Hard Rock at the Geneva Car Show - Lamborghini, Pagani, Spyker, Lexus e.a.

Yes, this years Geneva Car Show 2010 was clearly showcasing the latest and best in hybrid and electrical car technology. But, there were some more traditional cars there as well, cars that make the heart of petrolheads speed. Here's a selection:
The Lamborghini LP560-4 Superleggera - faster, lighter, better than its predecessors, if we forget the Balboni version.
The Lexus LFA - too expensive, too late, but still quite impressive
Spyker - with three cars in Geneva. If only a little bit of their spirit will make it into the future Saab limousines, then the buyers will be the winners.
Pagani Zonda - a benchmark for super and hyper cars, even after all this time.
Clearly this is rock solid performance and focused on traditional talents. Good! Cars like this don't really influence the world climate and many of the modern gimmicks only spoil them.

New cars in 2009 - what newcomers will we remember in ten years?

2009 was a year of many new car models. In general the car landscape becomes more and more diversified with all these cross-over and hybrid concepts. However a key question is what new car announcement will we remember in five or ten years! Well, I'll give it a try and try the crystal ball:
1) Lotus Evora - it was the first really new Lotus being announced for the last 10 years
2) Ferrari 458 Italia - the successor of the highly successful 430 can almost everything better and looks both modern and gorgeous
3) Aston-Martin V12 Vantage - what a combination of styling and engine
4) Lexus LF-A - it is too expensive, will not sell as expected and production will stop early. We will remember it as an expensive failure and due to the small number produced it may be a collector's item.
5) BMW 5 series GT - because this is a car nobody has been waiting for and fills a niche that doesn't properly exist. We will remember it as one of the bigger flops in category innovation.

Now, many of you may think that there are important cars missing on this list. For example the new McLaren MP4-12C. But despite being announced this year production will only start in 2011 or so, so that's a no go. What about the Mercedes SLS? This could be a contender, but it was announced and talked about for so long, that I am not even sure what year it would fit in. What about the Porsche 911 GT3 or Turbo then. Well, these are remarkable cars but much less of a sensation than the 458 in my eyes. If somebody misses other cars that should be named, then just propose them!

Lexus LF-A - have we really waited for this?

Lexus has announced the new Lexus LF-A just recently and it has been covered extensively all over the world. This is a 375'000 Euro supercar with a high revving V10, 560 HP, 1'450 kg weight and impressive performance and road handling (we assume).
It took them 11 years to develop it and the first cars only get shipped in a year or so.
While the car looks impressive (although the design almost looks like a retro modern car) and there's certainly a lot of technology and engineering going into this car, I really wonder whether we have waited for this.
Some of my readers may remember my post on the Connaught D-Type GT V10. Yes, you see Tim Bishop, the Chief Engineer at the steering wheel on the picture here. Well, the team around Tim developed something that I would reckon is more creative at probably a small fraction of the project cost of the Lexus LF-A. There are similarities though. Both cars have a V10 in the front, though the engine in the Connaught is much more in the center of the car, basically between the driver and the co-driver. Both try to to build a lightweight car. The Connaught is 850 kg while the Lexus weighs 1'450 kg. While the performance of the Connaught may be a bit less impressive due to the smaller engine and "only" 300 HP, they achieved to actually seat four people and still have a boot. And what is most intriguing for me, the Connaught has a built-in hybrid module (kind of a KERS) while Lexus, the mother of the hybrid technology, doesn't. Last, but not least, the sticker price for the Connaught is 100'000 GBP, while the price tag for the Lexus LF-A is supposed to be more than 3 times of this.
So, this brings me back to the point, that most of today's supercars and this includes the Lexus LF-A lack creativity and are just evolutions of concepts from the 80ies and 90ies.