We follow up on our introduction to Pininfarina’s Bo concept with this gallery, though the guys got a little distracted by the nearby Ferrari California in elegant blue. Here, you see shots of the California interior.

Anyway, the Bo prototype is very much that, with some distance to go before it becomes a production car, though that is planned for a year’s time. The batteries will arrive from Bolloré and its Quimper facilities, while the car will be assembled at Pininfarina’s Turin quarters.

Continue reading: Paris live: Ferrari California and Bolloré electric at Pininfarina stand

It hasn’t been an easy year for Pininfarina, but at the Paris show it has presented its Bo concept - a Pininfarina designed electric car in collaboration with the French company, Bolloré.

While it’s still in a concept phase - and certainly has that morphing look - the Bo will be on the road by the end of 2009 and will be equipped with a packet of lithium batteries. It should have a range of 250km, producing the equivalent of 41hp and working at a temperature of between 60 and 80°C.

The Bo can function between -20° to +60° and will have solar panels on both the roof and bonnet which will serve to recharge the batteries. Battery life has been declared at about 200,000km.

Continue reading: Pininfarina electric car at Paris show

The Ferrari California is so talked about, it’s nearly embarrassing for a vehicle that most of us will never be able to afford. I have a limited experience with these brands, though you will often see a Ferrari on Lake Como and I even had the fortune to wander in to the Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este last year.

I like the California though. I like its cheeky lines and its chunky look. My colleague at autoblog.it is not so convinced though, saying “I can’t digest it - it’s as heavy as a Sunday lunch”. After making certain comparisons to Jennifer Lopez and the rear of the car, he reveals that the roof function has created a necessary design glitch that is difficult to get over.

Over on style mens, they question the current worldwide recession. It certainly hasn’t affected Ferrari California sales. Looks like the we’re all still very good at indulging - or is it just a shifting of what’s necessary in life…?

Continue reading: Ferrari California live video from Paris motor show

The Fiat Group has done their best at the Paris motor show, such that I wonder whether all the talk of doom and gloom for the group is a little hysterical. The Fiat brand went to the Paris show pure as snow, with its entire range dressed in white.

I’m not so convinced by the gigantic Fiat 500 present, but it was the entrance to a welcoming space. Fiat introduced to customers the adoption of the Pur-O2 line - versions with reduced emissions thanks to the Start-Stop system and interventions on the engines and transmission. From November the 500, Bravo and Croma will be offered in this range with the base-level engines of the 1.2 litre petrol, 1.6 litre diesel (at 90 and 110hp) and the 1.9 litre at 120hp.

Continue reading: Fiat at the Paris show: the 500 just got really big

At the Alfa Romeo stand at the Paris Motor Show, if you were feeling a little disappointed by the cold but clean colour of white, you only had to turn around to be captivated by the sparkling red of the 8C in full view, and even a splendid 33 Daytona from 1968 (not mention some nice looking girls who Alfa chose to strut their stuff among the vehicles).

After the Mi.To debut, the only other novelty is the Brera Turismo Internazionale which is truly a muscular pin-up for Alfa, though the Competizione colour version is an expensive and elite choice. If turning heads is your aim though, you can’t go wrong.

Continue reading: Alfa Romeo stand features Brera and 8C

At the Paris motor show Ferrari came well equipped with some new shots of the California, star of the Ferrari stand and quite possibly the entire show. We give you the rest of the official California gallery here.

Continue reading: New Ferrari California gallery from Paris motor show

The Maserati stand, which obviously appears next to Ferrari’s, hosts the brand’s entire range at Paris, including the restyled Quattroporte, the ever-splendid GranTurismo and the GranTurismo S.

The only real novelties then, were the refreshed versions of the sports sedan. As you can see the retouching affected mostly the headlights and grill.

Maserati had its spotlight stolen a little by the Ferrari California, which has taken the show by storm, but the V8 4.7 litre engine on the Quattroporte S with 430hp managed to gain itself some attention all the same.

Continue reading: Maserati stand at Paris Motor Show

After we showed the video of Lamborghini new sports sedan, our Italian colleagues at Autblog.it had the opportunity to see the Estoque live, up close and personal. Am I jealous? You’d better believe it!

This is a beautiful car, as the Lamborghini Estoque borders on indulgence, and its fascination is taking over the Paris show. It wasn’t what we expected from Lamborghini, but it continues a trend among luxury car manufacturers, including Porsche and Aston Martin.

The Estoque is a style inspired by the Gallardo LP560-4, but in the form of a sedan at 5.15 metres, with a long nose and a nasty look. The height is 1.35 metres, offset by 22 and 23-inch black lacquer wheels which show off the heavy carbon-ceramic braking system. No confirmation has been had about the V10, 560 hp engine from the Gallardo, but we hope it’s under the Estoque hood.

Continue reading: Lamborghini Estoque concept live at Paris motor show

Autocar has published these drafts which confirm the “surprise” in store from Lamborghini at the Paris Motor Show. It will present a concept car, of which we’ve already seen the teasers. It is likely to be a Lamborghini super sports sedan, with a nasty look just like any respectable Lamborghini.

It will be even more peculiar than the Espada from the 70’s, and with any luck will make the Porsche Panamera seem easygoing in comparison. The important thing will be to see a car ready for production, apart from some small details. These designs come straight from the Lamborghini style centre, and show that the vehicle could be developed from the alluminium chassis of the next Audi A8, which in its turn evolved from the future Bentley generation (apologies to the purists).

Continue reading: Paris 2008: drawings of Lamborghini super sports sedan

From the Polish facility at Tychy, where the Fiat Panda and Fiat 500 are manufactured, the first example of the second generation of the Ford Ka has emerged (seen here with the lovely Olga Kuruylenko). With the new small car, Ford hopes to improve on the already excellent results achieved by the previous version, made in more than 1.4 million units in 12 years of its career. The car will be assembled in about 120,000 units a year.

Ford has invested 210 million euros in the project, necessary to create the extra 1000 jobs and to implement the latest paintwork systems that are environmentally friendly. After its world presentation at the Paris motor show, the new Ka will be commercialised in the main European markets by the end of the year.

Continue reading: Ford Ka II: production commences

Even the French are playing the teaser game with this veiled photo from PGO on a new model destined for debut at the Paris show. The Hemera coupè has got nothing to do with current PGO production, currently dedicated to a spider inspired by the retro lines of the Porsche 356.

Like the Cévennes Turbo, the Hemera should see a 1.6 litre 16V turbocompressor from Peugeot origin, with methane fuel.

Source | MotorAuthority.com

Continue reading: PGO Hemera teaser for Paris motor show

“We are going to surprise you” are the words from Maserati as it gears up for the Paris motor show. It’s going to be difficult to gamble on the nature of the presentation, though we hazard it’s unlikely to be the “baby” due to lack of rumours and spy shots.

We thinks it’s possible we could see the new Gran Turismo Spider, although we would have expected far more clamour for a debut of this kind. The third hypothesis would be a one-off model, like Ferrari. Maserati is playing a game all of its own at this stage, and we’re getting impatient for this show to start!

Source | Autoblog.com (Thanks to Abab for the tip)

Continue reading: Maserati at Paris motor show