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Lamborghini_Aventador_LP750_4_SV-rear-Geneva_Auto_Show-2015

Geneva Autoshow: Top 5 supercars, part 2

After Krzysztof published his hits and misses for supercars at the Geneva Auto Show, I will now give you my own top-5.

#5 Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SV

This is the essence of Lamborghini and how the Aventador should’ve been from the beginning, especially from the rear. I know the brand needs to compromise and become less extreme in order to sell cars and survive, but come on Lambo, let Ferrari make the polished, clean-looking Italian supercars and keep making things that look like they come from out of space and could eat you alive. Lamborghini_Aventador_LP750_4_SV-front-Geneva_Auto_Show-2015The Super Veloce adds 50 hp to the standard Aventador to make it 750 hp, but top speed remains 350 km/h and the 0-100 sprint is just 0,1 second faster at 2,8 s, so the performance alone doesn’t justify the extra Audi TT this thing will probably cost compared to the regular Aventador (official pricing hasn’t yet been released), but damn, those looks certainly do.

#4 Mercedes-AMG GT3

This car was on my list before I’d even seen it, because at the press conference in Geneva, they didn’t push it onto the stage, they started the engine backstage and that same instant the growling sound that thundered into the conference hall shut up the muffled sound of anticipating mumblings that the crowd of journalists had spawned until then. Mercedes_AMG_GT3-rear-Geneva_Auto_Show-2015I could feel the rumbling noise tremble my stomach and like every time I hear the sound of that magnificent 6,3 liter V8 AMG engine, my thoughts just stopped and I wanted the moment to last forever.

Points deducted for not being road legal, otherwise it could’ve easily challenged the #1.

#3 Spania GTA Spano

With production limited to 99 units, it’s more exclusive than the Ferrari LaFerrari and it no longer looks like something that’s made by a hobbyist in his basement, as some “supercars” by small and little-known manufacturers often used to look. Instead, I think the Spano’s design doesn’t have to take any heat from that of the established brands. Spania_GTA_Spano-rear-Geneva_Auto_Show-2015It features a reworked version of the Viper’s 8-liter V10 engine, pumping out 925 hp and 1.220 Nm of torque, giving the car a top speed of over 370 km/h and a 0-100 time of 2,9 seconds, up there with the best of them. Its structural monocoque is made from carbon fibre, graphene, titanium and kevlar, while the bodywork is all carbon fibre, as has become the standard for a supercar these days.

#2 Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus 003S

The car Krzysztof already praised in an earlier article, and I’m surprised it didn’t feature in his top-5. This car is absolutely stunning to see in real life, and you can see the attention to detail that’s gone into the design. It’s a 100% purebred racing car that’s been made legal for the road. And besides that, the story behind this car and this company reads like a children’s book. Jim Glickenhaus is doing what I think most of us would do (at least I would) if we had the kind of wealth he has been fortunate enough to acquire: Glickenhaus_SCG003S-rear-Geneva_Auto_Show-2015being a car collector for many years and having coachbuilt one-off Ferrari’s made for him exclusively, both for on the street and to race on a circuit, he decided to have a team of top-notch Italian designers and engineers develop a carbon fibre supercar under his own brand. Stuff I used to dream of as a kid.

#1 Ford GT

This car just nailed it for me. I happened to stumble upon it the night before the Geneva Auto Show officially opened, when it was by the side of the road along Lake Geneva, where a few employees of an auto-logistics company were loading it into a truck. Unfortunately it was dark, and the battery of the only camera I had, my iPhone, was as dead as it always is when you need it the most. But even in the dark, this car oozed authority from every angle, demanding respect from every bystander.

Ford_GT-rear-Geneva_Auto_Show-2015The next day on the show floor, surrounded by all those other cars fighting for some attention, it still looked every part the supercar it was designed to be. The Honda NSX is too digital while the GT is analog. The Audi R8 is too clean while the GT is raw. The Ferrari 488 GTB is too elitist, while the GT is a working-class hero. The McLaren 675LT is designed in a lab by scientists with degrees in Physics and Computer Sciences, looking to build the perfect car, while the GT was secretly conceived in a basement by car enthusiasts looking to build something that would make your heart skip a few beats and give you tinkles in your belly.