The Paris Motor Show (Mondial de l’Automobile), which takes place only every other year, alternating with Frankfurt, is one of the largest car shows in the world, and it’s considered the start of the auto show season. Many manufacturers typically hold back their latest vehicles for the Paris or Frankfurt shows and this year was no exception.
Words and pictures by Mark Richardson
The Paris show is so big, it needs at least seven halls to contain the thousands of vehicles and automotive products on display.
One of the most radical cars in Paris this month was the Volkswagen I.D. – a completely electric vehicle that is the first VW designed for completely autonomous driving. It’s scheduled to go into production in 2020.
Herbert Diess, the head of Volkswagen, says the company is moving to dominate the electric car market, and the I.D. is the first of many new VWs to completely avoid gasoline or diesel. The company plans to build one-million electric cars by 2025.
The e-Golf is an electric Volkswagen that’s already on the roads, and the e-Golf Touch is its latest iteration. All its controls are operated by gestures by the driver, not buttons or switches.
Mercedes-Benz also debuted its latest line of all-electric cars, called EQ. Mercedes announced it will manufacture at least another 10 all-electric vehicles by 2025, and expects 25%of its sales then to be powered by electricity.
Another radical car at the show was the Renault Trezor – a concept that’s intended to be both fully electric and fully autonomous. Its lights change colour to alert other drivers if it’s in full-autonomy mode, and small hexagonal flaps on the hood can rise up to provide cooling to the batteries.
There are no doors on the Trezor, though. If you want to go in or out, you must raise the whole roof to do so.
This was the debut of Ferrari’s $2 million LaFerrari Aperta, a hybrid electric supercar that’s now available as a convertible. It uses its power regeneration to improve performance, not save fuel.
Ferrari also introduced the GTC 4LussoT, which is a more practical performance coupe – if any Ferrari can be called practical. Its 3.9-litre V-8 engine is good for 610 hp, and it will accelerate from zero-to-100 km/h in less than four seconds.
Almost all the other cars at the show were considerably less expensive, and although many will never leave Europe, there were some, like the new fourth-generation of the Kia Rio, that will soon come to North America.
Not so radical but definitely different from its predecesssor, Land Rover’s new Discovery will be sold around the world. It was introduced at the show, though it was publicly revealed at a private party earlier.
BMW’s new small SUV, the X2, also broke cover at the show. It’s officially still a concept, but the production version will be very similar when it appears as a 2018 model. The X2 is intended to be a sportier version of the similarly-sized X1.
The new Honda Civic, now in its 10th generation, will be available in Canada as a hatchback for the first time in years.
There’s also a very tasty-looking performance version of the Civic, the Type-R Prototype, that Honda has now confirmed will come to Canada.
Hyundai introduced its i30 compact hatchback, which we’ll see next year as the new Elantra GT. Its front suspension attracted all kinds of attention from an engineer with a competitive car company.
Just like the Civic, there will also be a performance edition of the i30. Hyundai showed off its rally-racer concept for the RN30, which is estimated to create 375 hp and which will be stripped of all excess weight.
This all-electric runabout made by Boom Trikes had a list price of 49,900 euros.
The Paris show wasn’t just about the cars. Some of the manufacturers had motorcycles on display, too, like the gorgeous BMW R Nine T Scrambler.
The president of BMW Motorrad, the German maker’s motorcycle division, even took the opportunity to debut the new all-electric C2 scooter.
Over at the Suzuki booth, show-goers could see just how far over the Moto GP bikes can lean into curves on the track.
And less physical attendees could experience a lap of Le Mans through virtual reality.
There were lots of virtual reality stops throughout the show.
On media day, it could be tiring sometimes as journalists jostled for space in the new cars, getting a chance to experience their cabins for the first time.
But there were also quiet places for some beautiful cars, like the Aston Martin DB11.
And at the end of the day, after checking out the electric cars and the hatchbacks and the family haulers, it was still about having fun. Bring on the kids!
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