paris

Not only does the Jaguar C-X75 look stunning, but its hybrid power train pushes into new territory.

Rather than build a typical series hybrid, with electric motors turning the wheels and a conventional gas engine recharging the batteries, Jaguar uses twin micro gas turbines as generators to either keep the C-X75's batteries topped off or supply juice directly to each wheel motor. These gas turbines spin at 80,000 rpm and get up to speed very quickly. Without them, the C-X75 can drive 68 miles on its batteries alone. But the turbines give it a total range of 560 … Read more

Rolls-Royce wants you to know that despite its success with the "more approachable" Ghost (MSRP: $245,000), they haven't lowered the luxury bar or gone downmarket.

"Ghost is a more approachable Rolls-Royce that is bringing an entirely new type of customer to the Rolls-Royce brand," said CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes said in a press statement. "But in Paris we are also demonstrating how we continue to strengthen our position as the pinnacle luxury brand, thanks to the enduring appeal of Phantom family and the depth of our bespoke personalization service."

To prove its point, … Read more

BMW today unveiled the Mini Scooter E, an all-electric concept vehicle that was originally scheduled to make its debut at the 2010 Paris Auto Show next week.

The German automaker apparently decided to give a preview of the vehicle during London Fashion Week, employing model Agyness Deyn to make the introduction.

As predicted, the scooter is an all-electric plug-in vehicle with an onboard cable that can be plugged directly into a standard household outlet.

BMW also incorporated some quirky high-tech gadgets into the compact gadabout vehicle.

For starters, the scooter has an enclosed docking station for a smart phone. Instead of using a key, or an electric key fob, owners unlock their Mini Scooter E by securing their smartphone into the docking station on turning it on.

Once the car is on, the smart phone--integrated with BMW software--acts as the scooter's GPS device, music player, and a hands-free phone via embedded Bluetooth. It's an innovative, but not entirely unexpected next step in the evolution of vehicle communications.

However, BMW takes things one step further. BMW's GPS software also alerts drivers to other Mini Scooter E drivers nearby and will even automatically flash the scooter's headlights when met with another Mini Scooter on the road.

There will be three versions of the Mini Scooter E, all incorporating the retro circular instruments and speedometer on BMW's current Mini cars. But BMW takes that nostalgia one step further using actual chrome trim on the scooter body, which is, of course, reminiscent of the original Mini Coopers that came out in the 1959 and were popular throughout the 1960s.… Read more

The 911 Speedster, inspired by the 356 Speedster, will be making its debut at the Paris Motor Show.

Porsche just released photos and specs on the 2011 911 Speedster. The limited-edition two-seat roadster will have a run of 356 units worldwide, with only about 100 heading to the U.S.

Inspired by the 1953 356, the Speedster features a double-bubble hardcover for the manual soft top. It only comes in Pure Blue, but on special request, customers can get Carrera White.

The Speedster boasts a 3.8-liter flat six engine, which delivers 408 horsepower (23 more horsepower than the 911 … Read more

Maserati will show its race-inspired Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale at the upcoming 2010 Paris Motor Show. Taking its cues from the Trofeo GranTurismo MC and the race-winning GT4 motorsport, the GranTurismo MC Stradale will be lighter, faster, and more powerful.

The luxury coupe features a 450 horsepower engine, promises a top speed of more than 186 mph, and yet retains the same fuel economy (12 mpg in the city, 19 mpg on the highway) as the previous model. We'll have more pictures and information about this Maserati from the 2010 Paris Motor Show in a few weeks. It goes … Read more

For weeks, Lotus has been teasing us about the cars, and the new direction for the company, that it intends to unveil at the Paris Motor Show. Today Lotus unveiled the Elite, a new model that will be on display in concept form.

The Elite is a GT-type car with 2+2 seating, continuing a trend within the company to go bigger. The Elite is almost a foot longer than the Evora, the company's newest 2+2.

Lotus styling is clearly evident in the body of the Elite, and it will embody Lotus values of light weight and superb … Read more

Saab will unveil its first-ever electric vehicle prototype, the 9-3 ePower, at the Paris Motor Show, October 2 to 17.

The 9-3 ePower is the prototype for a test fleet of 70 vehicles that Saab plans to have in field trials in Sweden early next year, the company said in a news release.

With a projected driving range of more than 100 miles, the 9-3 ePower runs on a 135 kW/184 hp electric motor and a 35.5 kWh lithium ion battery pack. It is able to go from 0 to 62 mph in 8.5 seconds, with a … Read more

Small-car rivals Mini and Smart intend to get even smaller with new electric scooter concepts to be shown at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.

The scooters are rumored to have similar specifications, using lithium ion batteries for a range of 60 miles. A more intriguing tidbit of information is that the Smart scooter will come with an airbag.

Mini will show off three versions of its electric scooter with retro styling. The company released sketches of one of its scooters on its Facebook page.

The scooters will be shown as concepts, with no definitive production plans, during the Paris Motor … Read more

First it invited the media to have a gander, then it released a series of photos to the public, and now Mazda has released a video of the Shinari concept. With three full weeks until the "official debut" at the Paris Motor Show, it's anyone's guess what Mazda will do next to build excitement for its coupe-styled sedan (my vote is to give one away).