For those of you that attended the show you would have noticed that evo were parked under the shadow of a rather large truck, Not only were we blanketed by the so-called monster civilian mobile, we were also forced to endure the visual of two-wheels for five days, for our sins I guess.

Luckily for us though we were able to position our armchairs around the evo stand (at random positions) to get a more interesting view.

From a certain angle there was Ferrari's 430 Scuderia and a white 612 Scagletti, alongside Maserati, displaying the sexy Gran Turismo coupe. We were also fortunate enough to be a stone's throw away from the Lamborghini arena, boasting the magnificent LP640, Superleggera, great coffee and a miniature model of the Reventon - the real deal actually doing the rounds in LA at that time.

Also in eyeshot was Jaguar (with their XF) and, if we strained our eyes and neck, Mercedes too.  Apart from the great snacks and friendly on-stand personnel, Mercedes really did put on a good show this year with the SLR GT, Maybach offerings, as well as begging my feet to wander over there every day to sum up the possibility of whether or not I could afford a CLK63 AMG Black Series.

Aside from the most obvious  attraction of the big brands such as Bugatti and Koenigsegg, it was this moderate two-seater sedan that caught every ounce of my attention. It was actually the first time I'd personally laid eyes on the car in the metal and I am hooked.

Once on my feet I managed to do the rounds on more than one occasion and in this time concluded that over the previous show, the 2007 event had really pulled its socks up and tucked in its shirt too. The show, in comparison to two years ago, felt composed and well organised, even though I had to wait  too long for my coffee each morning!

I imagine, above all, the organisers have been patting themselves on the back and giving each other pay-rises ever since, for aside from a few minor issues, the Motorshow felt like a serious show, similar to that of the major biggies on the international show calendar. Hats off guys.

It is at this point that I must thank the organisers for placing evo in a completely different hall to Kawasaki, after we heard rumours that they are still brooding over the bad publicity the evo car vs. bike feature gave the two-wheelers in last months issue.

Elsewhere, anyone worth knowing showed their face, even the talk of the Internet from the US (Shelby Super Cars) with their Guinness World Record breaking 414kph Ultimate Aero Twin Turbo. This Stateside supercar set the show alight, literally, when their battery pack used to activate the doors caught fire... Nobody was laughing!

Smaller outfits, close by, including KTM and Caterham did a sterling job for the low-volume sports car scene, and not at all perturbed by the small fire burning away a few feet away from their stands. A few halls away, a way away from the dangers of third-degree burns was Nissan who in all honesty stole the show with their GT-R Skyline - more of a talking point dare I say, than the flaming Ultimate Aero. The GT-R really is a beast of a car, that looks a lot better up close than it ever does on the pages of pulp - and that's saying a lot.

Japanese rival Mitsubishi was there too, with their EVO, as were Subaru with the WRX.

There was a few odd-ball creations doted around as well, to keep us all on our toes, including the ghastly 200bhp car/bike T-Rex (even the impressive 100kph dash of 3.5sec couldn't convince us to buy one) and some retro concepts from the likes of GM with their appropriately titled electric hybrid 'Volt' and Saab, who were flaunting their wild Aero-X two-seater - a 400bhp twin-turbo 2.8-litre V6 sports car that is designed to run on bio ethanol. And for those that truly love to hug trees, rescue cats and count sand on their day off, there was also a UAE solar-powered car on display.

BMW drew the crowds with their fare share of concepts (mainly the CS concept) which was no surprise after they announced at the show the classy CS concept will be put into production soon. When exactly, and how much for is anyone's guess. Same goes for the Concept X6, an X5-derivitive branded as a 'Sports Activity Coupe'.  The Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe (which was built to celebrate 100 years of Mr. Rolls, Mr. Royce and the lovely cars the brand has been making) was close by promoting a 6.7-litre V12 and the worst combination of materials and colour co-ordination known to man. The red body, brushed steel, pinky fabric roof and option of wood and chrome not the most discrete, to say the least. But then, it can do 100kph in 6 seconds and roll onto 240kph...

Renault was making a similar splash, wheeling out two hot models for this coming season; the Clio F1 Team R27 and the Megane F1 Team R26. Both attracted a lot of attention, proving that small nippy hot-hatches are not just for Europe. One thing's for sure, I can't wait to get my mitts on them, especially the quicker of the two, the 230bhp Megane, which is scheduled for local release in May of 2008.

Porsche (as always) was hard to miss, this time around showcasing the GT2 brown 911 Turbo drop-top and the $ 74,000 Cayenne GTS, alongside the Transsyberia vehicle. Another big player in the SUV sector was Toyota, with their all-new Landcruiser (which we will be testing soon) that had many on the edge of their seats. It doesn't take a genius to realise these will sell like hot cakes over here.  

 One car I was surprised not see at the show (a car that would more than likely sold like hot cakes too) was the Caparo T1, but the big horsepower figures were not far away, mainly found in the corner with the word MTM swung over the top, proudly staging a 888bhp matte-black Audi R8, with a rear canopy borrowed from one of the Back 2 The Future Deloreans.

Equally crazy was the $ 350K Range Stormer re-creation by West Coast Customs (of which they sold nine) and a transparent car from Rinspeed, which I sort of took a shine to, and the old favourite, the Ariel Atom - proving that local love for these nut-job two-seaters is growing by the day. So, car of the show? Well for me it was the mighty AMG 63. Bassam fell hook line and sinker for the XBow, while the black Brabus Merc had Alejandro's name all over it..