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No hydraulic, retractable hardtops for Citron. Instead, the roof rails and sliding cloth top of this nifty four-seater can be removed entirely, providing open-air motoring on the cheap-just like its spiritual predecessor, the 2CV.
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Pure ethanol (E100) from lumbering waste is a standard fuel option in Sweden, so mating Saab´s 260-hp BioPower turbocharged 2.0-liter four with parent GM´s two-mode hybrid just made sense. The outcome is a gray-silver AWD car that´s also the first hybrid convertible, the first hybrid without fossil-fuel emissions-and one of the sexiest on the floor.
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Retractable tops are all the rage in Europe. Mazda´s steals no trunk space, operates in just 12 seconds (the world´s quickest), and adds only 80 pounds. The car´s jinba ittai (â€fun to driveâ€) character is unaltered, and despite a rear-deck redesign, you´ll have to look hard to notice.
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A $100,000+ V10 coupe? Sure (yawn). But a tiny two-liter, supercharged 300-hp V10, in a 1700-pounder that does 0-60 in less than five seconds? Dang! And that´s just for starters: Next year´s hybrid version forgoes heavy batteries for lightweight super-capacitors, plus cylinder deactivation, to give a claimed 35 mpg.
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A cringe-worthy bioethanol rap song highlighted Ford´s push into ethanol fuel. Its flex-fuel 1.8-liter Focus produces under 100 grams of CO2 per kilometer when crop-CO2 absorption is accounted for-less than a gasoline hybrid. Back off, though: This is the second-generation Focus launched in 2004, for Europeans only.
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Lotus’s customers wanted luxury, and the new Europa delivers. It still performs (0 to 100 mph in 13.6 seconds) via the standard recipe-a small, powerful (190-hp) engine in a light (2,200-lb) car-but adds such un-Lotus-like features as air-conditioning and satellite navigation. We’ll see this one in the States.
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Manufacturers seemingly never tire of â€women´s carsâ€: Citroen showed a version of its smallest car, the C1, in â€passion pinkâ€. Faces of â€beautiful, mystical creatures†airbrushed on the doors reinforce the girly theme, as do heart-shaped tailpipes, a bigger sun-visor mirror for makeup, and pink and black upholstery. No, we´re not making this up.
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The first-ever Cadillac sold only outside the US (it´s based on the Saab 9-3), the BLS offers a 1.9-liter 148-hp turbodiesel engine that gets 39 mpg. Half the cars sold in Europe are diesels, so this is a mainstream luxury sedan there. Don´t mention the disastrous DeVille diesels of the eighties, please!
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Tinier than a Mini Cooper, the 10-foot-long Trixx concept is strikingly clever-and its Flex-Fix scheme for mounting bicycle carriers is used in Opel’s new Corsa. Other innovations include an inflatable rear seat, electric sliding doors and a radiator above (not in front of) its 1.3-liter diesel engine.
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The Freelander (LR2 to Americans) is the first-ever SUV with a transverse six-cylinder engine, for steeper hill approach angles. Land-Rover´s big news: It will start charging UK customers $150 to $300 to offset their vehicle´s CO2 emissions, sending the cash to ClimateCare, which invests in carbon elimination or reduction schemes.
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The acronym stands for “No Internal Combustion Engine,” and this electric two-seater-one of many in Europe-allows drivers to escape London’s central-city congestion charge of $14 per day. A tiny 4kW motor manages 40 mph, with up to 50 miles of range from its eight six-volt lead-acid batteries.
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Yes, it´s a “car”-the first tilting three-wheeler sold. Computer-controlled hydraulics distribute steering between the front wheel and the banking angle (up to 45 degrees) of the single-seat cabin and front wheel. Result: motorcycle-like handling, top speed of 115 mph and 37 mpg from a 68-hp turbocharged 660cc four.
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After 70 years of building 4/4s, Morgan horrified traditionalists with its hot new Aero 8 supercar. The 330-hp BMW V8 engine rockets from 0 to 62 mph in 4.5 seconds, with a top speed of 160 mph and matching aerodynamics. No wood-framed body, though: this car´s structure is all-alloy.
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Diesels are everywhere in Europe-even in the â€hot hatch†category. These three- and five-door GTs aren´t Ferrari-quick: Their 110-hp, 1.6-liter diesel generates 177 lb-ft of torque, taking them from 0 to 60 in 10.1 seconds. Prices start at a hefty $26,500, but at 49 mpg, they sure are thrifty with fuel.
