Geneva Motor Show

This year the 2010 Geneva Auto Show was like a buffet in which I hand-picked all the types of food. The manufacturers were the staples; steak, potatoes, a dessert platter, etc. I expected them to be there and taste good, as usual. But the real treats this year came from the tuners. They are the crazy geniuses that take a mass-produced car into their kitchens and create something extraordinary and (for better or worse) original. There were lots of tuners and coach-builders showing their wares at Geneva this year, and here are my 5 favorites in no specific order:

What if you could take the punching power of Mike Tyson and fit it into the body of Bruce Lee? That seems to be the motivation behind Koenigsegg's newest hypercar, the 2011 Koenigsegg Agera. Koenigsegg chose the 2010 Geneva Motor Show to display it's new creation, which was made as a celebration of the Swedish manufacturer's 15th anniversary.

Koenigsegg is calling it a new car, but it's really just an improvement on the CCX. And that's fine, because I thought the CCX was a great car. Classic supercar looks, eargasm soundtrack and performance nipping at a Veyron's heels.

Expensive cars and expensive watches have been paired together as often, and for as long, as ice cream and chocolate syrup. Every year various watch manufacturers come out with special editions aimed at the performance driver. Usually they sport multiple chrono dials, exotic light-weight materials, and a price that is proportional to the car by which they're inspired.

The 2010 TAG Heauer Tesla Roadster is the same idea, flipped. Tesla and TAG Heuer joined forces to design a limited edition roadster, which they showed off at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. Tesla's chief designer Franz von Holzhausen worked closely with the Swiss watch designers to develop a look that was true to both companies.

Vanilla ice cream may technically be white in color, but these days white cars are far more exciting to your eyes than the grey-of-ice-creams is to your taste buds. Black used to be the color of bad boys and speed, but these days white draws far more attention. If you happen to be driving a white 2011 Jaguar XKR Special Edition no one will mistake it for goody goody.

Making its public debut at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Jaguar is hoping to root itself a little deeper in the performance GT market. Although it wears the color of purity and restraint, the 510hp supercharged 5.0 liter V8 will run with the tarmac bad boys up to 174mph.

Mazda is celebrating the 20 anniversary of its highly successful and downright fun sports car the same way the world celebrates New Year's Eve, with each region getting its own party and count-down. Special editions for the UK and Japan have already been released, and continuing East it's now continental Europe's turn to receive their own party hat.

Debuting at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show is the 2010 Mazda MX-5 20th Anniversary Edition. Differing it from a normal MX-5 are special door handles, headlight fascia, grill surround, and silver fog lights.

Without any delay, this is one of the coolest concept cars I have seen in my entire life. It looks incredible, its technology is incredible, its performance makes me feel tingly and the best part is I can tell that cute brunette at yoga class, “When it comes down to it I put the earth first, so I bought a hybrid.” At the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Porsche brought out what is probably the most exciting concept in years: the Porsche 918 Spyder Concept.

By designing this car, Porsche has essentially answered a request of mine, to show the world that the word “hybrid” is not synonymous with word “coma.” I'm so grateful to see something like this, I feel I owe them a thank you card.

Ferrari stepped into the limelight once again this year at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show where they debuted their vettura laboratorio, the Ferrari 599 HY-KERS hybrid concept sports car. Known for their screaming V-12 exotic sports cars, Ferrari is for the first time experimenting with the inevitable future of electrification. The HY-KERS is based on the 599 GTB Fiorano, which is one of the best torque producing vehicles Ferrari has to offer, now amplified with the hybrid-electric motor rated at an astonishing 107 hp and 111 lb-ft of torque.

The new hybrid system incorporates pioneering engineering principles into every detail of the vehicle. The flat lithium-ion batteries are located on the floor pan of the car resulting in a lower center of gravity. The compact electric motor of the HY-KERS is coupled with a dual-clutch 7-speed transmission. Ferrari’s goal was to offset every kilogram increase in weight by a gain of at least one hp from the electric motor.

Seeing the unveiling of the new 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, has me looking at hybrid technology in a new and much more positive way. I believe hybrids are good for the planet, and spending less money on gas - usually used for mundane errands - is a good thing. But the current hybrids available are boring. Well I'm happy to report that this is not your art teacher's Prius. And of course it's not, it's a GT3 race car built by Porsche, which will be competing in the upcoming 24 Hours of Nurburgring.

Like the developing F1 systems, it has regenerative braking, and the extra electric power (up to 120kW) can be used in 6-8 second bursts. What's new about this system is that instead of carrying heavy batteries, it has a generator that rides shotgun to the driver. The energy is sent from the flywheel to the motor and saved as potential energy. Two electic motors then deliver power to the front axles.