The quality of the cars on display at Salon Privé London this year were absolutely extraordinary. As such, it would be a disservice to some of the cars for me to not write a little more in-depth about them.
As such, I’ve decided to split my Salon Privé content into two parts, as to cover this show in one article would be more akin to a novel than a blog post!
So today I’m going to be looking at the modern cars brought out my manufacturers and dealerships. The second post on this show will be covering the Concours de Vente and the classic cars which you can read about here: https://motorsportformentalhealth.com/2023/04/25/the-classic-cars-of-salon-prive/
We’ll start at the Genesis stand. Genesis are a relatively new brand and are the luxury arm of Hyundai (sort of like how Lexus are the luxury branch or Toyota).
This is the GV80, the brand’s first SUV which debuted in 2020.
This is the GV80’s smaller sibling – the GV70. This particular one is electric (dual motored and four wheel driven), but a range of “smartstream” internal combustion engines, both petrol and diesel, are also available.
The GV60 is all electric. The interesting thing about this car is ‘face connect’. The car recognises the owner’s face as they approach and will unlock the doors. If memory serves the car has a push button start which can recognise the owner’s finger prints, meaning that once set up you’ll never really have to carry the car key with you.
Sticking with SUVs for a minute, Aston Martin brought along the new DBX. Interestingly these actually house a Mercedes AMG V8. It’ll do 0-60 in 4.3 seconds and will top out at 181mph. Not bad for a family SUV that’ll seat 5 and the shopping!
I’m personally not the biggest fan of SUVs, but I think it’s great that you can have a car that will act as both a family wagon and a toy in one. You can still have an enjoyable driving experience with a bit of practicality. I’ve always liked cars like the Mercedes AMG estates for that reason.
There is something magical about a proper sports car though. Although it lacks the day to day usability I’d have this DBS over the DBX any day of the week. In my opinion an SUV will never be as nice to take out on a special occasion or will never give you quite the same feel good factor.
The AMR22 F1 car. It’s always a pleasure to see a modern Formula 1 car in person. I’m sure I’ve said this before but it always amazes me how huge they are in comparison to the cars of the 1950s-1980s that I’m more familiar with.
At Lamborghini we have the Huracan Technica. So, from my understanding, the Technica is kind of like a bridge between the standard EVO (facelifted) Huracan and the track focused STO. It’s lighter and sharper than the standard Huracan but a little bit less hard core and more user friendly than the STO.
I believe it’s also the last Huracan that will be a pure petrol engine, I think Lamborghini are heading to hybrid systems from here on out.
I do really like the redesigned front end!
The aforementioned STO. The track focused beast. The rollcage that you can just see through the windscreen really suits it. The Huracan was used by Lamborghini in GT3 and in the States they are used a lot in half mile drag racing. Companies like Underground Racing and Sheepey Race get insane power out of them (I touched on this briefly on my Supercars of SEMA 2022 post: https://motorsportformentalhealth.com/2022/11/22/the-supercars-of-sema-2022/). The Huracan has always been a racing car in my eyes. More so than any other Lamborghini platform.
The Huracan’s bigger brother – the Aventador.
The Urus. I know with the DBX I said it’s great that you can have a car that you can use as both a family car and a fun sports car, and I know in my report on Petrolheadonism Underground that they suited the vibe of the event (https://motorsportformentalhealth.com/2023/04/16/petrolheadonism-underground-2023/?fbclid=IwAR0hzBqAImN3ht8ILydDezHeFPZDiA2O36UjuwJa9gHLEkKsPiL8pxIr5TY)
I’m not a fan though. Taste is obviously subjective and I know a lot of people like them, they just don’t do it for me. For a bulbous SUV the styling is just too full on in in my opinion. There’s no subtlety to the thing. I know the same can be said of Lamborghini’s super cars but they are proper super cars, not an SUV with an identity crisis.
On the Ferrari stand the focus was on the 296. The 296 is the spiritual successor to the 206/246 Dino as it is quite small, by modern car standards, and its’ powered by a V6.
It is marketed as the ‘entry level Ferrari’ and whilst it is ‘only’ powered by a V6, that V6 is twin turbocharged and is mated to a hybrid system which makes a combined output of 819 hp and the car has a power-to-weight ratio of 560hp per tonne. That’s incredibly fast!
Both of the 296s were sporting these lovely carbon fibre wheels. Pretty, but the state Essex County Council have left the roads around here would soon destroy them.
Roma, Ferrari’s new GT car, in this lovely deep metallic orange. If anyone knows the colour code for this, let me know please!
Rounding off our Italian trio we have Maserati. This is the MC20.
The GranTurismo II which was making it’s U.K debut.
Although I’d imagine they’re very pricey to maintain, the early GranTurismo 2007/8 is fantastic value for money. Looking at Autotrader they start at £16,000 but £20,000 will get you one with fair low miles. Cool car!
Here we have Maserati’s second SUV the Grecale. Some reviewers have said that the styling is quite plain. I think it’s smart though. Understated. Sort of the opposite of the Lamborghini Urus.
Alpine bring cars out to lots of the events I attend. I’ve always loved the A110 in blue, but that pink colour really suits it too!
The Delage D12. This was the best new car there. No ifs, no buts no maybes.
Firstly, it looks like something out of a science fiction film. It’s actually two seater and the occupants sit in tandem, one behind the other. The canopy that covers the occupants opens and closes like a jet fighter, and if you’re outside the car you open and close with hand gestures!
Then lets get to the fact that it makes over 990hp from a 7.6 liter mid mountned V12 thats boosted by an electric motor that bumps the power to 1010hp or 1100hp depending on if you get the Club or GT package. All that power is sent to the rear wheels through a 8 speed gearbox controlled by paddles behind the steering wheel, and PLEASE look at that pic of the steering wheel, it’s like race car’s!
Here’s a little video of it running: https://www.tiktok.com/@richardfrancismsfmh/video/7224540985936710938
Obviously the D12 is an absolutely incredible thing, but Delage themselves also made some beautiful cars in the interwar period. Most notably, in my opinion, was the Delage D8 Aerosport. A stunning art deco coupe.
I had the pleasure of seeing the Hennessey Venom F5 Roadster at SEMA last year, but this the car’s debut in the U.K.
H.R Owen are set to be the U.K distributor for the car.
The headline stats for this car is that it houses a 1817bhp 6.6ltr twin turbocharged V8 (no that wasn’t a typo, it makes over 1800 bhp. That’s 1357bhp/ton). That will propel the car to 60 in 2.6 seconds and the proposed top speed is 311mph, although that’s not been tested.
If you’re wondering what 1817bhp sounds like, I’ve got you covered. https://www.tiktok.com/@richardfrancismsfmh/video/7224541654974336283
Finally, on the completely insane cars front, we have the Rimac Nevera. The fastest electric production car on the planet. It’ll do 0-60 in 1.9 seconds (that’s not a typo either. 1.9 seconds.) and tops out at 258mph.
Then we come back down to earth a bit with the McLaren Senna. That’s not a sentence that’s ever been written before.
It looked lovely in this black and purple spec.
McLaren also brought along a pair of Arturas – their new hybrid supercar.
Porsche had this stunning purple GT3 with the Manthey Performance Kit.
Along with a 911 Targa. It looks a lot better than the conventional soft top 911 in my opinion.
H.R Owen Bentley brought along this bright Continental convertible. Perfect summer cruiser?
The Bentayga SUV.
The Flying Spur. It was nice to see a Flying Spur in person. I’ll occasionally see a Continental coupe or a Bentayga on my travels, but I don’t thin I’ve ever seen a Flying Spur out and about.
Finally Rolls Royce debuted two new commission builds. This Ghost was the build that garnered the most attention online before the event. It’s Sagano Green with Serenity Green leather. I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t like it. As I said earlier taste is subjective, but that’s not a bit of me.
This Extended Phantom Series II, on the other hand, was absolutely a bit of me!
This was finished in Belladonna Purple with black interior. I have to mention the massive rear hinged coach doors too! It was truly a stunning car!
Some cars give off a CEO vibe, like 7 Series BMWs or Mercedes S-Classes but this Phantom gave off Head of State vibes.
I would say it’s probably a bit of a pain to park but if you own this you’re going to be driven around in it not drive it yourself. What a way to travel!
Thanks for reading! I actually really enjoyed writing this one. It was different to write about brand new cars rather than the classics I tend to generally cover. Variety is the spice of life after all! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.
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By Richard Francis
