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By Le Vin Chin

So, after 11 packed days, the 77th Geneva International Auto Show is now over. If you had braved the crush of car enthusiasts, what would you have seen? We attempt to distil the key styling and design trends on show in Geneva.

1. Luxury

Rolls Royce Mansory Conquistador

Lamborghini Superleggera

The luxury brands were out in force at Geneva. Besides Rolls Royce, with their already legendary Drophead Coupé and the new Mansory Conquistador, Bentley presented their limited-edition Brooklands and Lamborghini showed off their Gallardo Superleggera, an even higher performance variant of their standard Gallardo.

Alfa Romeo 8C

2a. Liquid Metal Everywhere

BMW M3 concept

Metallic finishes have always been popular and are becoming ever more prevalent as technology catches up to the twinkles in the eyes of designers. Becoming shinier, more mirror-like, these surfaces suggest high-technology and smooth, mechanical precision operation. Under the glare of the spotlights at Geneva, metallic coatings also showed off the lines of the car designs to their best advantage.

Lexus LF-A II

Mercedes C-Class

As shininess draws the eye almost magnetically, it was not surprising that the concept cars had the most advanced liquid metal effects, from the critics’ darling the BMW M3 Roadster, to the Peugeot 207 SW, to the Lexus LF-A II and the ubiquitous Jaguar C-XF. Meanwhile, the Mercedes C-Class and the Volvo XC60 also have this finish on production vehicles.

Peugeot 207

Toyota Auris

2b. Variations on a Metallic Theme

Dodge Demon

But metallics have been around for a while now, and the sheer challenge of differentiation and creative presentation has engendered a whole panoply of metallic stylings: matte metallics, colored metallics, sparkly metallics and so on … and sometimes styled in intriguing combinations as well.

Mazda 2

Citroen C-Métisse

Lancia Ypsilon

Colors were red-orange-yellow, producing copper, bronze, gold and champagne shades. Possibly a sign of things to come?

Saab 9-5 BioPower Rinspeed

3. iPod Cars

You saw them everywhere in Geneva: cars which were white on the outside AND on the inside, trimmed with small metallic and black elements, subtly accented by colored lighting to create atmosphere. Of course many were concept cars, and the idea is hideously impractical on interiors (especially for seating!), but they were so nice to look at and the sheer numbers suggest that this cool, sleek styling will soon be appearing where you live.

Peugeot 207	SEAT Altea Freetrack

4. Green Cars

Honda Small Hybrid Sports concept

No longer a niche trend; the only question is whether to go for full-on hydrogen or hybrid engines. Designs have become very attractive, with the futuristic and sleek Honda Small Hybrid Sports concept competing with Toyota’s sporty FT-HS 2-door coupe and spacecraft-like Hybrid X 4-door sedan concepts.

Toyota Hybrid X

Toyota FTHS

Greeny

Green materials meanwhile featured heavily in the QarmaQ 4-seater concept crossover utility vehicle, Hyundai’s joint venture with GE Plastics to produce a car made of recycled plastics. The car incorporates more than 20 new safety and environmental technologies.

Hyundai QarmaQ

Honda FCX

5. Italian Design Leads the World

Alfa Romeo Spider 2.4

As usual, Italian designers made a strong showing at Geneva. The most exciting cars came from the Italian design studios, such as the sporty new Alfa Romeo Spider 2.4, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, or the 2007 Maserati GranTurismo, a stunning 4-seater coupé designed by Pininfarina.

Maserati Gran Turismo

Pininfarina and Giugiaro also showcased their designs on their own stands: Giugiaro had their sexy new Mustang design for Ford. Meanwhile, Bertone presented their retro-trendy Barchetta Roadster design for Fiat.

Ford Mustang by Giugiaro

Fiat Barchetta by Bertone