2014 Geneva Motor Show, Switzerland

GENEVA’S annual motor show just would not be Geneva if style wasn’t at the forefront, and this year’s event looks set to be no exception.

Only a short hop from France, the show will feature all three of the main French car-makers who are set to show off their newest, unmistakably French-styled light-car offerings, with the C1 from Citroen, Peugeot’s 108 and rear-engined Twingo from Renault.

Volvo will unveil another slick concept in an attempt to bolster its claim that “the vanilla days are over”, this time with a three-door Concept Estate sporting an interior that might not be far from a production-ready version.

South Korean maker Hyundai will wheel-out a mean-looking supercar named the PassoCorto, which will look just at home among the other hot offerings at Geneva, despite being designed by a team of Italian student designers.

The Vision C from Skoda is just a sketch at the moment, so all eyes will be poised to check-out the Czech when the muscular four-door’s covers are torn off.

But style is nothing without substance and some of the world’s best known supercar makers will exhibiting new metal, that delivers substance in truck-loads.

It hasn’t bolted a hair-dryer to an engine in more than 20 years, but Ferrari is returning to turbo-charging with its blown California, which will take pride of place on the Italian maker’s stand.

Compared with the P1 it revealed at Geneva in 2013, McLaren’s 650S is almost agricultural in its technology, but it will no-doubt attract the crowds in droves who will to pore over the bulbous bodywork and 478kW twin-turbo V8 power-plant.

The Brits will be well represented with a brace of special Aston Martins – a bespoke DB9 and a performance-boosted V8 Vantage – while Jaguar will show off a wagon version of the XFR-S that can crack 300km/h.

For those hunting speed on a budget, Opel will reveal an Astra named the OPC Extreme with more than 220kW. while Audi will continue its performance-assault with an S1, S3 cabriolet and TT all on show.

It’s not all about sex and power, though, and more practical offerings will also be on display in Switzerland, with a facelift of both Ford’s popular Focus and Nissan’s Juke expected, while Suzuki will roll-out its Alto-superseding Celerio and Mazda will do the same with a concept that is anticipated to be the next Mazda2.

Keep and eye on GoAuto.com.au as we bring you up-to-the minute coverage of the Geneva motor show.

By TIM NICHOLSON13/11/2013Widely regarded as the most stylish motor show on the planet, Geneva typically plays host to premieres of design-focussed concepts, but there is usually more than enough substance to go with the style.

With the European economic situation slowly improving, 2014 could be a bumper year for Euro car-makers hoping to boost their fortunes after a number of challenging years in the region.

Highlights from the 2013 Geneva show included the Rolls-Royce Wraith super-coupe, McLaren P1 hybrid hyper-car, the Toyota 86 convertible, Opel Cascada as well as fledgling Chinese brand Qoros' first ever car, the unimaginatively named 3.