The
Geneva Motor Show
is the best place to catch the world's newest supercars, and the 2019
show was no different. We did the math, and found that the 18 cars
featured generate nearly 17,000 horsepower. That works out to an average
of nearly 900 horsepower each. But more surprising than the power on
display was the variety of way these cars produce it.
At Geneva,
gas-only cars mingle with all-electrics, while plug-in hybrids are
common as well. But the tides are turning. The most powerful car on
display at this year's show wasn't the thumping 16-cylinder,
quad-turbocharged engine from the new
Bugatti La Voiture Noire.
That car wasn't even in the top three. Instead the Rimac C_Two and the
Pininfarina Battista took the top spots, with third position going to
the 1,600-horsepower (1,193-kilowatt) Koenigsegg Jesko. The Bug came in
fourth. But no matter how you rank these vehicles, this list serves as
yet another reminder that we're living in a performance Golden Age.
Aston Martin AM-RB 003
Horsepower: N/A
The Aston Martin AM-RB 003 is the third member of McLaren’s rapidly growing mid-engine family, previewing an evolution of the technology and design pioneered by the Valkyrie. While we don’t know how much horsepower the AM-RB 003 will pack, it features a turbocharged V6 as well as a hybrid powertrain. It might not match the Valkyrie’s 1,160 horsepower (865 kilowatts), but it will likely come close.
Aston Martin Vanquish Vision
Horsepower: N/A
If the Aston Martin AM-RB 003 and Valkyrie are hardcore track toys, the Vanquish Vision gives an idea of what the mid-engine concept championed by those cars could look like in a road-going, production form. In short, it’s extremely pretty. And it will still be fast, featuring the same turbocharged, hybridized V6 as the AM-RB 003. This car is still a concept, but once it’s finished in Geneva, the Vanquish Vision will head out for testing ahead of an eventual production debut.
Piëch Mark Zero
400 Horsepower
From the famous name Piech comes a radical new electric sports car. The Mark Zero is a 400-horsepower (298-kilowatt) coupe that relies exclusively on battery power. The company touts more than 300 miles (482 kilometers) of range and a 0-60 mile-per-hour sprint of just 3.2 seconds. But those aren't even the most impressive numbers: with optional fast charging, Piech promises an 80-percent charge in less than five minutes. It sounds promising, but we'll believe it when we see it.
GFG Style Kangaroo
483 Horsepower
The GFG Kangaroo is part hypercar, part off-roader. Either way, it's all kinds of awesome. Built by the father-son team of Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro, the Kangaroo produces 483 horsepower (360 kilowatts) thanks to a 90-kWh battery pack and a pair of electric motors. Power travels to all four wheels, allowing for a 0-60 mile-per-hour sprint of 3.8 seconds and a limited top speed of 155 miles per hour (249 kilometers per hour).
Ruf CTR Anniversary
503 Horsepower
RUF’s long history of modifying Porsches deserves a celebration and the CTR Anniversary is it. Featuring a recreation of the iconic Yellow Bird’s body on top of a modern monocoque chassis, the twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter engine in the CTR Anniversary allow this old-looking new car to speed up to 224 miles per hour (360 kilometers per hour).
Mercedes-AMG GT R Roadster
577 Horsepower
The Mercedes-AMG GT R was one of the most exciting cars we tested last year, and now it’s even better thanks to its new folding roof. Taking the same 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8, the GT R isn’t as hardcore as its coupe counterpart, but we’re happy to trade of the coupe’s outright performance for more headroom and unfettered access to the V8’s delicious engine note.
McLaren 600LT
592 Horsepower
Buying a supercar is fun. But dipping into a supercar maker’s list of ultra-expensive options is even more entertaining. At McLaren, that means going to MSO, short for McLaren Special Operations. To show what this small outfit can do, the British supercar maker brought an MSO-modifed version of its new (and stunning) 600LT Spider to Geneva. Total output is a relatively modest 592 horsepower (441 kilowatts), but don’t let the 600LT fool you – it’s a true super convertible.
Ginetta Akula
600 Horsepower
The Ginetta Akula is the kind of car that can only debut at Geneva – a wildly unhinged track toy, this two-door coupe wears body styling as extreme as its performance. A 6.0-liter V8 sits under a long, carved-up hood and packs 600 horsepower (447 kilowatts) and 520 pound-feet (702 Newton-meters) of torque. Equally impressive are its aerodynamics, which Ginetta says generate 828 pounds (375 kilograms) of downforce at just 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour). So yeah, that big wing on the back is there for a reason.
Bentley Continental GT Number 9 Edition by Mulliner
626 Horsepower
Bentley is building 100 versions of the Continental GT Number 9 Edition to celebrate its 100th birthday. Apart from the obvious visual upgrades both on the grille and wheels, the Conti gets either Cumbrian Green or Beluga leather-wrapped Mulliner seats, "B" logos to mimic the door pads of the Blower, and some wood trim. The engine hasn’t changed, though. The standard twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 remains, producing 626 horsepower (466 kilowatts).
Lamborghini Huracán Evo Spyder
630 Horsepower
The Aventador isn’t the only Lamborghini going topless in Geneva, the Huracan Evo also loses its roof – and gets prettier in the process. Power for the Huracan Evo Spyder comes from the same 5.2-liter V10 found in the coupe, producing 630 horsepower (469 kilowatts) and 443 pound-feet (583 Newton-meters) of torque. In this setup, the Huracan Evo Spyder sprints to 62 miles per hour in 3.1 seconds, which makes it a smidgen slower than the coupe (2.9 seconds).
Ferrari F8 Tributo
710 Horsepower
The latest mid-engine, V8-powered Ferrari, the F8 Tributo, plucks its twin-turbocharged engine from the 488 Pista. That means 710 horsepower (529 kilowatts) and a 2.9-second run to 60 miles per hour from what will almost certainly be Ferrari’s most popular model when it debuts early in 2020.
Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster
770 Horsepower
What's better than a 770-horsepower (574-kilowatt) Lamborghini Aventador SVJ? That same 770-hp Lamborghini Aventador SVJ sans roof. The topless SVJ Roadster debuted at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show with the same 6.3-liter V12 as the coupe and all of the same styling cues. The only noticeable performance difference between the hardtop and the convertible is the 62-mile-per-hour sprint; it takes the convertible 2.9 seconds to hit 62 miles per hour, and just 2.8 seconds for the coupe.
Puritalia Automobili Berlinetta
965 Horsepower
Don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of Puritalia. The debut of its newest car, the Berlinetta, along with all the other little gems, are among the great things about the Geneva Motor Show. Packing 965 horsepower (719 kilowatts) in a rakish, two-door, wide-hipped coupe, this plug-in hybrid is a looker. Its impressive power output is thanks to a 5.0-liter V8 and a rear-mounted electric motor. The two elements work together for a 2.7-second run to 62 and a top speed of 208 miles per hour (334 kilometers per hour).
Hispano Suiza Carmen
1,000 Horsepower
Limited to 19 units, the all-electric, wildly retro Hispano-Suiza Carmen comes from one of automotive history’s most storied names. It packs just over 1,000 horsepower (745 kilowatts) and a range of 248 miles (399 kilometers), thanks to a T-shaped lithium-ion battery. The latest attempt to revive the Hispano-Suiza name, the Carmen can allegedly hit 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in under three seconds and reach a limited top speed of 155 mph (249 kmh).
Bugatti La Voiture Noire
1,500 Horsepower
The Bugatti La Voiture Noire’s power isn’t the big story. It has the same 1,500-horsepower (1,118-kilowatt), quad-turbocharged, 16-cylinder engine as the Chiron. But this car is one of a kind, and it carries a price tag to match that prestigious designation – $12.45 million at today’s rates. This is the most expensive new car in history.
Koenigsegg Jesko
1,600 Horsepower
The new Koenigsegg Jesko marks a return to brute-force, unelectrified power for the Swedish supercar builder. Packing a twin-turbocharged, 5.0-liter V8 that generates up to 1,600 horsepower (1,193 kilowatts) on race gas, the Jesko will, allegedly, be able to do 300 miles per hour (482 kilometers per hour) one day. On normal fuel, output is a more modest 1,200 ponies (894 kilowatts), although if you can afford the Jesko, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to get regular access to high-octane fuel to enjoy the full potential of this new Koenigsegg.
Automobili Pininfarina Battista
1,900 Horsepower
The famous Italian styling house Pininfarina has a long history. So long, in fact, that it’s taking a page from Ferrari’s book and naming a car after the founder of the company. Called the Battista, after late company boss Battista “Pinin” Farina, it has four electric motors – one at each wheel – and just under 1,900 horsepower (1,416 kilowatts). With such ludicrous power, the Battista’s claimed sub-two-second zero-to-60 time seems believable.
Rimac C_Two
1,914 Horsepower
The Rimac C_Two is barely the king of the Geneva Motor Show hill. We say that not because its output is so close to the Pininfarina Battista, but because Rimac essentially showed this car at last year’s Geneva show. This car merely has a new coat of paint. Then again, it’s still a 1,914-horsepower (1,427-kilowatt) all-electric monster that can hit 186 miles per hour (299 kilometers per hour) in under 12 seconds.
