Geneva Autoshow 2011 Part 2

Sometimes you wonder what a car looks like in real life. This is the Ferrari Four. To be honest it somewhat disappoints me. It is very big, quite huge actually. The styling makes it look quite large. The design lacks dynamics and speed, it's not that elegant. Because the Audi A3 is nearing the end of its life... ...they are making a successor. But they won't show it yet because they still want us to buy the old A3. This is the A3 concept. Surprisingly it's like a sedan... ...with coupe lines. The wheels deserve special attention. I'll walk around the front. On this site Patrick can film them better. Look, there's carbon in the wheels. You don't want this if you have to park alongside a curb every day, like me. If you hit the curb once, it'll cost you 23 grand. This is one of the treats of the show. Alfa Romeo is finally introducing a new car again. And quite a car too, it's a small sports car; the 4C. They've used a lot of technology from the 8C. This one is a lot smaller and lighter, though. They've used a lot of carbon fiber, so it weights just 850 kg (1,873 lbs). Under the hood you'll find a 1.8 turbo with 200 hp. It's got a dual clutch gearbox. 0-62 in 5 seconds with a top speed of 155 mph. It is still a concept but they will launch it next year. The only thing I'm worried about is the price. Carbon fiber doesn't come cheap and it will undoubtedly be hand-built. But it is a cool flagship for Alfa Romeo. Mercedes is launching a lot of new cars this year. This is one of them; the new SLK. Your hairdresser's car of choice. I think it's nicer, it looks less barbie-like. It looks more solid. It fits in with the family better. And before we forget it; this one is matte. Very beautiful, nicely done by Mercedes. This is also a favorite of mine. I have always liked the C-Class. It has had a facelift, but we've already seen that in Detroit and so did you. This is the coupe, that one was still missing. There used to be a Sportcoupe, but that was a more compact car. This one is 41 mm lower than the standard sedan. It's available with 3 petrol and 2 diesel engines. I like it. In matte black it looks even better. I think it's a cool car, I can't say that enough. But there's much more matte *** here. This is a matte white CLC 63 AMG. It has the new bi-turbo V8. But it gets even better. A matte white SLS with brown leather. How cool is that? The Chevrolet stand is filled with world premiers again. The Aveo sedan with really cool headlights... ...that's all there is to it. Of course small sedans suck, you can't drive those. The Cruze used to be a sedan, but now there is a 5-door hatchback version. You can buy it right now. The Aveo is available from this summer. Patrick, you have to stay here. I know it's a strange brand. Chevrolet also has the Camaro, the Corvette. That's the weird thing; they've got small eco-cars... ...and those loud V8s. We don't see enough of those in Holland. We actually also don't see those eco-cars very often. I think they sold better when it was still called Daewoo. But I'm no product-marketing specialist so I don't really know. I do know that it helps to put a lovely blonde girl... ...next to a measly Spark. This isn't a normal Rolls Royce... ...if you can call them normal. This is a Phantom Extended Wheelbase, very long and big. It's electric. They use it to test electric drive on a Rolls Royce. The funny thing about Rolls Royces... ...is that they're not being driven a lot. The most miles are clocked up with Coupes and Dropheads... ...while Phantoms are mostly used to arrive at a party in style. They do about 2,500 miles a year, mostly short distances. That makes them a perfect candidate for electric drive. There are lots of premieres in Geneva, but also lots of conversions. How cool is this? A ski box on a Koenigsegg. Talking about cars with a lot of carbon... ...This is the Agera R. It uses lots of carbon fiber. It has over 1,100 hp. Eat that, Bugatti. It only has rear-wheel drive, so 0-62 takes a bit longer. But once you get going, it's much quicker of course. I think it is less beautiful than the Pagani, I have to admit. But you can always buy both of course. Lancia has updated their whole range of cars. I'm standing next to the Ypsilon, it's the biggest news in a way... ...because the car is completely new. It's now only available as a 5-door. But that's not the only Lancia news, everything is new. So let's go to the Voyager on my left. It's actually a Chrysler Grand Voyager... ...with Lancia badges and a few other changes. They also say that they've made the interior more Italian. Actually it's just a rebadge... ...but is is a nice successor to the Lancia Phedra that has disappeared. While we're on the subject of rebadging, Fiat also knows how to do that. This used to be the Dodge Journey but it has become the Fiat Freemont. The engines do come from Fiat... ...but I can't see a Fiat in this. Maybe the buyers will think differently. This is a little joke from Fiat. This looks like a regular 500 until you see the rear. It has a nice coupe-line. It's been designed by Zagato. It looks very cool but it just has a 0.9 liter 2-cylinder engine. It does have 105 hp, downsizing rules. It's funny. I wonder if they dare to start selling it. I'll see you later in part 3.