Qatar may seem like an unexpected place to host the Geneva International Motor Show. After all, Geneva is right there in the name — and 2,850 miles from the small Middle Eastern country. But come October 2023, that's precisely what’ll step off.
For the uninitiated: the Geneva International Motor Show has been a pinnacle event in the motoring world for more than a century. Ever since it began in 1905, it's been considered one of the most important motor shows in the world. In recent years, the heavy influx and participation of luxury marques has made it the launching pad for a spate of supercars, hypercars and megacars like those from Koenigsegg and Rimac.
However, the Geneva Motor Show in Geneva is largely a stationary event, held in a convention center with the cars parked on plush carpets and lacquered spinning pedestals. The notion of seeing such high-performance machines that routinely set global speed records standing completely still is, well ... staid. Which is why the show's organizers sought to transform the spectacle into an immersive and experiential high-octane (or, in this electric age, high-electron) festival.
“We want you to be moved, metaphorically and literally,” Sandro Mesquita, CEO of the Geneva International Motor Show — also known more concisely as "GIMS" — explained to me when I visited Qatar earlier this year. “The idea of a festival, where you can drive or be driven in the vehicles you’re interested in, is something we love. And when we thought about how best to do that, given the various kinds of vehicles from our presenting brands, we knew Qatar would be an ideal location.”
Here’s why Mesquita’s vision for the GIMS Qatar festival experience (from October 5 through October 14th, 2023) seems tremendously promising.
The Festival Steps Off with an F1 Race
What better way to get some of the 200,000 expected festival attendees amped than with an F1 race? The 2023 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix will be held right during the festival's opening weekend, on October 8th. Plenty of special events and activations tying into F1 are reportedly planned, through organizers remain mum on the specifics.
You Can Drive the Losail Circuit Right After the Race
Losail International Circuit is an international race circuit that’ll be home to the F1 race …and to GIMS attendees immediately after. High-end automakers (think along the lines of McLaren or Ferrari) will be running test-drives on the 5.4-km circuit, allowing you to experience the same high-speed corners that the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen just hammered into submission.
You Can Thrash Dunes in 4x4s
The Sealine Desert, tucked away in the south of Doha, will be the basecamp for guests to experience desert driving (and living) in a unique way. High-end camps will be erected near the coast where the desert meets the ocean, allowing guests to stay overnight. During the days, various automakers will have fleets of off-roaders available to guests to try their hands at dune-bashing and other off-road motorsport experiences.
Qatar’s Bigwigs Are Bonafide Gearheads
One other reason the Geneva Motor Show folks are keen to go to Qatar? There's a lot of folks there who love cars.
The Qatar Auto Museum will officially open in 2025, but part of the exhibit’s already operational and guests can come and get a look at some of Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim bin Faisal Al-Thani’s personal collection, housed about 25 minutes from downtown Doha. Al-Thani is one of Qatar’s most successful businessmen, who played a pivotal role in the development of Qatar’s economy. It's an absurd amount of vehicles, with a fair amount of odd Americana mixed in. (I'd like to give a special shout-out to the two lifted Chevy pickups that feel straight outta Florida.)
But one vehicle within the collection was truly fascinating. Apparently, Al-Thani’s son was so obsessed with his father's 1955 GMC step-side pickup truck that in 2009, Sheikh Al-Thani had a miniature version custom built for his kid.
The gas, brake, clutch, and gear shift were all located within the bed, where the Sheikh would sit and manipulate them, while his son drove from inside the cabin. Talk about a father-son bonding experience.
