Geneva International Motor Show: 2005

By Feann Torr - 3/03/2005

Geneva is one of Europe's biggest motor shows - no arguament there - but unlike a Detroit Motor Show, or even a Frankfurt Motor Show, Geneva is more about style and design, rather than all-out horsepower.

That's not to say that the 75th annual Geneva International Motor Show at the Geneva Palexpo exhibition complex didn't host a number fire-breathing exotic sports cars.

Indeed, Ferrari's F430 Spider, Aston Martin's new V8-powered Vantage and Lamborghini's Concept S are just a few of the rare stars from this year's show, but a real sense of style and elegance, what the French might call élan, pervaded the event.

So if it's visual feast that you're after, then you won't be disappointed with what the Geneva Motor Show offered up, with more new cars and concept studies than you shake an dipstick at. Just take a look at the list below to see how many new cars were on show - and there are many other models than we simply couldn't cover in time.

One of the more interesting new cars to make its debut in Geneva was the second generation Lexus IS range, which as well as getting a Europe-friendly diesel engine, also packs a new petrol powered V6. Should be one watch.

The German arm of General Motors, Opel, also unleashed its new Zafira, which will give Honda's impressive Odyssey solid competition not only in the exterior styling stakes, but also in terms of power - the go-fast version makes 176kW!

Mitsubishi showed off the exciting Pininfarina-styled Colt coupe-cabriolet, complete with a folding metal roof (like the Peugeot 206 CC), which looks like becoming one of the hotter items in the Mitsubishi stable thanks to its bold styling and compact dimensions.

Alfa Romeo's new Brera and 159 models gave the Italian automaker something to crow about, Honda released a new concept car that shows what the next generation Civic models will look like, and we can't forget Mazda's new MX-5 either, which is perhaps one of Japanese car makers most important models since the RX-8.

Anyway, enough with the introductions and let's get to the nitty gritty. If you see something you like, click on the link and you can check out the information and photography of these new cars, many of which are still many years away from production. Enjoy!