New launches, prototypes and classic cars… Motor shows have always attracted huge crowds. And this year, there’s good reason to travel to some of the world’s most notable regions and take in all things motoring.
Shanghai Motor Show
China 25 April to 2 May
The ascendency of China has heralded a rise in the importance of Sino motoring shows, perhaps none more important than Shanghai’s. The city – and region – has always been an outlier in the Chinese firmament, the harbinger of tomorrow, and 2025’s car show will underline that.
The cars
Not only will it show most of China’s astonishing new output (much of it electric), but it has also been chosen by many Western manufacturers to be the key show of the year. Watch out for the first real-life outing of Jaguar’s much-talked-about four-door GT. It’s unlikely to be a finished car (that only launches in 2026), but the prototype will be close to completion. Few new cars have garnered as much interest and controversy as the GT. It heralds Jaguar’s new dawn, new look, new corporate identity, as well as an entirely electric future, with a handful of expensive, exclusive models taking the marque into new territories.
The best of the city
Without doubt Piero Lissoni’s exquisite Middle House in downtown Dazhongli is the place to stay in Shanghai. The Italian architect’s use of traditional Chinese materials, sculpted into contemporary shapes and spaces, offers the best of old and new Mandarin culture. Dazhongli is the fashion district, and the boutique hotel’s show-stopping entrances (Lissoni loves an entrance) meld perfectly with the high-art environment. thehousecollective.com
Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este
Italy 23 to 25 May
Motor shows traditionally celebrate the future, but this one accents the past as well as what’s to come. Italy’s Concorso d’Eleganza on Lake Como at Villa d’Este is a high point of social calendars across the globe, an opportunity for the cognoscenti and collectors to buy, sell and admire some of the world’s most famous classic cars. The show’s location – a hop, skip and jump from George and Amal Clooney’s Lake Como hideaway – is as much a star as the classic Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Duesenbergs.
The cars
BMW is a key Concorso partner and will use the 2025 show to mark the relaunch of their electric car programme, now known as Neue Klasse. The links are ideal; BMW’s first Neue Klasse evolution occurred in the 1960s when it pivoted towards a more lucrative mass market, so, for 2025, old BMW classics will sit alongside the new iX3 and new-style volume seller, the 3-Series. But all the chatter is really about the highly anticipated Skytop super-cabriolet (with an M8 engine and 8-Series chassis), arguably the prettiest, and certainly the fastest, BMW convertible to launch in recent history.
The best of the region
First-timers to Concorso tend to stay in the little village of Como and catch one of the classic river boats, the famed Riva Vaporinas, over to Villa d’Este, but aficionados choose one of the historic villas up and down the lake. The pick of those is currently Passalacqua, the 18th-century, 12-suite villa recently restored to its former neoclassical grandeur. Murano chandeliers, a 200-year-old greenhouse and those views across the lake recommend it. Insider knowledge suggests you choose the Bellini Suite, for the afternoon sun, double-volume grandeur, Albertolli frescoes and echoes of La Sonnambula, composed in the villa by the suite’s namesake. passalacqua.it
Geneva International Motor Show
Qatar 27 November
Confusing certainly, but Geneva’s loss has been Doha’s gain; when the Swiss city fathers decided to pull the plug on what was the world’s most famous motor show in the early 2000s, Qatar put its hand up to host the spectacle. Like Shanghai, the Doha show seems a good fit, following the global wealth stream into new areas and markets. The 2025 show will feature new technologies but maintains a strong emphasis on traditional propulsion. In layman’s terms that means big petrol engines and buckets of excitement for enthusiasts.
The cars
Mercedes-AMG should have a working prototype of their bespoke electric SUV available for show. It will be AMG’s first dedicated electric car, and spy shots suggest it will be handsome as well as a force to be reckoned with. Equally admired is the company’s Mercedes-AMG E53 which, happily, makes use of
a six-cylinder engine (boosted by a hybrid system) to create a fire-breathing sedan of the old school (almost).
The best of the city
Doha’s reputation as a centre of architectural excellence is growing – experience the desert-rose-inspired National Museum of Qatar, I.M. Pei’s astonishing Museum of Islamic Art and the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies. It’s no surprise then that the city’s luxury hotels follow suit, notably The Torch Doha, Katara Towers and Fairmont Doha. But for true design bravery, choose W Doha in West Bay, which is as audacious as it is exceptional. The W brand has a global reputation for playfulness and it translates here, from the beaded curtaining in the WOW Suites to the polar bear art in the foyer. All in good taste, of course. marriott.com
