Bologna Motor Show is growing in significance, but it's a bad sign when the models get more attention than the cars, writes Kyle Fortune
Frankfurt, Detroit, Geneva, Paris, LA, Tokyo. They're the motor shows that matter, right? Absolutely, but such is the alarming pace of product introductions, that manufacturers are impatient to introduce their new models to the public, and the smaller shows are stepping up to fill the breach.
This is why, in the past few years, Italy's Bologna Motor Show has become a significant one, not least because Fiat usually shows off something new at its "home" show.
Unusually, Fiat doesn't have much new on offer this year. Its new Abarth range is on show, and Bologna offers Fiat the chance to gloat about its recent success in the European Car of the Year competition with its 500. The diminutive retro supermini dominates its stand, even being shown in Valentino Rossi-aping livery alongside his MotoGP Yamaha.
Indeed, bikes are nearly as evident as cars on some stands; Alfa Romeo created a special 147 Ducati Corse edition to celebrate Casey Stoner's 2007 MotoGP Championship. Not that the man himself will be driving one: Alfa instead gave him a one-off Spider with a laurel wreath decal and decals on the bonnet of his native Australian flag. Usefully, it's right hand drive, meaning he'll be able to enjoy it back home.
It's a well known fact that the Italian brands always bring hostesses to stand alongside their cars at the international events, but all the manufacturers are at it in Bologna.
Taking pride of place are the five girls Renault had alongside its new Grand Modus, the longer version of the French compact MPV - which has never looked sexier, nor likely to ever be again.
In truth, the real world debuts are relatively scant at the Bologna show, instead derivatives of existing models or those special editions add some excitement to the proceedings.
However, Audi bucks the trend with its smart new A3 Cabriolet, its popular hatchback that has been properly decapitated and fitted with a folding canvas roof and put on show for the first time in Bologna - once you ignore its brief unveiling in Györ, Hungary, at an Audi factory a week earlier.
Powered by Audi's familiar petrol and diesel four-cylinder units, the A3 Cabriolet will only be offered in front-wheel-drive from launch.
Audi's parent company, Volkswagen, is also showing off all three of its fantastic UP! concepts in Bologna. The rear-engined family are displayed together for the first time in Italy, with more concept models expected to join the line-up throughout 2008. Now all Volkswagen needs to do is build them.
At the slightly more extreme end of the scale, Lamborghini rolls out its Reventon once again, though it's more likely to see one of the 20, €1 million re-bodied Murciélagos on a show-stand than on the road.
New supercars are in short supply at Bologna, which is surprising, given that Italy is the home of so many of the world's supercar companies.
Ferrari has not got any new models on show, except, of course those standing beside its cars.
The Prancing Horse did, however, announce that from 2008 its entire range will be fitted with lightweight Brembo carbon ceramic brakes as standard. No word though on whether the 2008 model year prices will rise as a result.
Porsche unveiled a new RS 60 Spyder limited edition Boxster in Italy. It features a front end from Porsche's SportDesign department, 19-inch alloys on spacer plates for a wider stance, and a sports exhaust that increases output to 303bhp.
Available in March, the special edition Boxster will be limited to 1,960 units.
Other blink-and-you'll-miss-them debuts are the Opel Zafira and Mazda 5. These family carrier rivals are easily missed, so subtle are the changes to their respective designs, though the mildly revised machines with their slightly different head and tail-lamps and revised engines means the marketing people can push them as new.
One genuine debut at the show is Hyundai's i10, the perfect place to unveil a city car - Italy is a huge market for small cars.
Neither particularly cute nor cool, the i10 does offer the promise of excellent specification and pricing allied to Hyundai's difficult-to-ignore five-year unlimited mileage warranty package.
A few vans, rebadged versions of the same vehicle, are also on show on the Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat stands.
As hard as each tried - Peugeot by painting up its Blipper with 908 HDi LeMans race-car paintwork, Citroën going for a fishy theme with its Nemo and Fiat going a bit "street" with its Fiorino - there were better things to look at.
The Bologna Motor Show runs from the 7th-16th December.