Hispano Suiza

In recent years the Geneva show has seen several attempts to revive great automotive names of the past - last year's Frazer-Nash by Guigiaro comes to mind, and this year sees the return of Hispano-Suiza - a legendary name from the 10s and 20s, but a name we've seen in Geneva as recently as 2004, with the HS21. Or does it? Developed by former Volkswagen designer Erwin Leo Himmel, the team behind the car are in fact keen to point out that this car and name bears no relation to Hispano-Suiza's of the past (a name owned by a French aerospace group), a point emphatically emphasized by the new, non-hyphenated name plate.

Essentially a rebodied Audi R8, the Hispano Suiza is a clearly aimed at people who look at the V10 version of Audi's supercar and think it's underpowered. The mid-mounted V10 therefore has had a pair of superchargers strapped to it to boost power to more acceptable levels.

The Audi roots are betrayed through a windshield, roofline and interior largely lifted from the R8, but the rest of the bodywork is thoroughly different to the donor car. While the proportions have a strong sports car theater to them, seen against the glasshouse of the R8, the body looks outsized - the frontal treatment giving the car a nose-heavy feel, with the aggressive shark-inspired lights and lower grille area creating a drooping 'beak'.

The deep, horizontal shoulder conveys a strong sense of the car's powerful mid-engined nature, flowing neatly from the top of the fender into a much broader rear deck and neatly resolved rear, but the surface treatment between the wheels is less successful, with a strange crease below the shoulder line, which introduces a degree of weakness into the side of the car, and feels very contrived as it flows into the cheaply-detailed air intake ahead of the rear wheel. Inside, the familiar R8 IP and center console are retrimmed in orange leather, and augmented by the addition of three circular air vents on top of the center stack.

This Hispano Suiza is more successful and convincing than many concepts showcased by small or fledgling companies. However, judged against the rumored €700,000 price tag, and the rich history of the hyphenated name it so clearly references, we - along with many of the designers we spoke to - find it mildly disappointing.