Car shows

The Geneva auto show is filled with signs that the industry turnaround under way in North America has reached Europe.

Automakers are bouncing back from the downturn of the past two years with a number of production vehicles and concepts in Geneva.

Volkswagen Group, helped by its new subsidiary Italdesign Giugiaro, will unveil an array of concept cars to show the industry it has the design depth, as well as the production capability and the financial strength, to topple Toyota as the world's No. 1 automaker.

BMW will debut the Vision ConnectedDrive, a futuristic roadster concept that shows how … Read more

With its DB9, DBS, and Vantage, you would think Aston Martin had its GT lineup well covered. But the company, obviously feeling there was room to squeeze in another car, announced the all-new Virage, to be unveiled at the 2011 International Motor Show in Geneva.

The Virage is another sport touring coupe, and Aston Martin says it fits between the DB9 and DBS. The car is powered by a 6-liter V-12, similar to that used in the DBS, but is supposed to offer more of the comfort and style of the DB9.

Unlike its sibling GT cars, the Virage gets … Read more

At least some part of the automotive future will be electric, but that doesn't have to mean we all need to drive utilitarian appliances intended only to get you from point A to point B. They can be cute, fun, and even fast. At least, that's what Smart is trying to say with the ForSpeed concept it will show at the 2011 International Motor Show in Geneva next month.

The Smart ForSpeed is a take on the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive that's currently being tested in Europe and the U.S. The two-seater concept car has no … Read more

We've been keeping a close eye on the development of the Toyota FT-86 concept, mostly because we're excited at what could be the first small, sporty Toyota (or Scion) since the Celica took a trip to the chopping block in 2006*. However, we've also been peripherally aware that Toyota's development partnership with Subaru--provider of the 86's Boxer four-cylinder engine--meant that we'd eventually see a Subaru variant of the sports coupe. It now appears that we won't have to wait much longer, as Subaru has recently launched a teaser site for its "Boxer … Read more

Love the Jaguar XK-series chassis, but think the 503-horsepower XKR is too docile for your tastes? Well, Jaguar may have the vehicle for you when it unveils the new 550-horsepower Jaguar XKR-S at the 2011 International Motor Show in Geneva.

The last time we saw a Jag wearing the XKR-S badge was at the 2008 Geneva show, where a limited edition of the super-coupe was unveiled. The XKR-S announced today will feature a supercharged V-8 engine producing 550-horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque. That sort of output gets you a top speed of 186 mph and a 0-60 time of … Read more

Maserati has released photos of the 2012 GranTurismo Convertible Sport model it plans to debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show next month. The new droptop has a top speed of 177 mph and uses the same 4.7-liter V-8 engine that powers the entire Maserati lineup. With 450 horsepower, it offers 17 more horsepower than the current GranTurismo Convertible, and 10 more horsepower than the GranTurismo S, but with 6 percent better fuel economy, according to Maserati. The fuel efficiency gain comes from the carmaker's Friction Reduction Program, which, if it's the same as used in the … Read more

Luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, a unit of German auto giant BMW, said over the weekend that it had developed a fully electric-powered car, but did not say when the model would enter production.

Rolls-Royce said the prototype, dubbed the 102EX and based on its top-end "Phantom" model, will be put through various tests during 2011.

The normal Phantom is powered by a 6.75 liter 12-cylinder engine, at least three to four times the size of the engine on a typical family sedan, and gets about 14 mpg.

Rolls-Royce said it will display the prototype at the … Read more

The 2011 International Motor Show in Geneva is still a bit away, but Hyundai has given us our first look at the soon-to-be premiered i40 estate. "Estate," for our North American readers, is how our friends across the pond say "wagon"; and we like wagons.

The i40 was developed with the European market in mind, but shares a platform with the North American Sonata. The i40 will feature, among its power train options, a 1.7-liter diesel engine that emits just 113 g/km of CO2, which is pretty good--best-in-class good, actually.

The i40 was developed … Read more

Infiniti is teasing us, again. This week the Japanese-automaker released a few images, but no real details, of the Etherea Concept. Earlier this month Infiniti teased with a silhouette of a hatchback.

It looks like the Etherea combines elements of a coupe, sedan, hatchback and crossover in a forward-thinking design.

There were no under-the-hood details released with the images. Infiniti just included a brief statement, announcing that the Etherea will make its world debut on Tuesday, 1 March, at the 2011 Geneva auto show.

The Etherea is rumored to be an entry-level vehicle for Infinity, most likely competing with the … Read more