Preview: Great artists steal at the Geneva auto show (pictures)

"Good artists borrow, great artists steal." -- Pablo Picasso

Automakers are often accused of "borrowing" elements from their competitors. Let's have a little fun and point out some of the rides debuting at the 2013 Geneva auto show and from where we think they're "borrowing" their inspiration.

Rolls-Royce is building an ultra-luxe Audi A7.

The Wraith will be the most powerful Rolls-Royce when it debuts at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show next week, but we're more interested in the new model's fastback design. The preview looks like a coupe, but keen-eyed readers point out that its second set of doors could be a hidden set of the automaker's trademark rear-hinged "coach doors."

Toyota's Mazda Miata competitor drops its top.

Toyota's GT86 (known here in the states as the Scion FR-S) was often compared with the Mazda Miata during its first year on the road. With Toyota dropping the top of its rear-driven sports car, the similarities become even more apparent.

Kia takes shot at Nissan's Juke.

The unnamed Kia urban concept may end up just being an awesome hot hatchback, but we know that when automakers start tossing around the term "urban" they mean "crossover." Depending on the ride height, this funky little crossover could sit eye-to-eye with Nissan's Juke.

Mercedes-Benz builds a Subaru WRX.

Hot off of the excitement built on the announcement of the CLA compact sedan, Mercedes-Benz builds a better Subaru Impreza WRX. The AMG A45 boasts all-wheel drive, 355 turbocharged horsepower, and a hot hatchback configuration.

That's totally a Ford Taurus grille, Subaru.

What do we know about the Subaru Viziv concept? It is a future-generation crossover concept. It's got sweet LED headlamps. It's lifted its grill wholesale from the Ford Taurus.

Alfa Romeo builds a Lotus Evora.

The 4C in this Alfa's moniker refers to the four, turbo-fed cylinders in its mid-mounted engine. Somewhere between 200 and 250 horsepower will reach the road though the 4C's rear wheels. Aside from the number of cylinders, that sounds a lot like the Lotus Evora. It doesn't help that the Alfa sort of looks like the Lotus' sexy, Italian sister.

BMW takes another stab at the 5-Series GT.

We're of mixed opinion about the BMW 5-Series GT here at Car Tech. Is it a clever blending of body styles or a rolling collection of compromises? Most likely, it's the latter. We are sure, however, that BMW is hoping that the humpbacked variant of the smaller 3-series platform will be less divisive.

No, Ferrari isn't building a truck.

No, not that F-150! Ferrari's upcoming hypercar will bow at the Geneva auto show, filling the void left by the lustworthy Enzo. The F150 may have stolen its name from Ford's workhorse full-sized pickup, but there should be nothing truckish about this prancing pony.

China builds a bunch of mashups.

A new batch of Chinese automakers have been showcasing a wide range of models at recent auto shows with designs that are remarkably, well, derivative. For example, this Qoros 3 Sedan, which will debut at the Geneva show, sure looks like a Chrysler 200, with a Kia grill and BMW headlamps. I don't want to go so far as to call it a knockoff; I'm just saying.

Mitsubishi tries to build something you'll actually want to drive.

Mitsubishi's tiny i-MiEV has been a bit of an also-ran in the North American electric vehicle market. The automaker will be showing off two larger electrified concepts in Geneva this year. The GR-HEV Truck Concept will make use of a hybrid power train and the CA-MiEV Suburban Concept will be fully electric crossover.