Sales of exotic cars in Europe increased 3% in 2019 to 7,368 units, which is the highest annual sales volume since 2008. After the Ferrari 488 led the ranking for two years, the Bentley Continental GT has reclaimed the segment crown it used to hold, thanks to the new generation. The Continental GT has its highest annual sales in Europe since 2008 after peaking at over 2,800 sales in 2007, while the 488 is down 17% and the #3 Aston Martin DB11 is down 20% to drop below 1,000 annual sales for the first time since its launch in 2017. That allows the Ferrari 812 Superfast to close in, just 41 sales from on a podium finish, and with the highest annual sales for any V12 Ferrari ever in Europe. It leapfrogs the Lamborghini Huracan, down 24% as the Huracan Evo facelift was launched this year. Its sibling Lamborghini Aventador is up 2% to a new annual sales record, and also the highest annual sales for any V12 Lamborghini in Europe ever. The Aston Martin DBS Superleggera finds almost 500 buyers which beats the Ferrari GTC4Lusso, down 36%. Rolls Royce is in trouble with its cheaper models as both the Dawn and Wraith are down by 35% or more.
Geneva Autoshow 2017: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly production cars, part 1
It’s that time of the year again: everybody who’s somebody in the automotive industry can be found within just a few relatively small show floors at the Geneva Convention Center, where the cars are the real stars. The Geneva International Motor Show, as it’s officially called, is packed with new releases and world premieres every year and the 87th edition is no different. Of course CarSalesBase.com is there too to feel the pulse of the industry and to get an idea of what’s going to be a hit and what’s going to flop. And as you’ve become used to from us, we have an opinion on the lastest launches and would like to know yours too. Which cars stir our senses, which ones need to go back to the drawing board and which are just plain mweh?
Alpine A110
Bart: hot
It’s always to see a brand with such a great heritage make a comeback, even if most car buyers may not even remember it, let alone have ever seen an Alpine in real life. Sure, in this segment brand value plays a great factor, but so does design and performance. The former is well taken care of in my opinion, the retro design with modern touches actually works on the A110. Performance promises to tick all the boxes as well thanks to its lightweight aluminium construction and 252hp on 1080kg is pretty impressive. Better than a Cayman? Hard to say, but at least it’s different. And I mean that in a good way.
Kriss: hot
I agree with Bart – it’s great to see Alpine make a comeback and challenge the Germano-Italian dominance of the segment. It looks great, and sports a great power-to-weight ratio thanks to its lightweight construction. In essence – I can’t imagine how this car could have turned out any better. But still I’m worried – many have tried and failed to provide a genuine challenge the Boxster/Cayman duo, and I’m afraid that no matter how good the A110 is, it’s not good enough to differentiate itself from the also-rans like the Alfa-Romeo 4C and Lotus Evora.