Paris Show: Lotus wants to Take on Aston Martin Rapide with New Eterne Sports Saloon

In an attempt to enter the 4-door coupe market, Lotus brought a sedan - you read that right - to the Paris Motor Show. The Eterne is the new Lotus 4-door (other Loti saloons include the 377HP twin-turbocharged Lotus Carlton / Omega of the early 1990s, and they sure are cool); it uses a Lotus-tuned new bad boy engine borrowed from Lexus.

This means that sitting under the hood is a high-output forced-induction 5.0-liter V8. As with the Esprit and Elite, the Eterne will offer optional hybrid power and KERS.

An added bonus is available AWD. The Eterne provides seating for four passengers in an 1,800-kilo package that will cost approximately £120,000 [~ US$190,500 at today's exchange rates] before options.

Clearly Lotus sees a market for a prestigious high-performance 4-door with hybrid power, because Dany Bahar plainly states, "We truly believe that there is a market for the Eterne. There is nothing else like it out there both in terms of design, capacity and performance. The biggest difference between the Eterne and it's class competitors is that it's not an evolution of an existing two-door model, it's a deliberate and considered stand-alone creation. It's the ultimate four door sports car."

Hey, who am I to argue with capitalism? For that money, though, I'd just buy a Fisker Karma and go on a nasty vacation.

By Phil Alex

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Paris Show: Citroën Unleashes DS3 WRC Contender

Joining the world premieres of the MINI Countryman WRC and Ford Fiesta RS WRC at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, is Citroën's all-new contender for the 2011 World Rally Championship, the DS3 WRC in full racing livery.

The French firm's replacement for the multi-championship winning C4 WRC fully complies with the new FIA regulations with power coming from a 300hp 1.6-litre direct-injection turbocharged engine. The car also gets a four-wheel-drive system that incorporates a six-gear sequential gearbox and front and rear mechanical differentials.

"The DS3 WRC is designed to limit the budgets required to compete in the WRC", said Citroën in a statement. "The new FIA rules ban costly materials such as titanium and carbon-fibre, and standardise certain parts like the turbocharger and limit the changes that can be made to the vehicle during its lifetime. Rally nevertheless remains a great testing ground for driving new advances in vehicle technology."

The new DS3 WRC will make racing debut at the Rally Sweden in February 2011. The French firm has already confirmed two teams of the next racing season, Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena and Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia.

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Frogeye Sprite Austin Healey the first of several Sprite models

Frogeye Sprite Austin Healey

Frogeye Sprite Austin Healey the first of several Sprite models.

The Austin Healey Sprite which was introduced in 1958 was a diminutive roadster with an unmistakable headlight arrangement.
The prominent headlights were initially intended to be flip-up units. However the cost of retractable headlights was to high, and instead they were fixed in what would have been the 'up' position. Their unusual location gave rise to the cars affectionate nickname, the "Frogeye" Sprite.
The Austin Healey Sprite MK I was powered by a 1.0 litre, inline, four cylinder engine which developed a grand total of 43 horsepower. Coupled to a four speed manual gearbox it was capable of propelling the car up to 84 mph.
The Frogeye Sprite (which was discontinued in 1961) was the first of several Sprite models. In 1962 the MK II Austin Healey Sprite was introduced. The MK II introduced several updates, the most noticeable of which was a more conventional headlight layout. From 1961 the Austin Healey Sprite was also sold as the MG Midget.

New Chevrolet Orlando MPV Shows up in Paris (With Live Pictures)

Finally, we've got live pics of the new Chevy Orlando. Essentially the General's answer to the European mid-size MPV question, the small, Cruze-based 7-seater had a bunch of promise back when it originally debuted as a concept.

Somewhere between there and this year's Paris Motor Show, all the old, Judge Whitey executives in the General's back pocket found a way to crush any chance of it being cool by turning the stocky little MPV into an ass-in-the-air high-ish-riding mini-minivan...unless there's an air suspension system I don't know about.

You can see that the interior keeps the decent styling inherited from its platform-mate and appears to actually be sourced from the original concept. Too bad the same can't be said for the rest.

When this little box goes on sale in early 2011, methinks the best things about the whole package are the trick dashboard cubby and its two available diesel torque-makers.

As for the rest, attractive European MPV it ain't. For the full info and specs, check out our previous post, and to see how the Orlando stacks up against the concept, head on over to our Concept to Reality comparo.

By Phil Alex

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Paris Show: Ferrari California HELE gets Stop- Start Tech, Emits 23% Less CO2

Visitors to the 2010 Paris Motor Show may have noticed a rather innocuous looking, black-topped Ferrari California on display at the automaker's stand. This is the Ferrari California HELE, which stands for High Emotion Low Emissions. Think of it as a Ferrari for the environmentally conscious.

Featuring a host of technological jiggery including intelligent fan and fuel pump control, adaptive gear shift and "electronically controlled variable displacement"...air conditioning, the California HELE is said to reduce CO₂ emissions by 23% over its non-HELE sibling.

That's 270 g / km down from 299 g /km. The California HELE also features a stop / start system that can restart the car's engine in an impressive sounding 230 milliseconds.

Ferrari is also introducing some new two-tone finishes - no doubt for the 599 GTO wannabes - and water-resistant leather for its California range. There's no word on pricing or launch dates, or in what markets the California HELE will be sold. No doubt buyers will pay a premium over the non-HELE base model.

By Tristan Hankins

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