Sure, you could wander around the Geneva Motor Show, fighting crowds to stare at new McLarens and Ferraris and Porsches. Or you could stray from the beaten path and take your time admiring the classic, gnarly and downright iconic other cars on display. Here’s a sampling.

David Brown Minis Remastered
If the name David Brown sounds familiar, it’s because of his involvement with Aston Martin many decades ago — hence, the “DB” nomenclature in cars like the legendary DB5 and all-new DB11. The David Brown Automotive company is still going strong, producing newly-imagined versions of British cars we already know and love. Take, for instance, the Mini Remastered: bodywork has been smoothed and subtly reshaped; the deep paint job takes four weeks to complete; inside, modern technology completes the up-to-date experience.

Pininfarina Birdcage 75th Concept Car by Pininfarina
First introduced at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show, the Birdcage concept pays homage to design house Pininfarina’s 75th anniversary and to the classic Maserati Tipo 61 “Birdcage” cars of the ’60s.

Lamborghini Marzal Concept Car by Bertone
FOrward thinking designers at Bertone were ahead of even David Bowie by the late ’60s when this concept debuted. Featuring a carbureted straight-six and complex suspension, the car was meant to be as sporting as it was bizarre. It appears to be half glass and upholstered in emergency blankets, but the Lambo hood ornament makes sense of the craziness.

Bizzarini Manta Concept Car
Giorgetto Giugiaro was a genius designer whose work dominated cutting-edge car art roughly 50 years ago. There is plenty to discuss here, but most notable are the three-seat layout with center-mounted driver position and the impeccable paint scheme. (Those orange pinstripes — so good.)

Meanie 2.0
Not just another Mini, this one has been reborn as a steroidal sports car. It only generates 220 horsepower, but that rockets the small car to 60 mph in under four seconds and pushes it to a top speed of at least 120 mph. Only five will be built.

Belcar
Exact details here are scarce, but it seems that over a six-year run, only 81 cars of this kind were produced in various configurations. It’s a microcar from Germany, made of fiberglass-reinforced polyester over a simple frame and three wheels.

Brabus 4×4 Adventure
Add almost 140 horsepower and 140 lb-ft of torque to the already beastly Mercedes-Benz 4×4² and the behemoth will launch to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds. The electrically-adjustable suspension is good for three levels of firmness, and all around the nearly seven-foot-tall vehicle are all manner of off-road kit. Even the headliner features a fiber optic rainbow star array. This isn’t a newly-available truck, but it’s too good to pass up.

Italdesign-Airbus pop.up next
So, there’s not much more to say here other than it’s a modular vehicle that features super high-tech driver assistance and a massive drone-style airship. It all connects somehow, enabling the car (?) to…fly. Which is, apparently, a thing. Very exciting.

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