General Motors unveils Chevrolet Aveo show car ahead of Paris Motor Show
General Motors is continuing its small-car onslaught by showing off the next-generation Chevrolet Aveo at this year’s Paris Motor Show. According to the company, the show car on display will be the spitting image of the actual production version, though we can expect a few small changes to show up as dictated by each market. GM says that the new Aveo borrows heavily from the Spark, complete with plenty of “hot hatch” styling. It’s true that the forward-leaning shoulder line and aggressive headlights help give the Aveo plenty of menace for a vehicle this size, and judging from the powertrain lineup, there’s a chance that this little sucker might scoot along with the best of them.
GM says that it will be offering a range of engines in the Aveo globally, from an anemic 70 horsepower, 1.2-liter four-cylinder engine to a variety of diesel mills and a 115 horsepower 1.6-liter gasoline four. We aren’t engineers by a long shot, but 115 horsepower in a tiny tin box like the Aveo is bound to be at least somewhat entertaining.
Categories: Auto Show, Chevrolet, Hatchback, Paris Motor Show Tags: Chevrolet, Paris Motor Show
Audi S7 likely headed for Paris Motor show, TT RS for U.S. decision imminent
Autoblog is driving the stunning new Audi A7 Sportback at its international media launch this week in Sardinia, and the scuttlebutt around the hotel bar is that a hotter performance variant, the Audi S7, will make its debut at the Paris Motor Show in the coming weeks.
With garden-variety U.S. A7 five-door powered by the latest evolution of Audi’s supercharged 3.0-liter TFSI six-cylinder engine backed by a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic, it will be interesting to see what the higher-performance S7 brings to the party. As is often the way with such things, Audi representatives here on the Mediterranean island are stopping just short of confirming the debut altogether, and they certainly aren’t telling us what will lurk under in the engine bay of the all-wheel drive hatchback.
Categories: Audi, Auto Show, Hatchback, Paris Motor Show, Sedan Tags: Audi, Paris Motor Show
Report: Lotus bringing a pair of front-engine hybrids to Paris Motor Show
In addition to the pair of Evoras being introduced at this year’s Paris Motor Show, Lotus will also be unveiling two front-engine hybrid vehicles, in keeping with the automaker’s promise to offer more gasoline/electric sports cars. Edmunds’ Green Car Advisor reports that one of these hybrid cars will be a four-door hatchback and the other will be a two-door coupe.
Lotus debuted its hybrid concept earlier this year in the form of the Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid (pictured), but unlike the mid-engine concept, the two front-engine models will utilize a 47-horsepower 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine specifically designed to provide power to electric-drive hybrids.
We’ll have the full details direct from the Paris show later this month, so stay tuned.
Categories: Hatchback, Lotus, Paris Motor Show Tags: Lotus, Paris Motor Show
Vauxhall GTC concept completely revealed ahead of Paris Motor Show debut
Vauxhall has beaten the speculating voices of the Internet to the Paris Motor Show punch by pulling the covers off of its GTC Concept well ahead of the main event. According to the company, what you see above is likely to have more than a little influence on the next Astra Sport Hatch. In classic concept style, the GTC rolls on epic 21-inch wheels that aren’t likely to find their way to the production version of the car any time soon. That’s not to say that this creation is pure fantasy, though.
For one thing, there’s a direct-injection, 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine snugged under the hood, complete with a functioning start/stop system and a six-speed manual gearbox. That choice of powerplant seems a little too realistic to just be a show-circuit folly, so our guess is that the Astra Sport Hatch will likely boast similar hardware when it hits the road to take on cars like the Volkswagen Scirocco. Hit the jump for the full press release and check out the gallery for a closer look. Vauxhall will show off the GTC Concept in Paris starting on September 30, and we’ll be on-hand to give you live shots and impressions of its reveal.
Categories: Paris Motor Show, Vauxhall Tags: Paris Motor Show, Vauxhall
Paris Motor Show 2010 Preview: GM unveils Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for Europe
General Motors will be expanding Chevrolet of Europe’s lineup by adding a five-door Chevrolet Cruze, and while we won’t get our first look at this new hatchback for a few weeks, GM has decided to preview it early with a few pictures on the web. Sure to be one of the major draws at the Paris Motor Show in just a few weeks, the liftback ought to compete nicely with the 2012 Ford Focus five-door, but don’t expect GM to offer the more functional Cruze in the United States. “Americans don’t like hatchbacks,” remember?
Categories: Chevrolet, Paris Motor Show Tags: Chevrolet, Paris Motor Show
