stability, giving the Veneno the real dynamic experience of a racing prototype, yet it is fully homologated for the road.

This wicked-looking car sports a 6.5-litre, 12-cylinder engine with a maximum output of 552 kW or 750 bhp, the Veneno accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.8 seconds and the top speed for this street-legal racing car stands at 355 kmph. It is priced at three million Euros plus tax – and all three units have already been sold to customers!

McLaren P1

The McLaren P1 is oft recognised as the much anticipated successor to the legendary McLaren F1, which made raw Formula 1 power road-legal. This new hybrid supercar is powered by a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine coupled to an electric motor that is capable of churning out 903 horses collectively. The P1 will use IPAS (Instant Power Assist System) and DRS (Drag Reduction System) to obtain instant boost of power and straight-line speed, which, incidentally, has been electronically limited at a top speed of 350kmph (217mph). It has even been made quicker than the F1 – 0 to 300kmph is achieved in less than 17 seconds. The electric-only mode is said to have a range of 10kms.

As with the F1, the P1’s MonoCage has been designed to be of the lightest carbon fibre full-body structures used in any road car, and toughened using Kevlar. The MonoCage weighs in at only 90kg. The design, combined with the use of lightweight materials, results in downforce more than any road legal car in production. This helps cornering and braking capability, along with balance and stability at any speed. McLaren will be making the P1 an exclusive automobile, limiting production to 375 units.

Jaguar Land Rover

JLR's stand at Geneva saw two interesting cars. One, which is kicking up a lot of interest right now, with its impending launch, is of course the F-Type sportscar. The all-aluminium two-seater sportscar marks Jaguar's re-entry into the segment. It will be offered with engines ranging from a 340 bhp 3.0-litre supercharged V6 to a top-end 5-litre V8 engine, both of which will be front-mounted but drive the rear wheels.

The other vehicle in the JLR stand that was a show-stopper in its own right was the Land Rover Defender All Terrain Electric. The vehicle is currently a research project, but with applications like the famous wilderness trips in South Africa seeking a more environment-friendly option, this vehicle could see series production later based on demand say JLR officials. The electric Defender has a range of about 50 miles between charges and the only power source are electric motors instead of the older 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine. The other interesting car from JLR at the show was the nine-speed automatic transmission variant of the Range Rover Evoque.

Honda NSX Concept

The new Honda NSX Concept also made its European debut at Geneva. Since the exterior design has been kept true to the original concept, most of the changes made are with the interiors and the technology used onboard. The NSX Concept will run on a mid-mounted, direct-injected V-6 engine coupled with Honda’s Sport Hybrid SH-AWD (Super Handling All-Wheel Drive) system. The SH-AWD also happens to be a part of Earth Dreams Technology series, so a spurt in the drive train efficiency, and reduced carbon emissions can be expected. The exact power output is yet undeclared, but Honda claims that the driving experience is enhanced using outstanding visibility, a strong driving position, and an intuitive “Simple Sports Interface” that minimises interior clutter, allowing the driver to focus on the driving experience.

muralidhar.s@thehindu.co.in

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