Having soaked his aching feet for a few days, PADDY COMYNreflects on the Paris Motor Show
THE PARIS Motor Show is one of the kinder shows on your feet. Attend a show like Frankfurt, with a Mercedes-Benz stand the size of the RDS and, after a day, your feet are in flames. Paris Motor Show ain’t small – but it’s certainly more user-friendly.
The green theme is obviously not going away any time soon but at Paris the debate finally moved on to deliverables. There was far less “eco-green” paraphenalia to be seen and plug leads were in short supply. Instead? New metal that will definitely make it onto our forecourts in coming months.
It also saw a return to some dreamy metal poster brands from Lamborghini, Porsche, Bugatti and Ferrari. It’s not the end of the green debate, however. Cars on offer boast combustion engines with CO2 levels that were once the preserve of Italian city cars.
Even the electrics on show were from the petrolhead stable. The Jaguar C-X75 was the star of the show for most; even The Irish Times journalists agreed on that. This stunning supercar is powered by four 195bhp electric motors at each wheel, giving a combined 780bhp and 1,600Nm of torque.
A 3.4 second 0-100km/h time is claimed, along with a top speed of 330km/h. Two micro gas-turbines generate enough electricity to extend the range to a remarkable 900km, and produce just 28 grams of CO2 per kilometre from the car’s plug-in charge capability.
While it’s never likely to go into production in this electric format, expect to see many of the design cues on future Jaguar sports cars and the X-Type replacement.
Lotus caused perhaps the greatest fuss with the unveiling of five new models and a city car concept. The Lotus press conference featured Naomi Campbell and Queen’s Brian May and crammed six new cars into 15 minutes – cars that will be made over the coming five years.
Under boss Dany Bahar (ex-Ferrari) and designer Donato Coco (also ex-Ferrari) Lotus has ambitious plans and remarkable cars: the 2013 Elan (pictured), 2015 Elise, 2014 Elite, 2014 Espirit, 2015 Eterne and city car concept.
The plan involves releasing six new cars over the next four years – prompting the question: How will Lotus pay for all this?
Apparently €890 million has been pledged, over 10 years, by Proton Holdings Berhad, the Malaysian holdings company that owns both Proton and Lotus – but the overriding feeling was that Lotus is putting itself firmly in the sop window, and that even this investment won’t be able to cope with producing this many cars.
One of the more mainstream cars that caught the eye was Peugeot’s 508, another high-quality car from the brand. It comes in April 2011 and will feature a 1.6-litre HDi diesel engine with emissions that place it in band B. Another surprise was the Kia Optima, a substantial new family car to rival the Toyota Avensis or Volkswagen Passat. The Optima will come with a 1.7-litre diesel engine and, thanks to Stop/Start technology, will be a band A car.
There is nothing particularly interesting about either the new Volkswagen Passat or the Ford Focus, but these were two of the most important cars on display at the show for an Irish audience.
The Passat sits on the same platform as before, but has all new styling based on the flagship Phaeton. Engines are more efficient, in some cases by up to 18 per cent, and two of the diesel engines come with band A emissions.
The new Focus is due to go on sale in time for 2011. The hatchback made its European debut and is likely to come with a 1.6-litre diesel engine at its heart.
Catch up on our Paris Motor Show coverage including video footage of the latest cars on the Motors blog at irishtimes.com/blogs/motors