2015 Lotus Elise Appears in Paris - With Live Pictures and Video

The new Lotus Elise jumps into entirely new styling territory, not so much evolving from the current model but fully reinventing itself as a baby Esprit. The only similarities are the mid-engine layout driving the rear wheels and 2-seats around corners.

Below, Lotus has been kind enough to provide a nicely-designed chart for your convenience instead of spreading all the car's stats across a 15,000-word press release.

The new baby Lotus will get a standard 6-speed manual (with an optional 7-speed DCT) and be powered by a Toyota 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine putting out 320-horsepower.

If the Elise is putting out that kind of go for a £35,000 [around US$55,500] base price, this is looking to be a bargain basement killer. To make that 320 ponies extra green, it will also offer mild hybrid tech and an optional start/stop system when it comes out in Spring 2015.

By Phil Alex

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Suzuki to Preview Hot Hatchback in Geneva with Swift S-Concept

Ever since Suzuki presented the latest generation of the Swift in the summer of 2010, we were wondering if the Japanese automaker had any plans to add a sportier version to its supermini's range. Well, it appears that Suzuki does have something in mind as the company will be exhibiting a new concept car named the SWIFT S-CONCEPT at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Read more »

Citroën E-3POD Antistatic Concept for a Futuristic Electric Vehicle

This here is the E-3POD Antistatic design study and it was revealed at the Royal College of Art’s Interim Degree Show in London as part of the Double Challenge project sponsored by Citroën and aerodynamic simulation software company EXA. The task of the second year students was to envision an ultra-compact vehicle that could influence the design language of the automaker’s future electric cars.

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Ford to Unveil a "Groundbreaking New Vehicle" Along with European Premieres at Geneva Show

As we're nearing closer to the 2011 Geneva Salon, automakers are providing us with more details about their plans. Today, Ford announced that it will display a number of new production and concept cars including what the company simply described as a "groundbreaking new vehicle" without getting into any specifics.

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New Opel Zafira Tourer Concept Previewed in iPad Hologram, Debuts in Geneva

Opel chose a rather unique way to inform us about its new concept model that previews the next generation of the Zafira people carrier, and which is scheduled to make its world premiere at the Geneva Salon in March. The company published a short video accompanied by a photograph showing the firm's design boss Mark Adams holding an iPad through which a hologram of the concept car pops out.

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Ardalan Farboud’s Pagani Sei Concept: Better than the Huayra?

You may be surprised to learn that the Pagani Huayra isn’t my cup of tea (that’s Anglo-speak for “ I don’t like it”). Conversely, I have a great amount of affection for the Zonda and its limited-run sister, the Zonda F. The Huayra seems more Spyker-lookalike than Enzo-killer, which many would agree was the first generation Z’s raison d’être.

I also like Ardalan Farboud’s Pagani Sei design study. It has the sort of unfussy slickness that the Zonda had and the Huayra lacks, while staying true to the brand’s tenets of being lithe, fast and using gratuitous amounts of carbon fibre. Farboud, a recent graduate from Coventry University’s Master of Design course, produced the Sei as part of his final year project.

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Geneva Preshow: Infiniti Outlines New Concept for Entry-Level Model

A pair of black and white sketches outlining the shape of what appears to be a hatchback model and a statement from Infiniti's Vice President, Andy Palmer, in 2010 saying that the brand is exploring the development of a new entry-level vehicle, is all we get about the Japanese luxury brand's new concept car that will debut at the Geneva Motor Show in the beginning of March.

However, we'll remind you during the September 2010 announcement, Mr. Palmer had shown a more revealing teaser rendering of an all-electric model capable of seating up to five passengers, which he said would enter production in 2013.

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SsangYong Believes Actyon Sports is Popular Enough to Spawn a Successor, Concept Model Coming to Geneva

SsangYong, the ailing South Korean automaker that will soon pass into the control of India's Mahindra & Mahindra, will present a new concept model of its Actyon Sports at the Geneva Motor Show in early March. To be precise, SsangYong said in a statement that it will show "a stylish new concept of its popular Actyon Sports" called the SUT 1. You can see a selection of pictures of the current "popular" Actyon Sports as well as its precursor, the unforgettable Musso SUT after the jump.

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VW Group to Display Up to Seven Concepts at the Geneva Show

It seems that the VW Group will do just about anything to become the world’s biggest automaker by 2018. After announcing a €51.6 billion (US $70.3 billion) investment plan last November, the Germans also want to showcase their future intentions at the Geneva Motor Show in March, by displaying up to seven concepts.

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Hyundai Releases First Real Life Photo of the New i40 Mid-Size Model

Hyundai today gave us a new sneak peek of its upcoming i40 mid-size model with the release of the first real life image of the car, which is scheduled to receive its world premiere at the Geneva Salon on the 1st of March. The new i40 will replace the older generation Sonata in Europe competing in the D-Segment with the likes of the Ford Mondeo and Volkswagen Passat. At Geneva, we'll see the estate version of the model (probably named i40 CW) with the four-door sedan variant to follow before the end of the year.

Up until now, South Korea's largest automaker had only released a set of illustrations of the i40 CW (CrossWagon). The new photo shows off the interior of the i40, and in particular the dashboard with its sculpted shapes.

There's a big screen display mounted high up on the middle of the dash flanked by a pair of small air vents, underneath which nestle a bank of push buttons for ventilation and minor controls.

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Toyota Announces Yaris HSD Concept and New Prius+ MPV with 7-Seats for Geneva Salon

Toyota is going to have an interesting collection of cars at this year's Geneva Motor Show in March as the second and closer to production concept version of the FT-86 rear-wheel drive sports coupe will be joined by the Yaris HSD study and the new Prius+ minivan, which appears to be the European version of the Prius V with seating for seven instead of five.

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Alfa Romeo Rumored [Again] to be Planning a KTM X-Bow-based Sports Car

At this year’s Geneva Motor Show, Alfa Romeo may take the audience by surprise with a lightweight, mid-engine and rear-wheel drive coupe concept that will eventually become the Italian maker’s next affordable halo car, reportedly named 4C GTA.

According to an Automotive News Europe [ANE] report, a Fiat spokesman has confirmed that development is underway, however the Geneva debut is uncertain due to “delays in the concept model construction”.

The brand’s last affordable rear-wheel drive model was the “Classic Spider”, which was discontinued in 1994, leaving a gap that was never filled by Alfa Romeo. True, the limited run 8C Competizione, built between 2007 and 2008, was an impressive car, but with a price tag of over €200,000 (US $276,160) it was simply too expensive for the average Alfa buyer.

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Chicago Preshow: Lexus CT 200h Concept Tune by Five Axis

Lexus will be showing off a wilder CT 200h prepared by parent company Toyota's tuning partner Five-Axis at the upcoming 2011 Chicago Auto Show, which runs for the public from February 11 to 20. The highly-modified Five Axis Project CT will be dressed in a custom made wide body kit with hybrid's bad-boy appearance further enhanced by the JDSU “Dark Passage” paint, the lowered ride height (thanks to a TEIN Flex coilover suspension system), and custom 19-inch FIVE:AD forged alloy wheels.

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Credo E-Bone Designer Peter Simon Takes on the Ferrari Enzo

Remember the humorously named yet somewhat plausible Credo E-Bone? It was a design study for a hydrogen powered bus from Hungarian artist Peter Simon, and with a name like "E-Bone", who could forget?

Well, Simon is back, only this time he's taking on something a little more exotic than public transport: he's envisioning the next generation of Ferrari's legendary Enzo. An ambitious task, though one the Hungarian takes on with a plomb.

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Artist's Rendition of 2013 Porsche Cajun Small SUV

It's no secret that Porsche is working on a new model to further expand its range in the SUV segment. In fact, the German sports car maker not only confirmed the vehicle but also announced that it is being developed under the working name "Cajun". Further details remain unknown including of course the Cajun's styling direction and whether or not it will be a three-door (most likely) or five-door model.

Nevertheless, Teamspeed member and rendering specialist Wild-Speed has come up with a styling proposal for the Cajun. The artist designed the crossover as a three-door model with a sloping roofline incorporating styling elements from the latest Cayenne, Panamera and the 918 Spyder (notice the head lamps). You can check out the renderings in high resolution after the jump.

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1955 Ford "Beatnik" Bubbletop Custom Concept going up for Auction

Making its way down to Florida for RM Auction's annual Amelia Island event on March 2, is this 1955 Ford "Beatnink" Bubbletop custom concept inspired by futuristic design studies from the 1950s. Despite its name, the Beatnik is a fairly new creation built by Gary “Chopit” Fioto. It is based on the body of a 1955 Ford model but rides on a modifies chassis of a 1988 Lincoln Town Car and is powered by a Chevrolet 350-cubic inch small-block V8 engine.

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VW XL1 Hybrid Coupe Study: Videos and Photos from Qatar

The highlight of Volkswagen's presentation at this week's Qatar motor show is the new XL1, a futuristic looking diesel-electric plug-in hybrid study for an everyday-use coupe vehicle with a combined fuel economy of just 0.9 liters per 100 kilometers or an amazing 261 mpg US.

The extremely low fuel consumption is achieved through the use of a lightweight construction, carefully honed aerodynamics and of course, the hybrid powertrain that combines a 0.8-liter twin-cylinder diesel producing 48-horses with a 27HP electric motor. If you follow the jump, you can check out live photos as well as on the road videos of the XL1. For more details on the study, read our previous post here.

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