GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Performance on display

This year's Geneva motor show will go down in history as one of the highest-octane ever

It was hypercar-city at the 2015 Salon de l'auto, in stark contrast to other European motor shows over the last decade or so.

As Europe's first major international show on the calendar each year, Geneva sets the pace for the other shows on the fixture. And 'pace' is the operative word. There were still plenty of worthy but underwhelming cars present, to save the earth's finite resources and its climate-sensitive ecology, but for some exhibitors those concerns were tossed to the four winds.

Let's revisit them...

Aston Martin

The 'other' icon of British sports-car manufacturing showed its limited-edition 7.0-litre V12 Vulcan track special, its Vantage GT3 and – in a real break with tradition – its high-riding DBX crossover-coupe concept.

Audi R8

The German luxury giant's second-generation R8 formed the basis of not one but three radically different super-coupes at Geneva, including the 'standard' V10 Plus and the LMS sports car racer, but our pick is the e-tron, which can sprint to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds and travel for 450km without using a drop of petrol.

Bentley EXP10 Speed 6

The oh-so-British luxury marque got down and dirty with a wild two-seat supercar concept that it says is entirely production feasible and is expected to be sold alongside the Continental GT.

Brabus Rocket 900
A 662kW output might seem like enough to make anyone sit up and take notice, but when that reflects torque of 1500Nm in an S-Class Mercedes, now you're really talking. But this is from Brabus, not Mercedes-AMG. Around half a million Aussie dollars is a big stake to outlay for the Brabus Rocket 900, but it looks the goods and there's little use denying that sort of performance will put a smile on the dial.

Bugatti Veyron La Finale

What a dramatic conclusion to a car that re-wrote the history books! The ultimate Veyron, wearing the chassis number 450, almost certainly sold for a princely sum – well above the average Veyron transaction price of €2.3 million (AUD $3.3 million), we would suggest. Still, with Veyrons offering a 2.5-second 0-100km/h time and laying claim to a record-breaking top speed of 431km/h, the Veyron La Finale will be an appreciating asset, have no doubt.

ED design Torq

Hands down, the ED Design Torq is the car that wins the gong for Geneva's weirdest offering in 2015. F1 nose, wing and side skirts grafted to something that looks like an oversized personal water craft are the signature styling elements of the windowless electric race car, which drives itself and can complete 12 laps of Le Mans at race pace before pitting for a battery swap. Yes, you read that right, the manufacturer plans to race the Torq at Le Mans, in the Innovation Class. A driver will be along for the ride, but we're not quite sure why. What could possibly go wrong with an autonomous car at Le Mans?

Ferrari 488 GTB

It's essentially a midlife makeover for the 450 Italia coupe, but Ferrari's 488 GTB changes everything except its roof and packs a downsized turbocharged V8 with more performance and efficiency.

Glickenhaus SCG003

It wears a funny name but road and race versions of this hypercar are no joke, what with a kerb weight of just 1200kg, a 450kW/750Nm twin-turbo V6 and an even more powerful biturbo V12.

GTA Spano

Not a well-known name in the Anglosphere, but the Spanish sports car won't remain a wallflower long – not with a heart-stopping 700kW V10 engine that is supercharged for a 0-100km/h time of 2.9 seconds. Unfortunately the manufacturer only plans to build 99 of them.

Italdesign Giugiaro GEA Concept

Long and slinky, the GEA Concept is futuristic and luxurious – and it drives itself. Designed as a taste of what the next few years might bring, the GEA Concept is a luxury passenger car, with the emphasis exclusively on passenger... although one of the occupants could drive it, at a pinch. Wheel-in-hub electric motors collectively develop 764hp (562kW), which reaches the road through all four 20-inch wheels and tyres.

Koenigsegg Agera RS and Regera

Yes, the Swedish supercar maker fronted at Geneva with not one but two new gob-smackers and while the track-focussed Agera RS is going after the Nurburgring lap record, the mad 1103kW/2000Nm Regera electric hypercar can hit 450km/h without a gearbox.

Lamborghini Aventador LP-750-4 Superveloce

Take Lambo's flagship hypercar, subtract weight and add even more power and this is what you get: a raging bull with an even longer name.

McLaren 675 LT

The British supercar brand lobbed at Geneva with a 100kg-lighter (1230kg dry) version of the 650S, slamming out 497kW for just over $600,000.

Mercedes-AMG GT3

With the 'garden-variety' AMG GT on the way, it was time for Mercedes-AMG to reveal the race-ready GT3 version of its all-new AMG range-topper and in the hands of Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche it shook the Palexpo hall to its foundations when proceedings began at 8:00am.

Morgan Aero 8

BMW V8-powered Aero 8 is all-new for 2015, with the wood-frame chassis replaced by an aluminium unit that allows easier tuning of the suspension. It's official that the Aero 8 – now a convertible only – is headed for Oz too.

MTM 590kW Talladega S

Maybe MTM means Mary Tyler-Moore to you, but it's also the name of a German tuning shop that brought along a brace of Audis (three) to Geneva, to promote their modifying smarts. How about this one, for example, an S8-based model that can dash off a 0-100km/h sprint in 3.1 seconds? Tweaks to the S8's 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 have achieved output of 590kW/945Nm – which must test even the Audi's quattro all-wheel drive system.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Just when you thought Porsche's racer-for-the-road GT3 was about as sharp as a 911 can get, along comes the RS with 368kW, 480Nm and the sharpest 911 chassis yet.

Ruf RGT 4.2

Known for its long history of modifying the Porsche 911, Ruf has come to the party once more. Their latest creation is the Ruf RGT 4.2, which develops more power and torque than Porsche's own 911 GT3 RS. The extra herbs go with slightly higher engine displacement – 4.2 litres, hence the model name – and all that is being channelled through a six-speed manual transmission in the RGT 4.2, versus a seven-speed PDK in the Porsche.

Touring Superleggera Berlinetta Lusso

Italian design studio Touring Superleggera has weaved its magic for Geneva, passing the wand over a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta to produce this delectable coupe with a touch of heritage/retro style.

More 2015 Geneva Motor Show news here

GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Performance on display

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