Inside Lane

Welcome To

Geneva

Issue 26 Geneva Motor Show

Here we go... The 81st Geneva International motor show, arguably the biggest show of the year and in 2011 promises to be one of the most exciting. With a vast array of new production models and concepts being seen for the first time this really is the place to be for any petrol head.

Filled with anticipation? Lets crank it up to 11 and begin!

The New Face of School Runs

If you have a mass of human cargo

to transport about the place you can’t

do much better than the Vauxhall

Zafira. For years it has ferried

children to school and back with

room to spare, as a people mover it

is near faultless however it was never

the most exciting way of getting

around. A new incarnation of this car

is just around the corner and to

preview it the company has let a

Concept out into the wild.

The Zafira Concept looks much more space age shuttle than a people carrier, something that can

only be to its advantage. It’s not just the exterior that has received a transformation, inside the cabin

has moved up several pegs in terms of quality. Durability is now not the only focus as the whole

environment has a much more premium look to it. The Zafira is powered by a fuel efficient 1.4 litre

turbo engine with start/stop technology keeping those pounds in check whilst offering the same

practicality as its predecessor.

“This Cat’s Got Claws!”

Jaguar XKR-S

Jaguar, though funded and owned by Tata motors, is still seen as the quint essential British sports

car. Nobody does it like the Brits and deep within this cats heritage is a host of examples to back

its CV. Today Jaguar isn’t quite as dominant as it would like to be and of late old foes have come

back into view. Aston Martin since being sold by Ford has thrived and Jaguar, after being released

from the same company, have done well but in comparison not as well. Whats new pussy cat?

Meet the XKR-S, Jag’s nuclear warhead!

Based upon the XK this predator of

the road has had a good going over

in preparation for battle. The 5.0 litre

supercharged V8 engine now

produces 542BHP and an

astonishing 502lb-ft of torque.

0-60MPH is banished within 4.2

seconds and this shark inspired

machine will continue on to 186MPH.

Performance at this level rivals Aston

Martin’s V12 Vantage, something that

Jaguar will be keen to use as

propaganda. The car sits lower with a

new suspension set-up and wider

rear tyres to insure that all this power

can be put to good use.

Let the Jaguar/Aston rivalry reignite!

Ford hit the nail right on the head a few years ago with the

C-Max. The Focus based MPV with more hight and length

was perfect for those looking ford durability and practicality.

The car recently saw a redesign incorporating the

companies ever evolving “Kinetic” design language. Now

the blue oval are aiming for a similar market with the new

Fiesta based B-Max.

This “production ready concept” is larger than the Fiesta it

is based on yet smaller than a C-Max. Vauxhall Meriva you

have been warned! The cars revolutionary design missing

the B-pillar allows for ample entry and exit space for all

forms of cargo. Sliding doors at the rear add an extra

element of practicality. Another interesting note is the B-

Max’s 1.0 litre engine that was first seen in the Start

concept. This one is coupled with a turbo and boasts vast

reductions in CO2 emissions.

Ford are staying tight lipped about when we will see the B-

Max in the showroom but from looking at what we have

here we can’t imagine it being far off.

B-M

AX

Boredom Has Taken A Siesta

Seat, hmmmmm… Design wise they do often produce some rather interesting

shapes. In fact the new Leon I thought was rather good but these days its whats

underneath a Seat that may bother you. Oh its all perfectly well engineered stuff but

it does seem like the Spanish firm received all of VW’s old hand-me-downs.

However from under a silk sheet in Geneva appears a rather exciting concept.

The Seat IBX Crossover is a very attractive car indeed. It previews future design

directions for the company and also marks the first time they have considered

moving into this market. Its a hybrid and in all-electric mode the car can cover a

respectable 28.6 miles. Seat say this is a genuine probe to test the market for such

a model and if it is well received we could see a production variant possibly with

4WD.

“Forget Ikea... This Is IKILLER!!!”

Koenigsegg, much like Pagani,

appeared to materialize from nowhere

and take the supercar world by storm.

The entire CC range went collecting

performance victories over well

established brands like it was doing

the weekly shop. Last year the

company announced the Agera, the

first of what we now call the next

generation of supercar. But the

Swedish company haven’t stopped

there as Geneva marks the

beginnings of the Agera R!

Imagine one of the fastest land based

machines on Earth and crank it up to

11. That is exactly what the R is! A no

holding back, nuclear grade explosion

of a car. The 5.0 litre twin turbo V8

can produce a biblical 1,115BHP and

885lb-ft of torque, enough to frighten

the likes of Bugatti. Packed with a 7

speed dual clutch gearbox even the

manufacturer doesn’t yet know just

where this cars limit is. The specially

crafted tyres, according Koenigsegg,

are rated at 260MPH+ more than any

other road tyre available.

Koenigsegg Agera R

“Lamborghini Built the Murcielago, And We Saw That It Was Good...”

“Then Lamborghini Created The AVENTADOR...

And We Saw That It Was BETTER!”

“Bedroom Walls Will Be Covered In Posters Of This Thing!

Lamborghini exists solely for one purpose. One night deep within the pages of history both Mr Ferrari and Mr

Lamborghini sat down to dine together. The topic of sports cars arose where the two men met at a

disagreement. Mr Lamborghini, who at the time built tractors, didn’t like the way Enzo was building his road

cars and so he told him. He was met with a reply along the lines of “if you don’t like it build your own…” And

so out of pure spite he did. Decades later and the two are still at each others throats but now Lamborghini

have a new weapon of choice to take on the prancing horse. Its called the Aventador!

Replacing the much loved Murcielago the

Aventador is an all new car suited and

booted with the latest technology. A brand

new V12 heart pounds out 691BHP and

will hurtle this monster from 0-62MPH in

just 2.9 seconds. The car will not relent

until it hits 217MPH, with a sharp new dual

clutch gearbox and redline of 8,250rpm it

wont take long at all to get there. Inside is

a fabulously sculpted cockpit with high

centre console and man eating seats.

We just love it! This truly does

represent the Lamborghini of today.

Aggressive, powerful, the sort of

machine that if it walked into a

crowded room could cause silence to

fall. Until you fired it up of course.

Alfa Romeo 4C

Alfa Romeo is the definition what cars mean to

many people. It is more than just a way of

getting from point A to point B, it is more than

something to put the shopping in. An Alfa

Romeo is what driving pleasure is all about.

The car communicating with the driver,

rewarding him or her for exuberance. The

current range, though brilliant, is lacking a

coupe since the limited edition 8C left us. But

now Alfa Romeo have brought us a new gift,

and we like it a lot!

This glorious piece of design is called the 4C

and it is to become one of the ultimate cars the

brand has ever made. Though not as powerful

as its bigger brother it is intended to be a

permanent fixture to the line-up. The car is

powered by a four cylinder turbo engine that

offers just over 200BHP. That may sound a

little on the low side but do bare in mind this it

weighs just 850KG meaning a 0-62MPH run

can be done in under 5 seconds. This is a

concept but sources from within Alfa Romeo

are expecting the 4C to hit production.

Aston Martin VirageWe were none too happy about Aston Martin’s

We were none too happy about Aston Martin’s

latest release. The ugly rebadged Toyota iQ that

goes by the name Cygnet was about as far away

from an Aston Martin as is physically possible to

be so. However the British company have yet

another new car for us to get excited about, and

lets be honest, a new model from this brand

always means excitement.

It is called the Virage and if you are thinking “that looks very much like a

DB9” you would be spot on. You see when manufacturers say “all new”

they mean its a new model and the Virage is based upon the DB9.

Designed to slot between the standard DB9 and the DBS the new car

has some very seductive new shapes and that certainly worked their

magic on us. Under the bonnet is the same 6.0 litre V12 heart but with

490BHP and 420lb-ft of torque. 0-62MPH is done in under 4.5 seconds

and it wont stop until it reaches 186MPH. Carbon breaks and Pirell P

Zero tyres are standard making this car a true performance package

from the get go.

We like, we like very much.

Now the way motor shows work

from our point of view is that the

show is announced, there is a

few truck loads of speculation

that builds up, we get some of

the facts from manufacturers

and are told to keep them quiet,

then the day arrives and all

goes to plan. Well Fiat kept this

one quiet and it has become the

biggest surprise of the show so

far. Legendary designers,

Zagato, have taken a shine to

the 500 and produced a

masterpiece.

The 500 Coupe by Zagato is of

course based upon the

standard car but with a few

gorgeous new aspects to it. The

double-bubble roof is the Italian

design firms signature and on

the 500 in combination with the

sloping roofline fits beautifully

into the profile. The rear

quarters have also gained more

muscle in the hunches making it

look like a little bruiser that

might just take a pop at anyone

who calls it a “pretty boy.”

Unfortunately the car is just a

concept for now but we live in

hope that it could make it into

production if the current is

flowing in the right direction.

Double Bubble