In the digital age, cars or automobiles are no longer built just for the purpose of transporting people or hauling goods. The discovery of electricity and the invention of gadgets and computers have changed how people and manufacturers view cars. Gone are the days when cars were just seats placed on four wheels and the only electric gadgets in it are lights and a radio.

Cars these days host a massive array of high-tech equipment that not only provides entertainment to the car’s driver and passengers but also take command of certain key components of the vehicle such as transmission, breaking and even safety. These technologies along with the cars that feature them are usually unveiled at an event usually sponsored by carmakers themselves or at auto shows or salons across the globe. And one highly recognised motor shows in the world for the past century has been the Geneva motor show.

The International Geneva Motor show (Salon International de l’Auto) is an annual motor show held every March in the Geneva Switzerland. It is organised by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles and has been the venue for numerous announcements and unveilings for different car manufacturers. The show is hosted at the Geneva Palexpo which is located right beside the Geneva Cointrin International Airport.

And today, we’ll be featuring some of the cars showcased in this year’s Geneva motor show. So, sit back and enjoy the ride.

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ALFA ROMEO 4C

The Alfa Romeo 4C made its debut two years ago at the 81^st Geneva motor show as a concept. This year, Alfa Romeo finally unveiled the production version of the 4C. This car is a mid-engine, two-seater sports car that sports a 205kW turbo engine with dual-clutch gear box. It has rear-wheel drive and was designed by Lorenzo Ramaciotti at Alfa Romeo Centro Stile.

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McLAREN P1

The P1 is a hybrid supercar produced by McLaren Automotive and is generally considered as the successor of the McLaren F1. The P1’s styling was influenced by the McLaren MP4-12C but with added body panels that make the car look more aggressive. It is a mid-engine, rear wheel drive car that uses a carbon fibre monocoque body.

The P1 features a 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 engine with 727 bhp. It also has a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission that gives it a power output of 913 bhp at 7500 rpm and a maximum torque of 900Nm. The McLaren P1 will go from 0-100kph in less than 3 seconds, 0-200kph in under 7 seconds and 0-300kph in less than 17 seconds.

Only 375 McLaren P1s will be made to maintain its exclusivity and will cost around 1.2 million USD (approximately 51 million Pesos) 

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CORVETTE STINGRAY

Another automotive icon showcased at this year’s Geneva motor show is the seventh-generation Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. This two-seater sports car features a motorised fabric hood, a 6.2-litre V8 engine and a six-speed manual/auto transmission.

The stingray’s body is made from aluminium which makes it 99 pounds lighter than the C6 Corvette Convertible and yet it manages to have its body 57% stiffer than the C6 convertible.

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LAMBORGHINI VENENO

The Lamborghini Veneno is a limited production sports car based from the Lamborghini Aventador and was built to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the company. The engine of this car is a development of the Aventador’s V12 and will produce 740 bhp. Only three Venenos will be produced, which will be coloured in green, white and red to represent the colours of the Italian flag.

All three cars will be retained by the company’s factory and will be displayed in its museum. The three production cards will cost around 3.8 million USD each (approximately 157 million pesos).

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LAFERRARI by FERRARI

The La Ferrari (F70/F150) is the successor of the Ferrari Enzo and is meant to be the ultimate fusion of sports car and F1 technology. The LaFerrari is a hybrid car that sports a normally aspirated V12 engine that is complemented by a 120 kW electric motor that produces a combined output of 950 horsepower.

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TOYOTA iROAD

The Toyota iRoad is the Japanese carmaker’s personal mobility vehicle. It features an all –electric power train powered by a lithium-ion battery which provides power to a pair of 2kW electric motors mounted in the front wheels. It provides seating for two passengers in a sort-off jet fighter fashion. The iRoad is more of a tricycle than a car as it has 3 wheels which are arranged in a similar way as that of a Carver One.

So which car made you say wow? Do tell us by leaving a comment below. You can also find TFL on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Google Plus. Do also subscribe to our blog for other Filipino lifestyle stories.

Designer brands usually offer a very extensive and diverse product line. A lot of the popular names in the fashion and design industry make clothes, shoes and bags. But some of them also produce perfumes, watches and other accessories and electronic devices.

Mobile phones are the most well-known consumer electronic products in which these fashion brands have collaborated with manufacturers and succeeded in producing handsets that are sleek, chic and stylish and at the same time being smart and useful. Here are a few examples of such devices.

Giorgio Armani and Samsung.

The Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has a long history with Korean electronics company Samsung. In fact the two labels started creating mobile phones with the Armani badge as early as 2008. Their first two releases were both feature phones that operated on a highly customized version of Samsung’s Touchwiz UI – The Samsung Armani P520 and the M7500 Emporio Armani. 

A year later after the M7500, Samsung released a smart phone – the B7620 Giorgio Armani Windows phone. It runs on WinMo 6.1 was the only known WinMo device at that time to sport the Armani branding. In 2009 Armani and Samsung jumped into the Android bandwagon and released the i9010 Giorgio Armani that runs on Android 2.2 Froyo and packs almost identical specs as the much cheaper Galaxy S in which the phone was based.

Dolce & Gabbana with Motorola and Sony Ericsson.

Another Italian fashion house that has ventured into the mobile phone industy is Dolce & Gabbana. Started in Milan by designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, this Italian company has partnered with Motorola in 2005 to produce the Motorola RAZR D&G. Only 1,000 units of this golden RAZR phone was ever created and was sold only in D&G boutiques in Italy, Spain, UK, France and Germany.

Four years later, D&G helped Sony Ericsson to design the Sony Ericsson Jalou. The Jalou is a flip phone with a facet cut jewel design. It came in Onyx black, Deep Amethyst or Aquamarine blue and packs feature phone capabilities.

Prada and LG.

Founded by Mario Prada in 1913 and is now lead by Mario's granddaughter - Miuccia, Prada has been one of the most world renowned couture brands in the fashion industry. In 2007, the Italian label started working with LG in creating a PRADA line of mobile phones.  First out of the production line was the KE850. It sports a 3.0-inch capacitive touchscreen and a 2MP camera.

A year later, LG announced the KF900 PRADA phone. This phone features the same 3.0-inch capacitive touch screen as the KE850, but sports a much improved 5MP camera and a slide out qwerty keyboard.

And just last year, the Korean-Italian duo has once again released a new phone. And this time, it’s a smartphone. The LG P940 otherwise known as the LG PRADA 3.0 phone runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and sports a 1Ghz dual core TI OMAP processor, 1GB of RAM, an 8MP camera and a highly customized UI.

Ferrari with Motorola and Acer.

Ferrari is a sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy and is well known in producing luxury supercars. However, a lot of people don’t know that Ferrari also produces its own clothing and accessories line, which includes men’s shirts, jackets, sweat shirts, trousers and shorts for men, women and children.

Back in 2007, Ferrari teamed up with Motorola in producing the MotoRAZR MAXX V6. It’s actually just a Ferrari branded Moto RAZR that sports the same features like a 2MP camera, 50MB of storage and other functionalities found on most feature phones at that time.

In 2010, Ferrari has once again tried its luck with the Acer Ferrari smartphone. The Acer Ferrari phone was based on Acer’s Liquid E Android smartphone. It runs on Android 2.1 Froyo with 768Mhz processor, 512MB of RAM and a 5MP camera.

Alcatel and Mandarina Duck.

French mobile phone manufacturer Alcatel also tried to release a designer phone way back in 2007 with the Alcatel Mandarina Duck phone. With the help of Italian fashion brand, Mandarina Duck, Alcatel created a flip basic feature phone that came in cherry red, lilac or green colors.

Christian Dior.

Christian Dior is one of the world’s top fashion houses and is located in France. In 2009, they released their first set of phones in the market. Unlike other couture brands mentioned above, Christian Dior chose to create and brand their own set of mobile phones. Their first phones – Zenaide, Zelie and Nacre were crafted from exquisite materials such as diamonds and mother-of-pearl and is priced at $7900, $13400 and $8700 respectively during that time.

Last year, Dior ventured into smartphone territory with the Dior Touch. Although not yet officially released in the public, there are already a lot of speculations about the phone. For starters, it’s rumoured to have a 3.2” display and a 5MP camera. And of course, being a Christian Dior phone, it will most definitely be created from the finest materials such as diamonds, steel, gold, mother-of-pearl and sapphire crystal.

Tag Heuer.

Tag Heuer is a Swiss luxury watchmaker owned by LVMH (the company that operates Louis Vuitton). Just like Christian Dior, Tag Heuer decided to produce their own line of phone. The first phone off their production line was the Tag Heuer Meridiist (yes, I know it’s a mouthful). The Meridiist is actually a feature phone adorned in metal and leather, although it does tell you the time at a glance with an OLED display on top.

Now, if you think that Tag Heuer is a little left out in terms of having a smartphone in their line-up, then you’d be happy to know that they are now offering an android handset. The Tag Heuer Link phone runs on a skinned version of Android 2.2 Froyo, a Gorilla Glass protection on top of a 3.5” LCD TFT display, a 5MP camera, Bluetooth, wifi, AGPS and Micro SD expansion slot. Just like the Meridiist, the Link phone will be formed from the finest materials such as steel, 18 karat rose gold, titanium, leather and even alligator skin.

The devices mentioned above are indeed stylish and fashionable. But being the product of a partnership between a luxury fashion house and an electronics manufacturer has its consequences. For starters, some of the products mentioned above are already expensive on their own. So, branding it with the name of a fashion house raises the prices even higher. And to make things worse, some of the phones in the list are just feature phones and yet they have premium prices.

To sum it all up, designer phones are just like couture. If one has to look at these devices in terms of their usefulness and functionality, they are no different from regular phones. Buying and owning one is just a matter of preference and having the money to purchase one. If you’re the type of user who prefers having a phone that gives the most bang for the buck, then these phones are not for you. But if you’re the brand conscious consumer, then the thought of just owning one of these devices will surely make your spine tingle for joy and excitement.