The best of Geneva 2019

I have been told that if you were to go to any auto show it should be Geneva. Not only do you get to go to Switzerland, but Geneva is the show that all of the automakers reveal their best kept secrets. This year was no exception, with crazy new cars from Renault, Honda and Aston Martin along with a few new cars that are getting a lot of attention from Ferrari and Lamborghini, among others. Below are the highlights from the show from my perspective.

I think that Aston Martin stole the show this year with not 1, not 2 but 3 debuts, plus the launch of their all electric vision of the Lagonda brand. We finally got to see a near final version of the Valkyrie with VP001 being displayed (VP meaning Verification Prototype). If the Valkyrie wasn’t crazy enough for you, alongside it was the even more insane Valkyrie AMR Pro. The AMR Pro is a track only toy for the ultra rich and takes the Valkyrie recipe and turns it up to 11 with reduced weight, more hardcore aerodynamics and a more stripped out interior.

Then there was the RB-003, a car that Aston Martin plans to put up against the likes of the La Ferrari and McLaren Senna, costing around $1.5M. It follows a similar design as the Valkyrie, albeit toned down. Aston also launched the Vanquish Vision Concept as well, although I’m not entirely sold on the looks yet. It is beautiful, but not quite what I expect when I think of a Vanquish. Honestly to me it looks exactly like the RB-003, but again a bit more streetable. Aston says that this will go up against the likes of the McLaren 720s and the newly launched Ferrari F8 Tributo.

Speaking of the Ferrari, they have launched the successor to the 488 with the F8 Tributo. Ferrari are being quite koi about whether this will be the last naturally aspirated V8 before hybridization and/or electrification takes over, however they have said that “the next one” likely will be hybridized. Make of that what you will, but don’t expect another new model without some electrification.

The F8 to me isn’t a revolution, but rather an evolution of the design language found on both the 458 and 488. Ferrari typically has 2 models in a row that are similar with the next being a total redesign (348 –> 355, 360 –> 430, 458 –> 488). The front end is very similar to the 488 Pista and the rear end is also quite reminiscent of the 458 or 488. The F8 is also the first all new model that has been design in house, rather than by Pininfarina, so it could just be teething pains. I’m not saying that the F8 is ugly, but it just didn’t wow me.

Koenigsegg has once again blown me away with the launch of their new Jesko and the crazy engineering that they have brought with it. The car has an all new motor producing over 1500 hp as well as an absolutely ridiculous transmission that has been conceived, designed and built in house. The all new transmission is a 9 speed unit, which isn’t all that different, but it also has 7 clutches built inside of it. Christian von Koenigsegg has said that the new transmission works in a similar way to a bicycles derailleur system, meaning that they can have less cogs inside of the transmission and therefore a smaller footprint. Youtuber Mr JWW has posted an exclusive interview with Christian von Koenigsegg at their factory in Sweden about the new Jesko megacar. It is a bit long but well worth the watch if only to hear Christian talk about the transmission.

A few other notable launches were the Bugatti one-off creation, the La Voiture Noire, the Peugeot 208, which is the car Peugeot plans to hopes to help win over North American buyers when it re-enters the North American market by 2026, and the Pininfarina Battista, a beautiful car from the legendary Italian design firm.