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.

For most Filipinos, part of their lifelong dream, aside from having their own house, is to be able to own their own car. A car is probably one of the most sought after good that a Filipino would buy as it embodies financial success and provides its owner a “cool” way of leaving a first impression to other people.

That is the reason why young boys put posters of sports cars in their bedrooms and even girls have cars for their dolls. But when they’re all grown up, most Pinoys would go and search for a real car for them to drive. And this is where car shows on TV come in. By providing information on the latest trends and car models that are currently out in the market, these TV shows are helping a lot of people, especially those who are not usually informed about this topic.

So here are a few examples of the best car shows on Philippine TV that has helped a lot of consumers when choosing the right car for their needs.

TOP GEAR – Top gear was the definitive car show that provides viewers with a comprehensive and unbiased take on the latest supercars and entry level cars that has rolled out from the production line. The show was already shown in different parts of the globe and has been distributed and reproduced in various TV stations all over the world.

The most popular Top Gear show was that from the news channel – BBC. The show was hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, which first aired in 1977 and then later re-launched in 2002. The show’s very straight forward hosts as well as the different challenges and/or obstacles in which the presenters put the week’s car to the test are what make the show very entertaining and informative.

And if that’s not enough, there are always there very cinematic shots of cars and of course the very famous Stig – the show’s in house expert driver who wears a white jumpsuit with white helmet and drives each featured car in a power lap, the results of which are placed at the end of the show in a lap board to be compared to other supercars previously featured in the show.

DRIVE It! by DWTV – Drive It! Is a motoring TV show produced by Germany’s broadcasting company – Deutsche Welle. The format of the show is unlike that of Top Gear as it presents news and features about cars in a more journalistic type of presentation. For starters, Drive It! also showcases different motoring news happening all over the world such as motor shows, car launches and announcements, exhibits and other events.

Drive It! also features more entry-level cars than the occasional super luxury cars. The show is shown in English on Net25 on local TV channels and in Deutsche Welle channel both in English or German.

FIFTH GEAR – Fifth gear is another motor show produced in the UK. It is hosted by Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson and Jason Plato and acts as the main competitor of BBC’s Top Gear. The show also follows almost the same format as Top Gear and features mostly high-end luxury and performance cars thought they occasionally feature more affordable cars.

Notable highlights of the show include Vicki-Butler Henderson’s regular segment called shoot-out where she puts two cars head to head in a timed lap in the show’s own track. Fifth gear also prides itself in cross-country and out of the country challenges which test the cars they feature in the show in terms of performance, reliability, economy and practicality. The show is still on air today and is shown on Discovery’s own motoring channel – Discovery Turbo.

MOTORING TODAY – Motoring today is a car show hosted by Ray Butch Gamboa. In terms of format, the show is similar to that of Drive It! and provides information through a journalist’s point of view. Presentation of the cars focuses more on the specs and technical side of each vehicle rather than the look and appeal, which is the focus of other shows like Fifth Gear and Top Gear.

In addition, Motoring today only features and enumerates the specifications of a specific car and the show’s host merely drives the featured car in order to show how it looks and gives a general description of how the vehicle performs. The show is still aired on NBN Channel 4 on local TV and on Solar Sports if you have cable.

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