Yesterday the Port de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, opened its doors to the media for the bi-annual Motor Show. We spent the entire day exploring all eight halls and will publish a full report on Monday. As a warm-up, we have taken a closer look at three of the most exciting concept cars revealed yesterday.
Our favourite was the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, which had been carefully hyped by the Italian manufacturer in the past few weeks. It serves as a technology showcase and promises a new direction for supercar design. Instead of simply adding horsepower to improve performance, Lamborghini's engineers have taken a page out of the Lotus book and added lightness. The Sesto Elemento uses the same 570 bhp V10 as found in the latest Gallardo Superleggera, yet offers neck-snapping performance due a kerb weight of just 999 kg. This very low figure is achieved by the extensive use of carbon fibre composites for almost every part in the car. The wild styling is a combination of vintage Lamborghini angular design with a hint of Italdesign's Cala concept shown during the 1990s. Although a production version of the car is not very likely to appear, we do look forward to seeing the various technologies and philosophies applied to future Lambos.
Across the isle, Audi marked the 30th anniversary of the quattro all-wheel drive system and car with the very exciting quattro Concept. Both the styling and engineering are very much a modern homage to the legendary original. The concept car combines a shortened RS5 chassis with a tweaked TT RS engine and a bespoke carbon fibre and aluminium body. The result is a compact, 1300 kg, 408 bhp bombshell. The quattro Concept is a fitting tribute and would not look out of place on the Audi showroom floors or a rally stage.
Jaguar celebrated the company's 75th anniversary with a very futuristic concept car. Dubbed the C-X75, it boasts an advanced drivetrain consisting of four electric motors and gas turbine range extenders. At full pelt the motors produce a combined 780 bhp. The sophisticated mechanicals are packaged in a classically elegant package with some faint cues from the mid-engined XJ13 from the 1960s.
As mentioned earlier, much more will follow on Monday.
Enjoy the links:
2010 Audi quattro Concept - Images, Specifications and Information
2010 Jaguar C-X75 Concept - Images, Specifications and Information
2010 Lamborghini Sesto Elemento Concept - Images, Specifications and Information
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