It’s like kicking an open door when I state that the Geneva Motorshow belongs to the car shows the most watched for by automotive journalists and car enthusiast. There’s only one obvious reason for that statement. Few shows have that much important premieres. Nothing else this year at the 2016 Geneva Motorshow.
Most important premieres at the 2016 Geneva Motorshow
I will just stick to some important premieres presented this year, as a list of them all would bring us to far from what’s truly important to us.
World Premieres
- Bentley Mulsanne EWB
- Abarth 124 Spider
- Audi RS Q3
- Bugatti Chiron
- Porsche 718 Boxster
- Porsche 911 R
and here is what is what really matters to us Porsche aficionado’s. It was no secret that Porsche would reveal the Porsche 718 Boxster to the world in Geneva. And it was obvious that they would have a Porsche 718 Spyder on display to emphasize the importance of that particular car in the history of Porsche with several great victories. After all to many the reaction to ‘downgrade’ the engine from a flat-6 to a flat-4 turbocharged engine was not exactly positive.
In the past, people objected when the Porsche 356 was discontinued and the Porsche 911 was presented. Hard to believe a world nowadays without Porsche 911s however. I guess that nothing but evolution.
Back to Geneva now. I can hardly imagine a moment that so many eyes were directed to Porsche than yesterday. Even though the complete world was sure the 2nd world premiere presented by Porsche would be the new Porsche 911 R, there was no confirmation Even though the day before the doors opened in Geneva, there were pictures leaked that later turned out to be real. Finally the world could see the new limited edition Porsche with own eyes.
Built in a production number of 991, the 2016 Porsche 911 R was sold out long before the exact specifications were known.
The design department did an amazing job once again. With much effort, they succeed in lowering the weight of the car with 50kgs to 1370kgs, making it the lightest Porsche in the 911 model range. With the red (or green) striping over the car, there could not be a better referral to its predecessor, that collected world and class records in Monza in 1967. The driver sits in a carbon full bucket seat with fabric centre panels in Pepita tartan design, recalling the first 911 in the 1960s with an “R-specific” GT sport steering wheel.
These two premieres continue Porsche’s tradition of presenting motorsport highlights at the spring car show on the shores of Lake Geneva. The 911 GT3, 918 Spyder and 919 Hybrid all celebrated their debuts in Geneva in recent years. So it was no surprise to see a Porsche 919 Hybrid too, after the glorious 17th overall victory at the 24H of Le Mans last june.
Pictures : Wilfried Geerts
