Zurich Auto Show 2010

Yesterday the Zurich Messe exhibition center opened the doors for the 2010 Zurich Auto Show, an annual four-day car show. The Zurich Auto Show is not ranked high on the international auto show calendar for importance but since we were in the neighborhood and were informed that at least two world premieres would be there, we dropped by for a report.

Here are the highlights of the Zurich Auto Show:

Probably one of the biggest eye catchers in Zurich is the new McLaren MP4-12C. Presented in the striking orange colour it was one of the biggest visitor magnets yesterday.

One of my personal favourites from the Paris Motor Show also made it to Zurich: the Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale.

Matte colours are more popular than ever. Even Bentley jumps on the hype with this matte anthracite Bentley Continental GT. Despite the launch of the new Continental GT last month, it wasn’t present in Zurich.

Aston Martin brought a Toyota IQ Cygnet and has high expectations to sell a lot of them in the urban areas of this Alpine country.

This is our definite number one in the category: ‘Yes, Please!’. This brand new Ferrari 599 GTO is finished in yellow with black accents and we would love to have this in our garage any time!

Tuning at the Zurich Auto Show 2010:

We found more than just a hand full of exotics at the Zurich Auto Show. A lot of tuners were present or presented by their Swiss importers. Here are some of the highlights:

Swiss tuning company Novidem showed three models at the Zurich Auto Show: an Audi R8, Nissan GT-R and their new Novidem Porsche Panamera. The Panamera has a complete body kit, modified exhaust system, engine upgrades and this particular one was mounted on 22 inch Kahn wheels.

AC Schnitzer was represented by their local importer and had their lineup for the BMW 5-series and X5 on display.

One of the two world premieres at the Zurich Auto Show is the TechArt GrandGT. Based on the Porsche Panamera and a further development of the Concept One that was shown in Geneva, the GrandGT is a full wide-body conversion.

The other world premiere at the Zurich Auto Show also comes from the company near Stuttgart: the new TechArt Magnum based on the latest generation Porsche Cayenne. The most important changes include a more masculine and European look, engine upgrades and a range of customization options for the interior and exterior.

Just around the corner from TechArt we stumbled upon this matte-white Brabus SLS AMG.

Next to a unique Veritas single seater we found one of the best looking BMW M3’s we’ve seen in a while.

No premieres from ABT, but to make up for it they brought this ABT Audi R8 Spyder to Zurich.

Sportec is famous for the functional modification and improvement of Porsche’s. In Zurich they showed us two new packages: the finished Porsche Panamera package of which we had seen an earlier development stage in Geneva in March of this year and the first two stages for the facelift Porsche 997 Turbo. A third stage for the second generation 997 turbo is in development and includes modified turbochargers. Exact output of the third stage is still unkown but it should be around 650hp.

Alpina showed their B5 Bi-Turbo along with their packages for the BMW 3 and 7 Series.

A Swiss company specialized in carbon fiber had this Porsche 997 GT3 RS on display with a range of custom carbon fiber parts. From the bonnet to the mirrors and the wing to the interior panels, all made completely out of carbon fiber.

Overkill at the Zurich Auto Show 2010:

No car show is complete without overkill. In Zurich we had to look a bit harder than at most other car shows but we found two clear examples:

Do we need to say more?

Calvin Klein dipped a Mini Countryman in dark chocolate and dubbed it the Calvin Klein edition…

Girls at the Zurich Auto Show 2010:

Like the overkills, the girls in Zurich were a bit harder to find than at most other car shows also. So this is all we got:

We like to thank you for reading out Zurich Auto Show 2010 report, feel free to share your highlights, comments and questions in the comments below. And stay tuned for our coverage of the Essen Tuning Show later this month!