Axon’s Automotive Anorak: The wild, weird and wired of Geneva 2019

Thankfully the negative rumours failed to materialise, however, as the lack of household names actually enhanced the event – sure, there were one or two more coffee outlets than usual, but overall the 2019 Geneva Salon was one of the best and most fascinating in recent years. 

Where the latest shiny Fiesta, XC90 or i30 would usually be displayed, a wealth of smaller specialist car marques occupied their space instead, with arguably far more interesting products that you don’t get to see every day in your local new car showroom, stuck on the M25 or in a supermarket car park.

The large exhibition space originally reserved for the JLR stand was transformed into a 70^th anniversary celebration of Abarth, via an impressive personal Swiss collection of many of the finest road and competition cars this revered Italian sporting marque could muster.

Important high-volume ‘mainstream’ cars such as the all-new Peugeot 208 and Renault Clio made their world debuts, and we finally got to see the definitive production version of the new Toyota Supra, following what seemed like an unfeasibly long wait. For me (and most others) though, the 2019 Geneva Show paddle-shifted up a gear or three because of its unexpected variety of first-time exhibitors and wild supercars, weird concepts and wired new electric transportation, as well as the occasional, but welcome, classic, such as the outstanding Abarth display.

For the wild, 2019 Geneva highlights included more new super and hypercars than an enthusiastic 14-year-old blogger could shake a selfie stick at. Despite feeling a degree of déjà vu due to Pininfarina’s tireless teaser campaign, actually seeing the new electric Battista in the flesh made the wait worthwhile.

The electric Chinese Arcfox GT was also a pleasant surprise, as was the new Koenigsegg Jesko and Bugatti’s imposing £14 million La Voiture Noire, a one-off 110^th anniversary celebration model that wouldn’t look out of place in the next Batman movie.

The mid-engined Aston Martin trio – Valkyrie, AM-RB 003 and Vanquish Vision Concept – gained the greatest degree of attention, along with plenty of swooning for the original Pagani Zonda; chassis number one first revealed at the Geneva Salon 20 years ago, and making a welcome return this year.

For sheer elegance however, two more traditional two-seater GTs - the new electric Piech Zero One and stylish Pureitalia – stole many hearts, including mine.

For the weird, it’s difficult to know where to begin, as there were so many unusual, or just plain bizarre, cars and concepts to be seen. The three-wheeled Nobe from Estonia was a pleasing retro-styled electric coupe, in sharp contrast to a pair of electric three-wheeler Sbarro, uhm, thingies! The revival of the prestigious Hispano Suiza marque showed promise, and the charismatic Yorkshireman Felix Eaton astonished on-lookers once again with his third Eadon Green 1930s Grand Routier coupe, the Zanturi, based on a Rolls-Royce Dawn. On the subject of Rolls-Royce, the Phantom-inspired Aurus Senat made its debut outside of Russia, with two examples of President Putin’s latest company car on display, including a vast stretched limousine derivative.

At the opposite end of the scale, Citroen’s diminutive Ami One mobility solution concept was as charming and zany as you’d hope the innovative French vehicle producer would create for its 100^th birthday, whilst the tiny SEAT Minimo was an interesting take on the Renault Twizy tandem format, and Volkswagen revealed its lighter side with its I.D. Buggy prototype.

Wiredcars were to be found throughout the Palexpo exhibition halls with new electric vehicles at every turn. A German start-up called e.GO displayed some attractive city cars and antonymous minibuses, whilst the Swiss Bicar was an interesting solution to inner-city congestion, being a single-seater three-wheeled car with the footprint of a motorcycle. Aston Martin’s striking Lagonda EV SUV concept was the polar opposite of the Bicar, exuding sheer luxury and opulence. 

Despite all of the intriguing cars already mentioned, the real stand-out star of the 2019 Geneva Motor Show was one of the very few cars not teased and previewed endlessly prior to the event; a rare real surprise.

The star car in question was the unexpected Fiat Centoventi, a funky future-focused city car with crafty adaptable body panels and ingenious 3D-printed interior components and suitable accessories to plug into the slotted dashboard. Unveiled during the FCA Group’s long press conference, Fiat saved the best ‘til last after revealing Jeep’s first PHEV model and the appealing new Alfa Romeo Tonale mini-SUV. The aptly-named Centoventi forms part of Fiat 120^th anniversary celebrations, and is all-the-more refreshing for being the first smaller Fiat model for some time not to be inspired by the Fiat 500; not that there’s anything wrong with that. Hopefully the Centoventi concept will morph into the next-generation Panda, so fingers crossed…