2020 Geneva Motor Show Preview: 10 Fast Cars To Look Out For

Even though the importance of the motor show is on the wane, Geneva remains a huge deal for the industry. Plenty of manufacturers still use it to showcase their most exciting reveals of the year, and yes, that does include plenty of fast stuff.

Last year was no exception, with performance cars like the Ferrari F8 Tributo, Koenigsegg Jesko (above) and the Aston Martin Vanquish concept - among many others - being showcased.

But how about Geneva 2020? Here are some of the performance cars we can look forward to seeing in Switzerland 3 - 15 March.

BAC Mono

When revealing the Mono One run-out special, BAC confirmed that its successor will be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show. We’re unsure whether or not this one will be inspired by a robot from a music video.

Bugatti Chiron 'R'

The inverted commas around the R in the subheading are there because we don’t know for sure what this special-edition Chiron (yes, we’re losing track of them all too) will be called. R is the rumoured designation for the car, which Bugatti has been teasing ahead of an anticipated Geneva Motor Show reveal. A mysterious, covered Chiron sporting what appeared to be a fixed wing was spotted recently, so this might be a version of the hypercar with even more of a track focus than the Sport.

Cupra Leon

The second car to be launched by the now separated Cupra brand will be revealed a few weeks before Geneva, but it’s likely to make its first public appearance at the show. A plug-in hybrid version of the not-a-Seat has already been confirmed, as have multiple motorsport versions. A more conventional, pure ICE Cupra Leon will almost certainly use VW Group’s EA888 2.0-litre inline-four, in this guise producing at least 300bhp.

Honda Civic Type R

The refreshed Honda Civic Type R was revealed in January, but it’ll be worth a look at Geneva - its first major public showcase. Along with styling changes mirroring tweaks already applied to the standard Civic hatchback, the facelifted FK8 Type R has also been given various suspension alterations including a retune for the adaptive dampers.

Power remains the same at 296bhp, but now, the 2.0-litre inline-four is ‘enhanced’ with something called Active Sound Control. Hopefully there’ll be an off button for that.

Mercedes AMG GT 73

The 800bhp hybrid powertrain used in the AMG GT 4 Door-previewing GT Concept (pictured above) will finally make production. AMG’s widely-used 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 will gain electrical assistance to dramatic effect, in the process reviving the ‘73 badge which has been missing from the fast Merc stable for around 20 years.

Mercedes-AMG GLA 45 S

On the slightly less extreme but still potent opposite end of the AMG spectrum will be a new hot version of the latest GLA. The standard version of the vehicle will also be revealed at Geneva, but naturally, we’re more interested in the one with the 416bhp inline-four.

The potent 2.0-litre won’t be the only thing the GLA 45 will share with the A45 S - the crossover version will have the same all-wheel drive system for Drift Mode silliness. Happy with less power? A GLA 35 is expected at Geneva too.

Porsche 911 Turbo

Geneva has been the stage for the reveal of many an important Porsche, and 2020 is no different. The all-powerful Turbo version of the 992 911 will say its big hello to the world at this year’s running of the show, with a power output in excess of 600bhp.

Rimac Two

Two years on from electrifying (sorry) the Geneva Motor Show with the 1888bhp C_Two, Rimac will return to showcase a production-ready version of the car. You’re looking at an EV missile that’ll do 0-60mph in 1.85 seconds and top out at 258mph. Perhaps the future won’t be so bad after all.

Skoda Octavia vRS

If you like the idea of the plug-in hybrid Cupra Leon but need more boot space, you might be interested in the next Skoda Octavia vRS. It too is available as a hybrid, although if preferred, there will be a conventional petrol option as well as a diesel version. Hooray for choice.

VW Golf GTI

Geneva 2020 will give us a triple header of fast VW Group stuff, with the final car on our list arguably being the most important of the trio: the VW Golf 8 GTI. A recent fast Golf 8 stats leak means the cat’s out of the bag in terms of power outputs - the standard GTI will make 242bhp, while the TCR version (which we may not see until later in the year) is good for a whopping 297bhp. VW has decided the world doesn’t need any more Golf GTI derivatives than that, however, as the Performance Pack model looks to have been ditched.

What are you most looking forward to at the Geneva Motor Show?