The 2016 Geneva Motor Show reminded us just how many boutique supercars exist in the world.
Unlike auto shows in the U.S., the halls of the Geneva Motor Show are traditionally packed with exotics priced well above the $1 million mark, making it a paradise for those with high aspirations or a lot of money. Each year, we walk through the Palexpo with eyes wide open, admiring the sheetmetal that most people never get to see, nevermind drive.
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So, what better time than now to look at some of the world’s finest boutique supercars you may not know even exist?
DS E-Tense
Making its debut at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, Citroen is trying to show off that its DS premium brand is indeed luxurious. Although it’s just a concept, the DS E-Tense is an all-electric supercar with 402 horsepower and 381 pound-feet of torque to go with its stunning good looks. The French automaker claims that it has a range of around 193 miles with mixed driving or 224 miles in urban city piloting. Riding on a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, the concept weighs in at 3,600 pounds.
Interestingly enough, the automaker wants to bring the DS brand to the U.S., so it’s not a far-fetched idea that one day we could see the E-Tense roaming the streets.
Trion Nemesis RR
Apollo Arrow
You may have heard of the Gumpert Apollo, but this the Apollo Arrow. You see, the German automaker ran into financial troubles in recent years, but has since received a sizeable investment to rise from the ashes. And it has done so with a bang, presenting the Apollo Arrow at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. Although Roland Gumpert is still at the helm, the company has re-branded itself to Apollo, shedding the Gumpert name.
Powering this gorgeous supercar is a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine from Audi, churning out 1,000 hp and 740 lb-ft of torque. There isn’t much we didn’t like about the Arrow when we saw it up close and personal and hopefully this time around, it’s here to stay.
Zenvo ST1
Zenvo has had an interesting history, first debuting the ST1 with 1,104 hp and 1,054 lb-ft of torque. But things got interesting for the Danish automaker when Top Gear put the ST1 to the test. The car caught on fire after experiencing various issues and it failed to go faster than a Ford Focus ST with the Stig behind the wheel on the show’s test track. Of course, Zenvo released a rebuttal to the Top Gear disaster, saying that the Stig took it out on a day where driving was not recommended in many parts of Britain due to low temperature and extreme rain. It also noted that it did unofficially reach 189 mph, which was the highest speed measured on the straight of the Top Gear test track at the time. The company also mentioned that Top Gear didn’t even bother to say the ST1 went zero-to-60 in 2.69 seconds on a damp tarmac.
Now the company is looking to put that all behind them with the debut of the TS1 and swapping letters aside, the latest iteration has aerodynamic tweaks and minor changes to its styling – all with the goal of reducing weight, lowering the car’s center of gravity and increasing downforce. The biggest change is a new powerplant in the form of a 5.9-liter V8 with a pair of superchargers. Unfortunately, Zenvo didn’t bother announcing its specifications when the TS1 debuted at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, but it’s a safe bet it will be more than the ST1’s figures.
Like the model before it, the TS1 will be limited to just 15 units.
Marussia B2
Surprise! The Marussia B2 does actually come from Russia. The aggressive supercar might look like something out of a Need for Speed video game, but it is Russia’s second supercar, following the original Marussia B1. Although the B2 is built on the same frame as the original B1, it is powered by a 3.5-liter Cosworth V6 engine that ranges from 245 hp to 420 hp. Yes, it’s not quite as ridiculous as the 1,000-hp monsters that other automakers produce, but it looks pretty insane and originally debuted at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. And chances are, you didn’t even know it existed.
W Motors Fenyr Supersport
You may know about the W Motors Lykan Hypersport since it was featured in Fast and Furious 7 , but did you know there’s something even better? The Lykan Hypersport was the first Arab supercar with a 3.8-liter flat-six engine pushing 780 hp and 708 lb-ft of torque, but the Fenyr Supersport gets a 4.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six engine with 900 hp and 885 lb-ft of torque. The result is a zero-to-62-mph time of 2.7 seconds, while its exterior gets a much more track-focused design compared to the Lykan Hypersport. Oh yeah, there are only 25 units ever being produced, so the Internet might be the only place you will ever see it.
Mazzanti Evantra
Most popular, well-known supercars come from Italy, but here’s one that isn’t quite as well known. The Mazzanti Evantra made its world premiere at the Top Marques Show Monaco in 2013 and is limited to a mere five units per year. Those willing to be one of the rare few to get one gets to choose between a turbocharged six-cylinder engine with up to 600 hp or a 7.0-liter V8 pushing 701 hp and 625 lb-ft of torque. The supercar tips the scales at under 2,870 lbs and is capable of sprinting to 60 mph from a standstill in around 3.2 seconds.
Rimac Concept_One
Now that the Rimac Concept_One and Concept S made their official debut at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, we can’t help but admire what is going on underneath the gorgeous sheetmetal. The Croatian supercar company also dabbles with battery engineering, so it’s no surprise that its latest offerings are electric vehicles. According to the company, what it has shown off is the production version of the car, while the Concept S is more powerful and aerodynamic.
Total system output on the Concept_One is a menacing 1,073 hp and 1,180 lb-ft of torque fed by 8,450 lithium-ion battery cells. Rimac claims the Concept_One is capable of returning a 205-mile range, although it didn’t specify the drive cycle. Total curb weight is 4,080 lbs, which isn’t quite that light, but understandable since it is all electric with four motors and four gearboxes.
If that wasn’t enough, the Concept S packs 1,365 hp and 1,328 lb-ft of torque while weighing 120 lbs less than the Concept_One. Yikes.
Arash AF10
Arash claims that its AF10 has a “warp drive” engine and while it may sound like something from a science-fiction movie, it’s real and we saw it at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. This particular supercar likes to brag that it has 2,080 hp from a hybrid powertrain featuring a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 engine and four electric motors. There’s also 1,682 lb-ft of torque to boot and customers can choose from a six-speed manual or paddle-shift automatic transmission.
The standard hybrid version will cost you a cool $1.6 million and there’s even a racer variant packing a roll cage, fire extinguisher and intercom system for $100,000 more. If you just want a stunning, good-looking supercar, there’s a budget-minded variant that has a V8 engine providing 550 hp and a price tag of $495,000.
Devel Sixteen
We’ve seen cars with over 1,000 hp and even hybrids with over 2,000 hp. So what could possibly be cooler? How about something with 4,515 hp on an engine dyno? That’s exactly what Devel showed off late last year, a 12.3-liter quad-turbocharged V16 engine that is just absolutely bonkers. The Devel Sixteen claims to have 5,000 hp and will go zero-to-60 in 1.8 seconds while its top speed will be around the 350-mph mark. Insanity? Yes. Reality? Well… that remains to be seen.
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