Here are the highlights from the Geneva Auto Salon - digest from day one

Published 2017-03-08 by Administrator

The Geneva Auto Salon. Probably the most important auto show in the world when it comes to sports- and super cars. Every petrolhead in the world that has the possibility is in Geneva right now. So are we, staying here for the press- vip days yesterday and today.

The show is huge, and there is a lot to see. Many brands released new cars, such as the McLaren 720S, Ferrari 812 and Lamborghini Performante. In this e-mail you will find our selected highlights from day one (yesterday). Tomorrow we will send a second e-mail with the remaining highlights from the show. Today we are visiting the Ferrari and McLaren stands.

All the best from Geneva!
Peter & Björn

Are you on the show? Join us tonight at 17:00 in the Moet Chandon bar between the Renault and Toyota stands for a glass of Champagne. Bjorn is paying! I like Bjorn.

The Ford GT. Dave Periciak, head of Ford Performance, says choice of engine is the V6 Ecoboost beacuse of its compactness. It also has a fantastic power to weight ratio. A V8 would add much undesired bulk and weight to the car.

Dave Periciak on the left. (Not in the middle)

Koenigsegg. Three cars on the stand. Green and Red car are the hybrid Regera car. The Black and gold car is an Agera RS. Christian von Koenigsegg: "We are so busy manufacturing cars, that we had to ease up on the innovation and development. All focus is on getting cars built and delivered to our customers as fast as possible.". All three cars on the stand were customer cars.

The person on the right is the interior designer of Koenigsegg.

The new Porsche GT3. Lighter, faster, more downforce. Completely new engine - 500 BHP. The only super car with a manual gearbox option. Porsche marketing director Andreas Lundberg says Porsche estimates about 10% of all cars are being ordered with the manual box instead of the PDK version. "The insane demand of the 911R made us include a manual box for the purists."

Lamborghini Huracan Performante LP640-4. Lamborghini shocked the world with a 6:52:01 time around the Nurburgring. The car was revealed yesterday morning. Lamborghini sales director Federico Feschini says "Nurburgring lap time is a proof that we have a fantastic product. The best way to show this is a lap time on the Nurburgring". The time is thanks to the car being slightly lighter, having more power and the active aerodynamics.

Spyker has a new car in the works. It is called the Preliator and has an engine supplied by Koenigsegg. Yes, that's Spyker boss Victor Muller in the background. When asked about Spykers finances, Victor Muller replied: "BOOOORINNG, next question" Christian von Koenigsegg can not confirm that Victor has yet paid for the engines. Good luck with that!

David Brown Automobiles. Take a classic design and fit it with modern chassis and engine. Then you have this beautiful car. Probably the most beautiful car on the show. Engine is from Jaguar and prices start at about 500 000 EUR. The level of craftsmanship in this car is insane, the car is probably priced to cheap.

Noble Cars M600. Regarded as the second best handling car in the world. (Number one is Lotus). The car on the stand was finished in beautiful clear green carbon. The car has a Yamaha-Judd V8 engine that delivers somewhere around 800 BHP. While the car is light as a feather, you can imagine the kind of performance you get.

Ruf is back. And it is solid as a rock. They are going to manufacture a re-make of their famous yellowbird. The new one is called Ruf CTR 2017. Alois Ruf points out that the car has "zero parts from Porsche".

This concept from Bentley. Called the EXP-12(?). A vision of the future. 100% electric, 100% porno interior.

Pininfarina, famous car designer, displayed their own car project with the name Fittipaldi EF7 Vision Gran Turismo. This car looks even better in real life. Engine unknown. Probably, it does not need an engine since it is heading straight to the computer game.

This stunning Mercedes-AMG concept. Together with David Brown Automobiles above, probably the most beautiful car on the show. The car has a hybrid drive train with a V8 twin turbo in the front and an extra electric motor. Total system power is above 800 BHP. Please Mercedes put this car in to production now.

Thats it for today. The best of the rest will follow tomorrow.

New event: Gran Turismo Toscana 2017

9 - 17 September @ Maranello and Tuscany

2017 marks the 70th anniversary of Ferrari. And, this event starts with us joining the Ferrari festivities in Maranello on the 9th of September. Then we have a week long road trip in beautiful tuscany, with all its culture, food, fine wines and incredible driving roads. The event is our most exclusive of the year with only 20 available places. You don't need a Ferrari to join. Four places remain

>> Gran Turismo Toscana

The complete 2017 calendar

Below you can find our complete 2017 calender. Please note that the events California, Nurburgring and Polonia and Europa are fully booked. Due to a cancellation, Adriatica now has one place available.

New: Gran Turismo California (26 March - 4 April) // Fully booked

We start the season with a completely new event in the calendar - an epic drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco, Napa Valley, Reno, Las Vegas and back. 2200 kilometers of beautiful roads like the Pacific Coast highway, and insane experiences like Las Vegas and Grand Canyon. The event is 7800 EUR and includes everything- even your own Ford Mustang muscle car. The event was released this Friday and we had a total of 30 available places. 28 are now booked. Fully booked

>> Learn more and register to Gran Turismo California 2017

Gran Turismo Adriatica (6-14 May) // One place left

Start the summer in sunny Croatia and Montenegro. A road trip from Prague to Montenegro, driving on some of the most beautiful roads in Europe. The coast of Croatia, just by the Adriatic sea is a must experience for any sports car driver. On the way to Montenegro we stop at places like Zadar and Dubrovnik on Croatia and Mostar in Bosnia and Hercegovina. One place left

>> Gran Turismo Adriatica

Gran Turismo Nurburgring (29 May - 1 June) / Fully booked

The most challenging racing track in world. 21 kilometers of fun. As always, we have two exclusive days on the track and three nights in Nurburg. The event is 2990 EUR and includes everything, two days on track and three nights in Dorint Hotel. Only 140 places are available. This event is for street legal cars only. / Fully booked

>> Gran Turismo Nurburgring 2017

Gran Turismo Polonia (28 June - 2 July) // Fully booked

This is it. The main event of the year. Gran Turismo Polonia. As always we have three days on track, and four nights of fun in Poznan. The event is 2200 EUR, for two people sharing one car. Includes three days on track and four evenings of mad fun in the city of Poznan. For the 2017 edition we are limiting the number of places to 150 cars. Fully booked

>> Gran Turismo Polonia 2017

Gran Turismo Baltica (12-16 July) // 8 places left

Estonia is an awesome country. Probably one of the best in the world. The racing track - Auto24ring is arguably the best racing track in this part of the world. The city Pärnu, where we stay for the event, is just fantastic in the summer. 8 places left

>> Gran Turismo Baltica 2017

AutoLife Track Day Gotland (26-30 July)

Our Swedish sister company AutoLife is organising an event on Gotland this weekend. Driving on the track and a weekend of fun in the party capital of Scandinavia during the famous “week 30”. More info to follow.

>> Pre-register to Track Day Gotland 2017

New: Gran Turismo Hungaria (16-19 August) // 8places left

We were here in 2010. Everyone that joined us know that it was borderline insane. Now it is finally time to go back to this beautiful city and formula one track. For the 2017 edition we will be staying in Intercontinental hotel, on the Donau. The event is 2400 EUR and includes two days of driving on the track and three nights in Budapest. 8 places left

Hungaria + Slovakia combo. If you are also joining us for Gran Turismo Slovakia, we include a fourth night in Budapest for free. This extra night will be the Saturday between the events. A bunch of friends in Budapest on a Saturday night? What can go wrong? On Sunday the 21 August we drive together to Bratislava it is about 200 kilometers on brand new motorways.

>> Gran Turismo Hungaria 2017

Gran Turismo Slovakia 2017 (20-24 August) // 8places left

The brilliant six kilometer race track Slovakia Ring. Three nights in Bratislava. This event has gained popularity from its first edition three years ago. For 2017 we are moving hotels - to Ritz/Carlton in the historical centre, with our cars parked in front. A better location, with the Bratislava nightlife just around the corner. As last year, the event is 1900 EUR for two people sharing one car. 8 places left

This event is awesome to combine with Gran Turismo Hungaria. See above.

>> Gran Turismo Slovakia 2017

Gran Turismo Europa (26 August - 3 September) // Fully booked

A week driving on the best roads in Europe. Staying in the best hotels and having dinners in the best restaurants. In 2017 we drive a completely new route. In 2017, we will start in Paris (on Champs-Elysses) and drive east and stop in Champagne. The following day we continue to Germany, exploring new places like the Mosel and Rhein valley, before heading south towards Baden-Baden. After a drive through the Schwarzwald forest we continue to Switzerland, France, and Route Napoleon before ending the trip with a weekend in Saint-Tropez.

The 2017 edition is going to be about 8200 EUR, for two people sharing one car. This event is fully booked.

>> Gran Turismo Europa 2017

Gran Turismo Toscana (9 - 17 September) // 4 places left

2017 marks the 70th anniversary of Ferrari. And, this event starts with us joining the Ferrari festivities in Maranello on the 9th of September. Then we have a week long road trip in beautiful tuscany, with all its culture, food, fine wines and incredible driving roads. The event is our most exclusive of the year with only 20 available places. It was released two weeks ago and is already 75% booked. Only 4 places remain.

>> Gran Turismo Toscana

Gran Turismo Spa (3-6 October)

For many, Spa-Francorchamps is the best racing track in the world. What better place to finish the 2017 season than here. Just this year, we have two days of driving on the track and three nights in Hotel de la Source. The event is 2300 for two people sharing one car.

>> Gran Turismo Spa 2017

Last year we released the movie where Peter and Bjorn raced each other with an airplane and Lotus to find out who was the fastest on a drag strip. This year it is all about the best car in the world. And, it is not a Ferrari, Lamborghini or a Porsche. Nope.