Back in the 1970s, Bertone had a tradition of producing the most outrageous concepts, so it's good to see the Pandion continuing this legacy as a design that really polarized opinion today.

In the flesh, this is a far more dramatic creation than the sneak preview shots suggested. While the exterior surfaces are fairly simple, the car really comes alive when the doors are opened up. And what doors! Fully 3m in length, they soar upwards, rotating around the rear wheel, as on the little Barchetta concept of 2007. What is revealed is a stunning white exoskeleton running throughout the interior and down the center tunnel, an idea that's been buzzing around in student projects for a couple of years but never developed full size.

Talking to chief designer Adrian Griffiths, he explained the idea behind the car: "We call this 'Algorithmo Design', the movement of a surface from outside to inside in a continuous movement. The structure and lines move through the car. We also looked at the Alfa Romeo logo, composed of a red cross, which represents structure, and the snake, which is skin."

The front mask and lamps are integrated into a powerful DRG but it's the rear that's the most dramatic area of the design, with random blades jutting out from the grille in a pixelated manner, almost as though they represent noise exiting from the car or the volumes breaking up, similar to the tail of a comet.

The interior features four slim seats trimmed in turquoise Technogel, as are the floor mats. "A cocoon held within this robust structure, where the seats appear to float in this interior," according to Griffiths. The exposed chassis tub is finished in a rough geometric texture that apes the blades used elsewhere for grille apertures. To be honest, we feared the Pandion might not be so outstanding, but seeing it up close it's definitely one of the stars of this show.

The SR1 makes its international show debut in Geneva despite Peugeot going public with the car soon after the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year.

This concept is significant for two reasons. Firstly, and most obviously, as a pure sports car it is a new type of car for Peugeot whose cabriolets have previously been derivatives of their mainstream hatchback or sedan designs. Secondly, it ushers in a new ‘post-Welter' design direction with Jean-Pierre Ploué heading up PSA design and Gilles Vidal now design director of Peugeot. Under this new management, the SR1 eschews the rictus grin and the design themes of recent Peugeots and introduces a strong new design direction for the brand.

This new direction is evident in the DRG (down-road-graphics) which feature a disappointingly generic grille aperture. But see the SR1 in the metal and it's immediately clear, in a way that pictures fail to belie, how the rest of the design is very fresh. A gentle depression in the door side is echoed in the rear fender and the upper surface of the front fender – where uniquely an ‘ingot' of polished metal door mirror pierces through. The shut lines of the hood and trunk unusually zig-zag down from the cabin. Both front and rear lamps feature three vertical blades that stand proud of the main graphic – at the rear they literally bridge over the body connecting the two strands of red lamp. Inside, the instruments are positioned far forwards in the deep IP which is a broad concave form that sweeps around into the doors, becoming convex as it does so. And behind the front seats is a single rear seat for a third occupant.

This design was very well received by the design community in Geneva. Every designer we spoke to rated it highly. It cleverly introduces many new ideas but remains a holistic and well integrated design that doesn't appear to be trying too hard. It's certainly a great start for Peugeot's new design management team.

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The Porsche 918 Spyder was possibly the biggest surprise in Geneva. Very few people knew about this car including, apparently, the design management at Volkswagen!

The last Porsche concept car was the Carrera GT of 10 years ago that was designed in the then Porsche California studio. And the 918 appears to be picking up the mantel of the production Carrera GT that that concept sired, if perhaps also making nods to the classic 917 race car. It too has a very powerful mid-mounted powertrain, in this case a combination of 500hp petrol V8 and 218hp from two electric motors. Its design also relates closely to the Carrera GT in general theme and in details such as the straight, diagonal slim center console. But what is most striking, about what appears to be a show car spoiler of a production design, is how compact the 918 looks in the metal; more Boxter than Carrera GT.

Beyond some Carrera GT derived themes, the design has the classically taught yet full volume Porsche surfaces and some new design features such as the way the body-side tapers rearward to sit inside the rear surface of the car just behind the door. Other details that are new for Porsche are lamps that are taller than they are wide (more Ferrari 430 than 911), winglets that connect the rear spoiler to the center of the rear deck, and lime green detailing as befitting its hybrid status.

Reaction to the exterior from designers we spoke to was mixed, but the interior found favor with most if also being perceived as a little overworked by some. The form of leather clad IP and the way it integrates TFT displays particularly impressed us, as did the very innovative way it wrapped into the door over the side air vents.

Although a surprise, ultimately the 918 does not establish any strong new Porsche themes as the last three Porsche concepts, the Panamera, Boxter and Carrera GT, did. An underwhelming 718hp hybrid supercar...