This years Paris Motor Show kicked off on Thursday 2 October 2014 and it’s one of the biggest and most important events in the car world, so I was eager to see what would be unveiled.
There seemed to be a recurring theme of crossover cars this time around, most of which I think are yawn worthy, so instead of featuring every car from Mondial de l’Automobile I’ve decided to feature the ones I thought were note worthy, exciting or interesting.
Audi TT Roadster
First up Audi showed off their new TT (minus it’s roof of course) in the form of the new TT Roadster. Honestly, I much prefer the looks of the last TT when compared with the new version.
Audi TT Sportback
As well as unveiling their new TT Roadster, Audi also showcased this 5 door TT Sportback. I’m not sure what the point of this car is as I think Audi have fulfilled the demand for a 5 door sports car with various other cars in their line-up. In saying that if Audi decided to stick their badge on a go-kart with only three wheels I’m sure it would still sell.
Bentley Muslanne Speed
Bentley officially unveiled their Muslanne Speed, which is essentially a limo on steroids. It comes equipped with a 6.75-litre V8 engine that’s capable of 530bhp and a whopping 811lb ft. of torque.
BMW 2 Series Convertible
Here is BMW’s successor to 2007’s 1-series Convertible. BMW hopes this car will rival the likes of Audi’s A3 drop top.
Citroen Divine DS
French car makers Citroen displayed an interesting concept in the Divine DS.
Minus the silly doors, I think this looks quite good… Citroen make more cars like this!
Ferrari 458 Speciale A
Ferrari unveiled their latest offering, which is a convertible version of the 458 Speciale. The new Speciale A boasts 597bhp at 9000rpm and 398lb ft of torque and has an eye watering 0-60 time of 3 seconds flat.
Honda Civic Type R
Armed with a 2.0L Turbocharged engine that produces ‘more than 276bhp’, Honda claim that their new Civic Type R will be the fastest front wheel drive car ever to go around the Nurbergring. Remnants of the old civic can be seen somewhere under the new hardened and much more aggressive exterior but it seems Honda have taken the comments about the last Civic on-board (which was slightly tamer than the EP3) and made this Civic a force to be reckoned with!
Jaguar XE S
The all new XE S was also proudly displayed in Paris, for more info on the car, see our post from when it was first unveiled… New Jaguar XE S Revealed.
Lamborghini Asterion LPI 910-4
It’s not easy being right all the time but I can’t seem to help myself!
My predictions on the new Lamborghini were correct, their latest offering is indeed a hybrid super car.
Although it’s only in concept form at the minute, the Asterion LPI 910-4’s power plant is provided by a three electric motors and a 5.2-litre V10. The very same 610bhp unit at the heart of the new Huracan, the remaining 300bhp is made up by the on-board electric motors.
In typical Lambo fashion, the cars name holds all the vital information, The LP stands for ‘longitudinal posterior’, which is the longitudinal mid-rear positioning of the conventional engine. The I stands for ‘ibrido’, Italian for hybrid, 910 is the power, and the 4 denotes the four wheel drive system. This car oozes of cool and I really hope this makes the jump from concept to reality!
Landrover Discovery Sport
For more info on the new Discovery Sport have a look at our post from it’s official launch. New Land Rover Discovery Sport
Mazda MX5
Following the much hyped official unveiling of the all new MX5, Mazda have confirmed at the Paris Motor Show that the new car will be powered by an all-new 1.5L four-cylinder petrol engine under their Skyactiv banner.
This engine will apparently also be in the upcoming Mazda 2.
Click for more pics of the new MX5
Mercedes AMG C63
Mercedes unveiled both their new AMG inspired cars at this years Paris Motor Show. The first of which is the newest member of the C Class, the AMG C63.
Powered by a 4.0L V8, thev all new sports salon develops 503bhp and can travel from 0-60mph in just over three seconds. Prices have yet to be fixed but you can expect to pay a premium of around £60,000.
Mercedes AMG GT
Second up in Mercedes’ AMG arsenal is the AMG GT, details of which can be found here.
Mini 5 door Hatch
Is there nothing sacred any more? It doesn’t look that way as BMW have again tampered with the iconic Mini shape, this time with the addition of 2 more doors. Apart from the adding more doors, there is apparently more boot space too, way to go! Prices will start from £15,900.
Nissan Pulsar Nismo Concept
I’ve always admired the work of Japanese car makers Nissan, who have always made affordable and reliable sports cars (for the most part). While their rivals are still steering clear of Sporty versions of their family cars (thanks to the Green Brigade), Nissan seemed to have either missed or ignored that memo. This Pulsar is yet another Nismo tuned version of one of their cars. Good on you Nissan (others follow suit, Yes I do mean you Toyota!).
Peugeot 308GT
Apparently this is Peugeots answer to the Golf GTI, Bonne chance with that then!
Range Rover SVR
Behold, the worlds fastest 4×4! It’s powered by a supercharged 5.0L V8 which was pinched from the Jaguar XKR-S and then boosted to 543bhp and 502lb ft of torque. That’s great news for all the footballers wives, who will now be able to evade paps at hyper speed and have the kids at school before they’ve even finished their cereal. Take a bow Range Rover.
Renault Sport R.S 01
This is hands down the most exciting Renault I’ve ever seen. This track focused racer weighs less than 1100kg and it’s powered by a a 3.8L V6 engine that develops more than 493bhp. But before you get too excited about this epiphany from Renault, you should know that they’ve just taken the engine from a Nissan GT-R. Although that’s some points lost for originality I suppose it’s a good thing really, if you want a powerful and reliable engine that doesn’t cost the earth who better to turn to but the Japanese?!
Smart ForFour
In addition to releasing a newer version of their ForTwo, Smart have also released a ForFour Edition. I can’t help but think that only defeats the purpose of the Smart car.
Toyota C-HR
Toyota came to Paris this year with two very interesting cars, firstly with this C-HR Concept, which I have to say looks awesome. Although this is a concept I imagine something similar to this will be put into production in the near future as Toyota will be gunning for a share in this sector of the market, which is currently being dominated by rivals Nissan, with both the successful Qashqai and Juke models.
Toyota Fuel Cell
The second offering from Toyota at this years Paris Motor Show was the Toyota Fuel Cell, which could well be the worlds first viable hydrogen powered production car. Although it takes design cues from a blackboard eraser the repercussions this car will have in the car world will be huge, with Toyota confirming it will be launched by April 2015 in Japan, and in summer 2015 in Europe and the US. Cue the new Prius.
Vauxhall Corsa and the new City Car the ‘Viva’
The all new Vauxhall Corsa has been redesigned from the ground up, and at first glance I’m not sure that’s a good thing. From the front the car looks like someone who was hit between the eyes with a hatchet. Despite this, the Corsa has been around for more than 30 years now and I’m sure it will sell well regardless of the fact the old car looks better than the latest offering. In other news their new city car will be called the ‘Viva’.
Volkswagen Polo GTI
VW showed off their new Polo GTI in Paris this year. I have it on good authority that it has been facelifted, though to be honest I’m struggling to see it. This is essentially a Golf GTI that was shrunk in the wash.
Volkswagen XL Sport
Despite being unsurprisingly bored with VW’s updates to their latest GTI model, I was honestly taken aback by this Sports Car Concept. For those of you that don’t know, Volkswagen bought Ducati a few years back and now I’m beginning to see why!
The XL Sport is basically a super bike on four wheels. It’s powered by the twin-cylinder from a Ducati 1199 Superleggera. It’s capable of 197bhp and has an insane 11,000rpm redline. The light weight carbonfibre frame enables this car to reach 0-62mph in a respectable 5.7 seconds.
Have any of the cars from the 2014 Paris Motor Show impressed you?
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