Geneva Motor Show 2017

Beginning way back at the dawn of the motoring era in 1905, the show has grown up side-by-side with the car itself, and has since debuted countless iconic vehicles. A few of the most famous cars to emerge into the world from the show include the Ford Mondeo, Aston Martin DB7, the Jaguar E-Type, Audi Quattro, and even the first ever Range Rover.

Today, the Geneva Motor Show draws in the top manufacturers from around the world, giving them a platform from which to debut their latest concepts, upgrades, and the latest models ready to hit the production line. All of this combines to create a true spectacle for the public and an almost endless source of tantalising news stories for the motoring press. The show is unsurprisingly attended by a number of Europe’s top manufacturers such as BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Volkswagen, Citroen, Peugeot and Renault, but also brings in some of the highest volume sellers in the EU market from across the globe - you can expect to see something new from manufacturers including Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Kia, Ford, and General Motors’ Opel/Vauxhall.

Location, Dates, and Tickets

Held in March, the Geneva Show runs annually unlike its Paris and Frankfurt counterparts which both come around biennially. The show is perfectly located at the Geneva Palexpo convention centre, located right next to the Geneva International Airport, so it’s ideally situated for visitors.

In 2017, the 87th Geneva Motor Show will run from the 9th to the 19th of March, opening early for press days on the 7th and 8th of the month.

The show will open to the public on weekdays from 10am to 8pm and at the weekend from 9am to 7pm.

Tickets are available to buy from the show’s official website and, considering the amount there is to see, the cost is pretty good value for money. Adult tickets are 16 Swiss Francs ( around £13), and pensioners, children aged 6-16, and disabled people are charged 9 Swiss Francs (around £7). There’s also a 50% discount on tickets bought after 4pm on the day of entry.

What to expect this year

Although the show is still a little while away, we’ve already caught wind of a number of exciting launches coming our way. Amongst those confirmed are:

Renault’s Alpine sports car/A120: a rebirth of the famous Alpine A110 from Renault’s sports sub-brand
Vauxhall’s Insignia Grand Sport: a plush new four-door coupe to take Vauxhall a little more upmarket
Volkswagen’s Arteon: a new VW saloon to take the place of the Passat CC and rival the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe
Seat’s facelifted Ibiza: a redesign of this favourite supermini will be launched ahead of the brand new Arona crossover
Mitsubishi’s all-new SUV: a new crossover vehicle will be launched from Mitsubishi, bringing fresh style to the manufacturer’s range and taking on the Nissan Qashqai.

Nissan’s Qashqai facelift: the UK’s favourite crossover will benefit from some minor changes to its looks and some serious upgrades to the car’s tech specs.

In detail: the cars to look out for

Alpine A120

Revealed for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show, we’ll finally get to see what’s hiding behind the camouflage of Renault-owned sports car maker Alpine’s A120.

Citroen C3 Picasso

This year’s show is likely to see debuted two sister MPVs, the Citroen C3 Picasso and the Vauxhall Crossland X. The cars share a platform and engine and, whilst more has been seen of the Crossland X, spy shots indicate that it takes on some significant design elements from the Citroen.

Vanda Dendrobium

The first hypercar to come from Singapore, the Dendrodium gets a hand from the Williams F1 tech team. We don’t know much else, but it’s likely to be produced in limited numbers similarly to the Aston Martin, Red Bull’s AM-RB 001 and the Mercedes-AMG Project One hypercars.

Eadon Green Black Cuillin

The latest manufacturer on the scene, UK-based Eadon Green seems posed to present itself as a rival to Morgan. It has so far released only one line-drawing preview of the Black Cuillin - a retro-styled coupe that remains otherwise surrounded by mystery.

Ferrari F12 M

One of the first to be revealed at the Geneva show in March, the F12 M is Ferrari’s replacement for the F12. Until now, the car has only been seen in heavy disguise. At the show we expect a good look at the F12 M in all its glory and a peep under the hood that should reveal power closer to the F12tdf’s 796bhp.

Jaguar XF Sportbrake

At the last Paris Motor Show, Jaguar confirmed its XF Sportbrake estate with an image of the testing prototype in full camouflage. The car will share engines with the standard XF, with 2.0-litre diesel and 2.0-litre V6 varieties available. We don’t imagine there’ll be an XF R Sportbrake to the rival the Mercedes-AMG E 63 S estate, however.

Kia Picanto

Although we have already seen some images of the Picanto revealed at the Detroit Motor Show, we’ll see the car in the metal for the first time in Geneva. Kia’s smallest car is getting a fresh new look as well as upgraded interior, technology, and safety features. There’ll also be a sportier GT-Line trim.

Land Rover Range Rover Velar

Set to become the new king of the road, the Range Rover Velar will be Land Rover’s most radical design yet. The mid-sized SUV-coupe will sit in direct competition with the Porsche Macan, BMW X6 and the Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe.

Lamborghini Huracan Performante

The lightweight Huracan is expected to be shown at Geneva, arriving in both coupe and Spyder variants. With significant weight reduction a key part of the design, the top speed should increase whilst the 0-62mph time comes down.

McLaren P14

The codenamed P14 will be revealed at Geneva as McLaren’s replacement for the 650S. It will feature a brand new look and, most likely, much greater power. Some recently leaked images give a hint of the design, and McLaren has already revealed the car’s carbon monocoque.

Mercedes-AMG G65 4x4 Landaulet

The G65 4x4 will be a limited-volume, V12-powered semi-convertible version of the G-Class. To be revealed at the Geneva show this year, it will follow on from the discontinued current model to be replaced with an updated model later in the year.

Mercedes-AMG E 63 Estate

We’re expecting to see the world’s quickest wagon - the Mercedes-AMG E 63 Estate - at this year’s Geneva show. Making 0-62mph in just 3.5 seconds in its top-of-the-range S 4Matic+ variant, it will be just 0.1 seconds slower than the saloon equivalent. The Audi RS6 Avant, its closest rival, makes it in 3.7 seconds.

Mitsubishi Eclipse

The Eclipse from Mitsubishi is a rather late-coming model to the Qashqai rivals lineup. It is hoped the new car will turn the manufacturer’s luck around under new Renault-Nissan management, with the car’s looks likely to be taken from the 2013 XR-PHEV concept car.

Nissan Qashqai

The Qashqai itself will also be revealed with a new look following an announcement of Nissan’s intentions at last year’s show. The new version is already confirmed to feature Nissan’s Propilot single-lane autonomous tech, and we also expect there could be a premium-nipping £30,000+ Tekna+ trim released to challenge the Audi Q3 later in the year.

Pagani Huayra Roadster

Pagani has already confirmed its intentions to show the Huayra Roadster at Geneva, having previously released two teasing design detail images. The hardtop version is driven by Pagani’s own 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12 engine, which produces 730bhp and 738lb ft. It’s likely that the Roadster will also use this engine and, therefore, increase in price from the hardtop’s £666,000 tag.

Pininfarina Fittipaldi EF7 Vision Gran Turismo

Developed with the aid of x2 F1 champion and Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi, the EF7 from Pininfarina remains fairly mysterious. No technical information is yet available, but the car is likely to be designed for track driving.

Porsche 911 GT3

Fans have been lucky enough to get hold of images of the facelifted 911 GT3 on numerous occasions, but we’ll see the new-look car in full for the first time at this year’s Geneva show. Added features will include an optional manual gearbox, and the 3.8-litre engine will remain but without the help of a turbocharger.

Seat Ibiza

Until now, only images have been seen of the new Ibiza. We’ll get a proper look at the car at this year’s Geneva show ahead of its July launch. The latest incarnation of the Ibiza will share many features with the Arona small SUV arriving later in the year.

Subaru XV

Based on Subaru’s new Global Platform that is also used for the Impreza, the second coming of the small SUV Subaru XV will feature boxer engines fitted so as to keep vibration to a minimum.

Suzuki Swift

There had been several leaks ahead of the Swift’s official Japanese launch towards the end of last year, but not until Geneva does the car makes its motor show debut. The supermini will likely feature options including a hybrid powertrain for the European market.

Techrules GT96

The game-changing turbine-recharging EV was first previewed at last year’s show, but the Chinese electric car company Techrules will be revealing its production-ready version this year. The concept model came with statistics including 1030bhp, 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds, and a 217mph top speed. Electric-only range is also said to be an impressive 93 miles, with a total range of 1200 miles.

Toyota Yaris

A new hot hatch version of the Yaris is yet to be given its proper name, but is thought to be named after Toyota’s Gazoo motorsport arm. Already revealed, the car is debuting officially at Geneva before it goes on general sale later in the year. Toyota has confirmed the car will have more than 210bhp, taking the small hot hatch a few segments up in terms of horsepower.

Volvo XC60

Having withdrawn from all but three of the 2017 motor shows, Volvo is expected to debut its new small SUV - the XC60 - at the Geneva show in March. It’s been spotted in testing, and is expected to draw heavily on its XC90 sibling car.

Volkswagen Arteon

The Arteon - a replacement coupe for the CC - takes another step away from its roots in the Passat. With a new name and similar styling, it will be the most expensive saloon that Volkswagen makes following the discontinuation of the Phaeton.

Vauxhall Crossland X

The new Crossland X - a small, urban SUV, is a replacement for the Meriva MPV. It’s due to make its debut with Opel badges at the Geneva show.

Volkswagen T-Roc

This small SUV from Volkswagen has been a long time coming. Now expected to be revealed at the Geneva show, the T-Roc will most likely take inspiration from the concept car first seen in Geneva back in 2014.

Zenvo TS1 GT

This 10-year anniversary model of the Danish supercar’s TS1 GT will launch in Geneva with a twin-supercharged 5.8-litre V8 engine producing over 1150bhp.