Electric Dreams in the City of Light

If the night before the show was owned by the 408-brake-horsepower Quattro Concept, the feature of the day was the Audi e-tron Spyder Concept. This is the open-top version of the 2-seat e-tron coupe shown earlier this year at Detroit. The Spyder features a cut-down windscreen and is a plug-in hybrid with a midmounted 300-brake-horsepower twin-turbo V6 diesel engine to boost power and extend the vehicle's range. Weighing just 3196 pounds, the e-tron has two electric motors that propel this sports car to 62 mph in 4.4 seconds, while top speed is electronically limited to 155 mph. In pure electric mode, the e-tron has a range of about 30 miles, while the diesel enables the vehicle to travel more than 600 miles before refueling.

Road & Track: First Look at the Audi Quattro Concept

As a way of celebrating its 75th anniversary, the Jaguar C-X75 Concept takes the idea of a 2-seat supercar to a whole new level by using a lithium-ion battery pack and two small gas-turbine engines to drive electric motors at all four corners of the vehicle. With a total of 778 horsepower at its disposal, the C-X75 is said to be able to accelerate to 62 mph in 3.4 seconds and has a top speed of 205 mph. The two turbines are mounted behind the cabin's bulkhead and spin up to 80,000 rpm. The electric motors provide up to 1,180 lb-ft of torque, which enables the car to have such blistering performance. In addition to being able to run up to 68 miles in pure electric mode, the C-X75 can go up to 560 additional miles on its turbine engines.

Bing: Jaguar C-X75 Concept

The Spanish automaker showed a small 2-door sport coupe that is reminiscent of the VW Scirocco. Called the Seat IBe Concept, this pure electric vehicle is powered by lithium-ion batteries and produces 102 horsepower and 200 lb-ft of torque from its electric motor. This handsome hatch can accelerate to 62 mph in 9.7 seconds and has a range of 130 miles between charges. The 2+2 weighs just 2,400 pounds and, despite measuring less than 12 feet in length, it offers a generous cabin with the flexibility of fold-down rear seats for additional cargo space. The compact dimensions make the IBe an ideal city car. Top speed is said to be 100 mph.

Road & Track: 21 Paris Auto Show Unveilings

The latest entry into the range-extended sporty car market is the French-built Exagon Furtive e-GT, which is slated to go into limited production in 2012. Powered by lithium-ion batteries, the Furtive e-GT has an electric-only range of 160 to 250 miles, while an optional gas engine can extend that range to 500 miles. Exagon says the car is capable of zero-to-62-mph acceleration of 3.5 seconds and has a top speed of 178 mph. The company hopes to build about 100 cars a year when it goes into full production. Unlike most EVs, which use the motors to directly drive the wheels, the Furtive e-GT uses a 3-speed paddle-shift gearbox attached to a mechanical auto-locking differential.

Road & Track: 6 New Concept Cars Taking it to The Next Level

This first show car from Renault's new design director Laurens van den Acker is a 2-seat pure electric sports car called the DeZir. The capital Z in the name refers to Renault's new ZE line of electric motors — in this case it's a 150-horsepower unit that accelerates the 1,800-pound car to 62 mph in about 5 seconds. Contributing to the car's light weight is its Kevlar body, and the sleek shape gives the car an ultralow 0.25 coefficient of drag. The rear-drive DeZir has a range of about 100 miles between charges. The car is also equipped with a Kinetic Energy Recover System developed by the Renault Formula 1 team that provides regenerative braking.

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