Geneva Motor Show’s Top 5 Luxury Points Including Meteorite Knobs and a Soft New Leather

This year, the Geneva Motor Show rolled out a line of impressive luxury touches from the world’s finest brands, and some of them were, well – a little out of this world.

Rolls Royce borrowed inspiration – and materials – from the stars themselves, Aston Martin got down and dirty – and a new soft leather graced the seats of Maserati. Wired took a look at the top features you won’t want to sleep on at Geneva this year. 

Here are the top 5 eye-popping luxury features introduced at Geneva Motor Show 2022. 

5. Maserati’s New Nappa

Nappa leather is the gold standard for luxury cars, but luxury seats are a dime a dozen. So Maserati upped their game with a brand new soft leather called Pelletessuta, dreamed into being in collaboration with Italian designer Ermenegildo Zegna. Pelletessuta is still Nappa, but it’s woven in a way to make it softer and more durable, and customers can find it gracing the seats of their Quattroporte S Q4 GranLusso and Levante S Q4 GranSport cars. 

4. Aston Martin Down in the Dirt

When Aston Martin said they wanted their new SUV to be all-terrain, they really leaned into the project.  The Lagonda All-Terrain is a hardy SUV with the signature Aston Martin suave. The Lagona offers all-electric power, suicide doors and a retractable shelf that extends from the rear of the vehicle so you can have somewhere comfortable to sit while roughing it. 

3. Alfa Romeo Dialing Up the Past

Alfa Romeo is a car of classic style, so it’s no surprise that they’re taking a page out of the book of history for the new Tonale Concept SUV. Recalling Alfa Romeos from the 1960’s, the Tonale arrived in Switzerland wearing 21-inch “telephone dial” wheels, a cheeky nod to a now-obsolete technology. But there’s nothing obsolete about the Tonale, which is otherwise a blend of futuristic features with traditional style. 

2. McLaren Says ‘Who Needs Road Legal?’

The McLaren track-only Senna GTR has dispensed with all that convenience nonsense like air conditioning and heated seats, making it as light and quick on its wheels as possible. Since it doesn’t need to be road legal, the giant spoiler popped on the back that looks like it could take flight can be as ostentatious as it wants – and it certainly is. But the new fin helps the Senna achieve 20 more percent downforce, so what it lacks in visual grace it makes up for by being a beast; light but agile. 

1. Rolls-Royce Reaches for the Stars

Rolls-Royce is known for being on the cutting-edge of innovation while embracing the classic style of the past, but now it’s exploring where no man has gone before and incorporating meteorites into its design finishes. A special edition Phantom Tranquility offers a knob made from the Muonionalusta meteorite. Alas, it won’t imbue you with any supernatural powers – that they know of.