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The most spectacular eye candy at the Montreal auto show

Seeing stars at on wheels at the season-opening Montreal International Auto Show

Marc Lachapelle
Published: January 23, 2017, 8:35 AM
Updated: December 22, 2017, 1:21 PM

Bold and beautiful!

The bold, beautiful and occasionally bizarre automotive sculptures that stood out from the rest at the 2017 Montreal International Auto Show. Words and pictures by Marc Lachapelle. ▲

Alfa Romeo 4C

The Alfa Romeo 4C is as pure a sports car as one can drive today in this country, with its mid-mounted, 237-horsepower, 1.7-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder engine and lightweight, carbon fibre and aluminium structure. It, remains a true beauty queen on the auto show circuit. ▲

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio

The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is a gritty, racy Italian newcomer that throws down the gauntlet to the very best American and German sports sedans with its twin-turbocharged, 505-horsepower, 2.9-litre V-6 engine and finely-tuned chassis. ▲

Bentley Bentayga

The imposing Bentley Bentayga, the noble British marque’s first-ever sport-utility vehicle, almost dwarfs the otherwise stately Flying Spur ultra-luxury sedan that poses alongside. ▲

BMW i8 Protonic Red Edition

The Protonic Red Edition if the first of a series of special, limited-production versions of BMW’s eco-friendly sports car, the radically-styled i8. Under its lightweight carbon fibre shell lurks a plug-in hybrid powertrain that gets a total of 357 horsepower from its turbocharged, 1.5-litre gasoline engine and electric motors. Red stitching and trim pieces in carbon fibre and ceramic set it apart from regular models. ▲

BMW M3

This custom, lime green dress isnot quite the stealthiest for BMW’s M3, the quintessential sports sedan, powered by a turbocharged, 3.0-litre, inline six-cylinder engine that develops a round 425 horsepower. ▲

Classic Hot Rod

Behold this clean, classic interpretation of the archetypal hotrod, the legendary 1932 Ford, nicknamed ‘Deuce Coupe’. ▲

Dodge Viper GT

The Montreal International Auto Show is the first stop on the Dodge Viper’s farewell Canadian tour. Production of the brawny sports car will effectively stop after a last run of special 2017 models, twenty-five years after the launch of the very first. ▲

Dodge Viper GT

How to resist a profile shot of this Viper coupe in Stryker Green garb! Under its long hood shell lies an 8.4-litre, aluminium-block V-10 engine rated at 645 horsepower and an asphalt-ripping 600 lb-ft of torque. ▲

Dragster Rat Rod

This scrawny rat-rod is a cross between an early dragster and a chopped Ford ’32 coupe. ▲

Ferrari LaFerrari

The striking LaFerrari is arguably the most exotic of the original hybrid hypercar trinity that comprises the McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder. The 6.3-litre V-12 and electric drive motor that drive its rear wheels have a combined output of 950 horsepower. ▲

Ferrari F12

The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta is the embodiment of class and elegance but remains a red-blooded Ferrari, with a 732-horsepower, 6.3-litre V-12 engine under its front hood. ▲

Ford F-150 Raptor SuperCrew

Ford has launched an all-new F-150 Raptor for 2017, shown here in four-door SuperCrew trim. This new, off-road ready, second-generation Raptor is both lighter and more powerful, thanks to its new aluminium body and twin-turbocharged, 450-horsepower, 3.5-litre Ecoboost V-6. ▲

Ford Focus CH

Where else would you expect to see a Ford Focus in bright red with the famous logo of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team spread across its front hood? Go Habs Go! ▲

Honda Civic Type R prototype

Montreal saw the Canadian auto show début of Honda’s Civic Type R prototype. The production version, set to arrive this spring, should be very close in all respects. Honda is still mum but the front-drive sport compact should get about 300 horsepower from its turbocharged, 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine. ▲

Hyundai RN30 concept

The RN30 concept is a pure track car that won’t be produced in current form but does offer a muscled-up preview of the first car that will come from Hyundai’s performance-focused N division. This lowered, widened and lightened version of the i30 compact is powered by a turbocharged, 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine that delivers a stout 374 horsepower. ▲

Hyundai RN30 concept

In rear view, the Hyundai RN30 concept shows off its large, cap-style wing atop the hatch, a huge extractor underneath and heavily-flared wheel arches front and rear. ▲

Karma Revero

A surprise guest in Montreal was the Karma Revero, a reborn version of an eco-friendly luxury sedan originally designed and developed by Henrik Fisker. The Karma’s voluptuous shape had been preserved and the Revero uses essentially the same hybrid powertrain, connected to a stronger battery that should deliver stronger performance, according to the now Chinese-owned company’s new management. ▲

Kia Rio

Kia chose the Montreal auto show to introduce the fully-redesigned 2018 Rio because of the great popularity of subcompacts in Québec. The lines are rounder, the wheelbase slightly longer and the unit-body structure is more rigid. Both engines were revised and the Rio’s cabin got a serious makeover. ▲

Lamborghini Huracán

This Lamborghini Huracán sports a unique, matte purple finish that truly sets it apart. ▲

Lexus LC500h

Featured by Lexus in Montreal for its Canadian début was the most environmentally responsible version of its all-new luxury 2 2 coupé, the LC500h. Under the striking bodywork is a hybrid powertrain that combines a 3.5-litre V-6 engine and electric motors for a total output of 354 horsepower. ▲

Mazda MX-5 RF

Also making its first appearance in Canada is the gorgeous Mazda MX-5 RF, an all-new version of the most popular sports car in history, now in its fourth generation. The RF features a coupé-like profile when its retractable roof panel is in place. ▲

Mazda MX-5 RF

The aluminium roof panel that turns the Mazda MX-5 RF into a virtual coupé is stowed behind the cabin in a few seconds, taking away not the slightest bit of cargo volume from the small trunk, another technical tour de force by Mazda’s clever engineers. ▲

Mitsubishi GT-PHEV Concept

The imposing Mitsubishi GT-PHEV Concept makes its North-American début as the Japanese carmaker celebrates the 100th anniversary of its first vehicle, the 7-passenger Model A sedan, launched in 1917. An eventual production version of the GT-PHEV will no doubt be able to carry that many, in full comfort and safety. The Concept itself is replete with technologies and powered by a plug-in hybrid powertrain that delivers up to 120 km of emissions-free motoring and a total range of 1,200 km, thanks to a trio of electric motors. ▲

F&F Porsche 911 off-road & rally special

F&F Fabrication, a tuning and restoration shop that obviously loves to work on Zuffenhausen’s best, showed this neat, fully-functional, off-road-ready version of the classic Porsche 911. The red, white and blue coupé immediately evokes the cars that won the legendary Paris-Dakar ‘rally-raid’ twice and four editions of the equally famous Monte Carlo rally. ▲

Subaru Crosstrek Concept

The Crosstrek Concept offers an excellent indication – if not a clear preview – of what the second generation of Subaru’s compact sport-utility will look like. Coming soon, this new Crosstrek will be built on Subaru’s new, modular Global Platform that has already given us the all-new 2017 Impreza. ▲

Toyota FCV Plus Concept

The spacey, futuristic hydrogen fuel cell-powered Toyota FCV Plus Concept made its Canadian / North American auto show début in Montreal. It was first shown at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2015. ▲

Toyota TS050 Hybrid

Powered by a hybrid system that combines a twin-turbocharged, 2.4-litre V-6 thermal engine and two electric motors, for a reported total output of 986 horsepower, Toyota's TS050 LMP1 prototype came within a lap of winning the legendary Le Mans 24-hours endurance classic. It was stopped by a minor system failure a few minutes before the finish after leading for several hours. ▲
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