Geneva auto show's perfect storm of tech and exotica

This year's Geneva auto show was one for the record books, featuring rare supercars, concepts, important new models, and the debut of Apple CarPlay.

ayne Cunningham by

ayne Cunningham !arch "#, $#"% &'#( P! P)T

The *uracan, +amborghini's replacement for the Gallardo, was ,ust one of th e big product unveils at the show. -ome auto shows fi..le, hitting a dead .one in product cycles so that manuf acturers have little of note to announce. This year in Geneva, the opposite h appened, with automakers from every segment showing off e/citing new mod els and concepts. There were supercars and hypercars. There were compact -01s and hot hyb rids. There were cars of the past and of the future. And Apple ,oined a cou ple of automakers to give the first public look at CarPlay, formerly known a s i2- in the Car. The show stealers were the e/otics, vehicles that sell in limited 3uantities at prices ranging from a hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. The +ambo rghini *uracan was actually the most accessible of these cars, the one you might see on the -trip in 1egas or racing around !iami. 4t updates +amborghi ni's entry5level model with new styling language and 6#" horsepower. 7rit5company !c+aren attempted to show up the 4talians with the more clini cally named 68#-, a supercar that works as an evolution of the company's ! P%5"$C model. 7oasting 6%" horsepower and carbon5fiber construction, the 68#- is a car you would be lucky to see at a track day. *owever, for sheer power, the *uracan and !c+aren pale in comparison to t he 9oenigsegg 2ne'", which the -wedish company variously referred to as a hypercar and a megawatt car. The term :megawatt: comes from the 2ne'"'s ",### kilowatt power output, which converts to about ",&%" horsepower. Th e car on the show floor e/hibited insanely impressive engineering and detail, n ot to mention cleverly placed '"' badges. Also, carbon fiber wheels turn it up to "".

C;<T editor Antuan Goodwin added up the horses of these e/treme cars, fin ding a figure of over "",###, and collected them all in the e/otic cars galler y. =un fact' 7ugatti sold all three planned models of its 1eyron 1itesse >emb randt 7ugatti edition after the first weekend, at over ?$ million each. As C;<T focuses on technology in cars, the big story for us was the public demonstration of Apple CarPlay. 4 showed up at !ercedes57en.'s demonstra tion first thing, but had to wait half an hour for one of the !ercedes57en. board members to look at the new i2- integration. hen it was my turn, an Apple employee walked me through CarPlay in a !ercedes57en. C5class, the first model in which CarPlay will appear. 4 was impressed at the smooth inter action between the !ercedes57en. in5car controls and the i2- apps. 4t look ed to me like an evolution of how i2- devices currently work in cars for mus ic playback. Among the concept cars on display, !aserati and 1olvo split honors for most desirable. The !aserati Alfieri is a gran turismo5style vehicle, a two5door with a long nose and a little cargo area. 4ts li3uid lines showed off what !as erati suggested was its styling language for the ne/t "## years. The 1olvo Concept <state was not 3uite as se/y, but, to the delight of 1olvo aficionad os, it hearkened back to the historic "@## <- wagon. The Concept <state sh owed that 1olvo has big plans for its newly independent future. 2ther notable concepts included the !a.da *a.umi, a thinly veiled !a.da$, an d the 1olkswagen T5>oc, which looked like the muscle beach version of the Golf. *onda showed off its Civic Type > concept, which only made me sad du e to the fact that it is based on the <uropean version of the Civic, which w e don't get in the 0-, as well as being a Type >, which we also don't get in the 0-.

*onda's concept Civic Type > is based on the <uropean version of the Civic, very different from the 0- version.

=or a roundup of the concepts, check out our weird and wonderful gallery. 2n the practical side, there were the cars that normal people actually buy. Automakers launched their newest models at the show, and since 4 find it har d to name the best, 4 will focus on my favorite, the $#"8 ;issan Auke. The e

/terior changes to this funky compact -01 were minor, merely accentuating i ts styling cues without redesigning the overall look. +ikewise, the basic drivet rain specs should remain the same for the 0- market, although ;issan refined the engine, transmission, and all5wheel5drive system. The $#"8 Auke benefits from ;issan's new connected cabin tech, adding Google search to its navigati on system. Audi used the Geneva show to unveil the third generation of its TT sports c ar. =rom the outside, changes are minor, with the little coupe adopting Audi's more recent styling language. Gone is the 156 engine option in favor of a hig h5output $5liter turbo engine. The biggest change comes in the cabin, with t he 1irtual Cockpit Audi showed off at C<- two months ago. The 1irtual Cock pit replaces physical gauges with a large +C) showing all infotainment functio ns. )estination entry also gets a new paradigm, a free5form search that ma tches entered te/t to streets, cities, and businesses. Aeep ,oined the compact -01 set with its new >enegade model, borrowing a platform from owner =iat. 4n Aeep style, the >enegade has been made offroa d5worthy, earning Aeep's Trail5rated designation for the Trailhawk trim level. ;otably, Aeep will offer a $5liter diesel engine in the 0- >enegade, along wi th the a $.%5liter gasoline engine. =or the full range of new model launches and other sights from the show, ch eck out C;<T's full coverage of the $#"% Geneva auto show.