Geneva Auto Show Oddballs: Quirky Cars You Won't See on U.S. Roads

Auto shows can be like high school all over again, but on a corporate level: This year at the Geneva show there was the popular crowd — big international carmakers and noted specialty market players — introducing their latest vehicles on the first media preview day with the fanfare and production value of a rock concert; while the second day was left over for the beanie-wearing boutique manufacturers lucky to have a podium and press conference time slot at all, but pushing hard to get in with the cool kids.

It was a big year for world debuts relevant to North America, but many fascinating new models were unveiled in Geneva that will likely never make it to the U.S., where stricter federal safety and emissions laws become a barrier to small firms who can’t afford the hundreds of thousands — and sometimes millions — of dollars required for developing and testing expensive emissions and safety equipment for their vehicles.

Here’s a sampling of oddballs unveiled at this year’s Geneva Auto Show that are intriguing enough to merit a closer look, even if they never make it to North America:
Artega

Penned by designer extraordinaire Henrik Fisker — famous among automotive industry watchers for creating the stunning and timeless look of the Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vantage and BMW Z8 — the Artega is a new car from a new German company, that aims to build high-performance sports cars for everyday use. The two-seat 2008 Artega uses a 3.6-liter Volkswagen-sourced V6 and that company’s well-regarded DSG twin-clutch gearbox to get its 300 hp to the ground via the rear wheels. The body is immaculately proportioned, with a footprint about the size of the petite Lotus Elise, but with a sultry silhouette that resembles a Porsche Cayman that magically shrunk in all the right places. This is almost a move downmarket for Fisker, who works on his own rebodied BMW 6 Series and Mercedes-Benz SLs, which he calls the Latigo CS and Tramonto, respectively.