There is a fine line between quirkiness and catastrophe in the automotive world. The Citroën Lacoste Concept looks absolutely ridiculous, but you get the sense it was supposed to all along. Meanwhile, we’re pretty certain the Porsche Speedster is an absolute blast to drive. Yet from certain angles, some feel the Stuttgart drop-top looks like it should take up residence in the bell towers of Notre Dame.
We scoured the vast exhibition halls of the Paris Auto Show to bring you our five favorite features, in no special order:
Volkswagen Passat “Easy Open” trunk release
You have your arms full of groceries and need to open the trunk. Quick, what do you do? If you own a new VW Passat with the Easy Open feature, you swipe your foot under the rear bumper. The system detects the key in your pocket, meaning all you have to do to open the trunk is move your foot past a motion-sensor located beneath the rear bumper. Voila! The trunk then automatically opens.
Kia Pop EV side-windows
It’s not often that headache medicine inspires the shape of a car window. We’ll probably never know for certain whether the elongated oval-shaped side-windows of the Kia Pop EV Concept were inspired by Tylenol tablets—although it sure makes a good story. Peter Schreyer, Chief Design Officer at Kia, says the wacky windows add “character” and a “helicopter feel” to the Pop. Would he consider using them in a production car? Absolutely.
Jaguar C-X75 Concept “Beware of Blast”
The Jaguar C-X75 is gorgeous. It also has four electric motors—one in each wheel—that deliver the equivalent of 780 hp and more than 1100 lb.-ft, of torque. Did we also mention that it’s gorgeous? Okay, so we like this 2-seat Jag (a lot!). But it wasn’t until we took a close look at the rear diffuser and exhaust outlets that we fell in love. No one could resist a car that warns you: “Beware of Blast.”
Citroën Lacoste inflatable roof
As iconic as the Eiffel Tower and as fun as saying “grapefruit” in French (it’s “pamplemousse,” go ahead and give it a try), the strange concept cars built by Citroën are always special. Maybe not always for the right reasons, but they’re still special. The Lacoste is a dune buggy, city car, moon rover and alligator-wearing whatzit of a vehicle. The potato-cutter alloy wheels are pretty cool. But it’s the Lacoste’s inflatable roof that gets our vote for being the silliest feature on a very silly car. Even crazier are rumors Citroën is planning to build a car very much like the Lacoste.
Lamborghini Sesto Elemento dashboard
If less is more, the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento is one heck of a lot of sports car. This lightweight Lambo is a carbon-fiber masterpiece, weighing in at only 2200 lb. Like the Jaguar C-X75, there really isn’t much we don’t like about the Sesto Elemento. However, we think the skeletal-looking dashboard does a great job summing up this car’s purpose in life. If you haven’t guessed, it’s going fast—really fast. The Sesto Elemento is a 570-bhp work of art.
