The 2020 Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) is upon us, and even though there’ve been coronavirus-related scares hanging a dark cloud over the whole expo, we’re still expecting a lot of important debuts there this year.

Usually, the Geneva show is where we see a lot of the German manufacturers bring their latest and greatest creations, and 2020 is no exception.

Porsche and Volkswagen are bringing in updated versions of their famous favourites, while Bentley is bringing something totally new. Mercedes-Benz will also have a raft of new SUVs to show off, and Audi probably will, too.

However, there will be a few noticeable absences. Jaguar, Land Rover, Lamborghini, Peugeot, Citroën and even Opel-Vauxhall are skipping the show, as more and more automakers seem to be doing these days.

Bentley

Mulliner, the coachbuilding arm of Bentley, has always produced beautiful designs that accentuate the power and racing heritage of the British brand. Since 1897, Mulliner has been building bodies for vehicles, and it’s learned a thing or two in that time period, culminating apparently in this new Bacalar, which wears a beautiful sports car body and represents “the future of coachbuilding.”

The coupe, based on the design of the EXP100 GT, will be making its debut at Geneva. All we’ve seen so far is a hint of rear spoiler, a wheel and this image of its two-seat interior — it’s the first two-place Bentley since the ’30s.

Hyundai

With a name portending something big, Hyundai’s Prophecy concept better make an impact at Geneva. The automaker’s showed off a few teaser images, like the one at the top of the page, but we don’t know much about it quite yet.

It’s possible the Prophecy simply foretells the next evolution of the Korean company’s new Sensuous Sportiness design language, but we’ll find out more once the curtain’s lifted and we get to gaze directly into this crystal ball.

BMW

A new era of mobility, #bornelectric.

The body of a Gran Coupé, totally emission-free. The #BMW Concept i4 is coming soon. #THEConcepti4 pic.twitter.com/R2UIfeLnqL — BMW i (@BMWi) February 25, 2020

Well, the German automaker’s showing off what will apparently the final concept form of its Tesla-rivalling i4 electric sedan before it hits the market closer to the end of this year. The 3 Series-related and -sized car’s powertrain is revolutionary, but the styling seems very traditional-BMW from this teaser.

Rumours are it could see up to 600 km of battery range and the electric equivalent of more than 500 horsepower in its top spec, but let’s not count electrons until BMW takes the covers off in Geneva.

LISTEN: It’s been 10 years since the Nissan Leaf charged onto the world stage, and since then nearly half-a-million of the all-electric five-door hatchbacks have been sold. Nissan’s Francois LeFevre is responsible for most things Leaf in Canada, and he joins us to talk about the early years of selling and marketing the EV in this country, lessons learned, and about an all-new and coming-soon electric vehicle from the Japanese automaker.

Plugged In is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.

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Audi

The new Audi A3 is expected to bow in Geneva, specifically the five-door sportback spec that’ll hit the market ahead of the liftback sedan variant due out 2021. We hear there’ll be gas and hybrid powertrains, but no full-electric versions since the German firm has its own standalone model set to fit into that segment, apparently.

Volkswagen

The king of hot hatches, the eighth-gen Golf GTI, is set to make its debut at the Geneva auto show. The base MK8 Golf previewed new and aggressive styling, but the GTI version is what we’re all really waiting for.

The teaser shows off its trademark red accent around the grille and headlights, as well as new fog light surrounding the front vents; we’re sure the GTI will be the hot-hatch king once again.

Polestar

Polestar showed off its big reveal, its new Precept concept, just more than a week ahead of the Geneva show, which means we’ve already had plenty of time to field enthusiast reaction to it. (Apparently more than a few of them have commented it looks like a Tesla or Fisker, but we think they might need to get their eyes checked.)

Kia

The cat’s already out of the bag at the Kia booth, too, with the all-new Sorento gettings its digital reveal earlier this month. GIMS will be the first time the public will be able to see the new SUV in the metal, though.

Porsche

Porsche really has something special in the 718: the mid-engined sports car offers excellent weight distribution and good power, plus wonderful handling for a reasonable price. The GTS is about to get better though, as Porsche replaces the four-cylinder turbocharged engine with the 4.0-litre flat-six from the Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder for the GTS trim.

Also to be revealed is the next tier of the current-gen 911, the top-of-the-line Turbo. Its 3.8-litre engine will apparently come with two turbochargers, plus there’ll be stiffer bushings and tweaked suspension for more handling prowess.

Honda

The much-maligned-for-its-looks Honda Civic Type R will be receiving a facelift, and we’ll get to see the product of that at the Geneva auto show, although we don’t expect the redesign to transform the Civic from a caterpillar into a butterfly.

Fiat

We don’t know much for certain about the new 500e making its debut at Geneva, except that it’ll be fully electric and will be made available globally, including, we presume, in Canada. From what we gather it’ll look a lot like the current one, though its new powertrain means it’ll be riding on a whole new platform.

LISTEN:

Plugged In is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.