We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›
The 2019 Geneva Motor Show is the site of an alien invasion. Concept cars foreign and futuristic dot the show floor, each increasingly M.C. Escher-like. Many abduct design elements from the past, repurposing them into something anew, something familiar, yet at the same time, something fresh.
We have picked our six of the show’s best for this article. Some will turn into mass-produced cars affordable to many while some are just design studies meant to hint at how cars of tomorrow will look.
Italdesign DaVinci Concept
From Italian design firm Italdesign—creators of the stunning, $1.7 million Zerouno supercar—comes a new grand tourer, one named for academic and artistic pioneer Leonardo DaVinci. Italdesign says the DaVinci can be powered either by a fully electric drivetrain or a 4.0-liter V8, and ride on any number of automakers’ modular platforms. Going by the way Italdesign words its description of the car, this vehicle doesn’t sound ready for production, but going by how it looks, someone’s going to plop down money and demand to see one in their garage.
Peugeot E-Legend Concept
Inspired by the historic Peugeot 504, the E-Legend is a preview of what Peugeot could build if it decided it needed a cutting-edge electric sport tourer in its lineup. Peugeot says the E-Legend would have 456 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, and when that level of performance tuckers you out, the car can instead be cruised as far as 373 miles on a full charge. Keep in mind that automakers can say whatever they want about concept cars, especially those that likely won’t be built. Take the more realistic E-208 as an example of Peugeot’s EV capabilities.
Lagonda All-Terrain Concept
Aston Martin subsidiary Lagonda is seemingly the only ultra-luxury automaker to realize that extreme luxury vehicles need extreme proportions to leave their mark. With its swooping lines, protruding rear end, and hallucinatory, fractal wheels, the All-Terrain Concept ticks that box. When it eventually arrives as a limited-production vehicle, Lagonda says it should have performance as dramatic as its styling, both on the road and off.
Aston Martin Vanquish Vision Concept
The Aston Martin Vanquish Vision Concept is a triumphant return of the Vanquish name, previously applied to maximum-performance DB7s and DB9s. Like its siblings the Valkyrie and AM-RB 003, the Vanquish concept is a mid-engined supercar, but unlike them, its chassis is said to be constructed from aluminum, with power coming not from a V8 or V12, but a turbocharged, hybrid-boosted V6. Aston Martin looks on an Acura NSX-like drivetrain? Yes please.
Honda E Prototype Concept
Honda’s itty-bitty city car concept is inspired by the compact cars it used to establish a foothold in the west during petroleum crunches. Now, Honda bucks the gasoline trend completely and has made the E Prototype a fully electric car. It will make for a nimble rear-wheel-drive compact car with a serviceable 124-mile range when it arrives in European showrooms, as rumors say it’ll do in early 2020. The bad news: we’re probably not going to see the E Prototype’s production derivative sold in North America.
Alfa Romeo Tonale Concept
Alfa Romeo’s latest crossover concept is the Tonale, which is pronounced something like toh-nah-lay, rather than toenail. Judgemental squints may be common among small luxury crossovers, such as the Audi Q2 and BMW X3, but the Tonale takes things to a new level. With the compact crossover market continuing to swell, it feels like a matter of time before Tonales hit showrooms—hopefully with quick Quadrifoglio versions following shortly thereafter. Lord knows how much The Drive‘s Benjamin Preston loved his Stelvio Quadrifoglio.
