Ferrari in driving seat at Geneva

FERRARI doesn’t need another car to make you drool, but it has unveiled one anyway. The 599GTB Fiorano is being shown off for the first time at the Geneva Auto Show.

The two-seater, with 620 horsepower, is the most powerful 12-cylinder berlinetta that the company has made.

It goes 0-62 mph in just 3.7 seconds and tops out around 205 mph.

But alternative powered vehicles and futuristic prototypes are just some of the highlights of the 76th Geneva International Motor Show, which opened yesterday.

Over the next 10 days around 260 exhibitors from some 30 countries will be displaying their wares at the first major motor show of the year.

There will be an estimated 140 world premieres including the Porsche 911 Turbo.

But the top car show is not all about big engines and bulging SUVs. Around 20 stands will feature hybrid, electric, fuel cell, natural gas and ethanol vehicles.

The EcoCar stand is dedicated solely to alternative powered vehicles.

Meanwhile, Kia Motors will preview their new C-segment car at the show.

And Rolls-Royce unveiled a second experimental car, 101EX, at the show.

Machined aluminium, fine leather and rosewood and red oak veneers are used throughout this model.

Nissan will present one of the boldest and most innovative concept vehicles at show.

The Nissan Terranaut is a 4x4 vehicle conceived to serve as a mobile working environment for scientists, geologists, archaeologists or other adventurers who travel to the most challenging environments on the planet either for work or pleasure.

To accommodate the laboratory area in the cabin, the co-pilot’s side has just one door, while the other side has a pair of swing doors and no central B-pillar. Hinges at the front and rear respectively make ingress and egress easy.

Nineteen-inch wheels are covered by tyres specially constructed for Terranaut by Goodyear. Puncture proof, they function as conventional road tyres when the vehicle is being driven on metalled roads but, by changing air pressure, transform themselves into chunky off-road tyres.

Inside the vehicle, the spherical science laboratory dominates the entire cabin area behind the two front seats. A single revolving seat with an integrated computer keyboard is situated beneath the glass roof dome and gives the scientist complete 360-degree access to the various workstations found in Terranaut.