Geneva motor show 2019 preview: our A-Z of the biggest launches at this year's GIMS

[#Dobe~ClasSy!☠]

he Geneva Motor Show is one of our favourite events of the year, not to mention the largest of its kind in Europe. It’s a place for the world’s car manufacturers to meet on neutral ground and show off their latest models, both production and concept, to the assembled public and press. It’s not the only motor show in the world, but it’s arguably the most influential, and on the ‘media preview day’ next Tuesday, March 5th, there’s bound to be big news.

Here’s what we can reasonably anticipate at the show in terms of new and prototype models.

Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo’s return to Formula 1 will take centre stage on its Geneva stand this year, though fans of the Italian brand’s road cars will not be disappointed. A revamped Giulietta hatchback will make its debut in Veloce and Executive trim, the former being powered (rather oddly, all things considered) by a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel engine. It looks great, but the Giulietta is pretty average in comparison to more mainstream players in the C-segment space

The Stelvio will be in Geneva in ‘Turizmo Internazionale’ specification, too. The Ti badge has been fastened to a 276bhp version of the brand’s first SUV, which will be capable of 143mph and which will reach 62mph in just 5.7 seconds. It’s nowhere near as quick as the Stelvio Quadrifoglio, a sub-4.0 super-SUV, but does offer something a little bit dynamic for buyers who find the vanilla Stelvio just a little bit sluggish.

Aston Martin
The Lagonda brand will be resuscitated in 2021. There are no prizes for guessing what form its first model will take – hybrid SUVs are flavour du jour, and even Aston Martin is keen to cash in on the crossover craze – but expect some excitement when the design is revealed on Tuesday. This won’t be a mass-market production model like the DBX, and only 500 will be built, so the ‘Project 003’ will likely sit alongside the Valkyrie in terms of scarcity.

Audi
We’re as bored as you are with electric SUVs, so we’ll forgive you if you skip this one. Audi’s Q4 E-Tron is a fully electric soft-roader with a fully-ridiculous radiator grille. It’ll have a motor on each axle, and while we don’t have performance figures yet, we expect it’ll be pretty quick off the mark. All we’ve seen are stylised sketches, so the Q4 should draw some attention in the metal next week, but whether it proves as po[CENSORED]r when it goes on sale in 2021 remains to be seen.

At the other end of the interestingness spectrum is the TT RS, which goes on sale in April. Its characterful five-cylinder 2.5-litre engine produces just shy of 400bhp and drives all four wheels, a setup capable of launching the coupé – once derided as a bit fashionable, the TT has spent the past two decades evolving into a very serious car.

“The new TT RS is in absolute peak form,” says Michael-Julius Renz, CEO of Audi Sport GmbH. “Like a well-trained athlete, it showcases even more prominently how much power lies beneath its muscular outer skin.”

Right. Well, aside from that, Audi will also be bringing the new A6 Allroad, a sophisticated estate car with off-road pretentions. Rural readers, especially those with dogs, take note. 

Bentley
Bentley turns 100 years old this year, and to celebrate the occasion will bring a special edition, Blower-inspired Continental GT to Geneva. We don’t know much about it beyond what the teaser images show us, but we’re hoping to see a big white number on the radiator grille like a 1920s racer.