From the sublime to the strange, some of the world's top automakers' newest and most stunning concept cars are on display at the 2014 Paris Motor Show.
The auto companies spent two days last week revealing more than 100 cars, from the awesomely powerful (900 horsepower) -- and hybrid -- Lamborghini to the bizarrely angular Citroen concept at the show.
The Paris Motor Show is one of the most highly attended of its kind in the world.
It runs through Oct. 19, in case you're thinking about a trip to Paris.
But it’s not exactly restrained. The combination of three electric motors and a naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10 engine produces over 900 horsepower, enough to send this hybrid from a standstill to 62 mph in three seconds flat. Lamborghini
But it’s not exactly restrained. The combination of three electric motors and a naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10 engine produces over 900 horsepower, enough to send this hybrid from a standstill to 62 mph in three seconds flat.
Lamborghini
Jaguar has been on a roll this past year, putting the terrific F-Type sports car on the market and making us shiver with delight at the resurrected racing version of the iconic E-Type. Now it’s making good on its plans to expand into more segments with the XE, an all-new midsize sedan set to compete with the BMW 3 Series. Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar has been on a roll this past year, putting the terrific F-Type sports car on the market and making us shiver with delight at the resurrected racing version of the iconic E-Type. Now it’s making good on its plans to expand into more segments with the XE, an all-new midsize sedan set to compete with the BMW 3 Series.
Jaguar Land Rover
The most aerodynamic Jag ever, the XE packs a supercharged 3-liter V6 engine that will send it from 0 to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds. In the event of a collision with a pedestrian, the hood automatically pops up a few millimeters, creating a cushion of air between the relatively soft aluminum and the much harder engine underneath. Jaguar Land Rover
The most aerodynamic Jag ever, the XE packs a supercharged 3-liter V6 engine that will send it from 0 to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds. In the event of a collision with a pedestrian, the hood automatically pops up a few millimeters, creating a cushion of air between the relatively soft aluminum and the much harder engine underneath.
Jaguar Land Rover
France’s Citroen used the home court advantage to reveal one of the craziest we’ve come across in quite a while. Produced for DS, the automaker’s luxury division, the Divine concept will never be built, but comes with a lot of intriguing design details that could make their way onto the road. DS
France’s Citroen used the home court advantage to reveal one of the craziest we’ve come across in quite a while. Produced for DS, the automaker’s luxury division, the Divine concept will never be built, but comes with a lot of intriguing design details that could make their way onto the road.
DS
Don’t expect to see those insane doors on a dealership lot, or the scale-like things (whatever those are) that cover the rear window. But we won’t be surprised if elements of this angular, edgy, near reptilian look creep into production cars, especially since DS plans to double its lineup from three to six models. DS
Don’t expect to see those insane doors on a dealership lot, or the scale-like things (whatever those are) that cover the rear window. But we won’t be surprised if elements of this angular, edgy, near reptilian look creep into production cars, especially since DS plans to double its lineup from three to six models.
DS
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With the TT Sportback Concept, Audi fills a niche we didn’t realize needed to be filled. It took the small sports car and made it a bit longer, a bit wider, and added two doors. Audi
With the TT Sportback Concept, Audi fills a niche we didn’t realize needed to be filled. It took the small sports car and made it a bit longer, a bit wider, and added two doors.
Audi
The four door result, which Audi deems a coupe, will hit 60 mph from a standstill in under four seconds, thanks to the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine under the hood, and the Quattro all-wheel drive system. Audi
The four door result, which Audi deems a coupe, will hit 60 mph from a standstill in under four seconds, thanks to the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine under the hood, and the Quattro all-wheel drive system.
Audi
Volvo banks a lot of its reputation on safety, and the renovated XC90 shows the Swedish automaker fully intends to eliminate crash-related deaths in its cars by 2020. The SUV is “semi-autonomous,” and has an industry-first auto brake function that stops drivers from making risky left hand turns. Volvo
Volvo banks a lot of its reputation on safety, and the renovated XC90 shows the Swedish automaker fully intends to eliminate crash-related deaths in its cars by 2020. The SUV is “semi-autonomous,” and has an industry-first auto brake function that stops drivers from making risky left hand turns.
Volvo
Inside the XC90, Volvo focused on infotainment, replacing good old fashioned buttons with a touchscreen. As we see it, this is something of a safety hazard, forcing drivers who want to do things like turn on the air conditioning to take their eyes off the road. Volvo
Inside the XC90, Volvo focused on infotainment, replacing good old fashioned buttons with a touchscreen. As we see it, this is something of a safety hazard, forcing drivers who want to do things like turn on the air conditioning to take their eyes off the road.
Volvo
Just a month after revealing the latest reincarnation of one of the most beloved sports cars ever, Mazda used the Paris Motor Show to tell us the MX-5 (aka the Miata) will be powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, at least in the U.S. Mazda
Just a month after revealing the latest reincarnation of one of the most beloved sports cars ever, Mazda used the Paris Motor Show to tell us the MX-5 (aka the Miata) will be powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, at least in the U.S.
Mazda
We don’t have any specific power production numbers but yet, but Mazda promises “the fun-to-drive essence that only MX-5 can offer.” We’ll know more before the car hits dealerships mid-2015. Mazda
We don’t have any specific power production numbers but yet, but Mazda promises “the fun-to-drive essence that only MX-5 can offer.” We’ll know more before the car hits dealerships mid-2015.
Mazda
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The interesting thing about the Ferrari 458 Speciale Aperta isn’t the fact that it exists, or that it’s got an open top that will let the sonic boom from the 597-hp V8 engine flood directly into your ear canals. What matters here is that this will likely be the final iteration of the glorious 458, and the end of Ferrari’s devotion to naturally aspirated engines. Ferrari
The interesting thing about the Ferrari 458 Speciale Aperta isn’t the fact that it exists, or that it’s got an open top that will let the sonic boom from the 597-hp V8 engine flood directly into your ear canals. What matters here is that this will likely be the final iteration of the glorious 458, and the end of Ferrari’s devotion to naturally aspirated engines.
Ferrari
Ferrari is preparing a successor to the 458, which means those who love the car—which should be everyone with eyes, ears, or a heart bigger than the Grinch’s—should ogle the Aperta all they can. Oh, and it goes from 0 to 60 mph in three seconds flat. Ferrari
Ferrari is preparing a successor to the 458, which means those who love the car—which should be everyone with eyes, ears, or a heart bigger than the Grinch’s—should ogle the Aperta all they can. Oh, and it goes from 0 to 60 mph in three seconds flat.
Ferrari
The Paris show tends to focus on the luxury and supercar segments, so it’s nice to see Nissan putting a good old hot hatch on the floor. Behold the Pulsar Nismo Concept. Nissan
The Paris show tends to focus on the luxury and supercar segments, so it’s nice to see Nissan putting a good old hot hatch on the floor. Behold the Pulsar Nismo Concept.
Nissan
The Nismo version makes the ordinarily staid five-door Pulsar look like a blast, covered in aerodynamic flourishes, sitting lower to the ground, and equipped with a new suspension to keep it going on track day. Nissan
The Nismo version makes the ordinarily staid five-door Pulsar look like a blast, covered in aerodynamic flourishes, sitting lower to the ground, and equipped with a new suspension to keep it going on track day.
Nissan
The automotive public may be focused on hybrids and battery-powered electric vehicles to save them from wallet-crushing gas bills, but Toyota sees another way: Hydrogen. The unimaginatively named Fuel Cell Sedan made its European debut in Paris. Toyota
The automotive public may be focused on hybrids and battery-powered electric vehicles to save them from wallet-crushing gas bills, but Toyota sees another way: Hydrogen. The unimaginatively named Fuel Cell Sedan made its European debut in Paris.
Toyota
The car can drive 300 miles on a full tank of hydrogen, refill in just a few minutes, and the exhaust pumps out nothing but water vapor. But there are downsides the technology: It’s expensive. Hydrogen fuel is hard to find, no cheaper than gas, and its production can produce greenhouse gases, if it’s generated from natural gas. Toyota
The car can drive 300 miles on a full tank of hydrogen, refill in just a few minutes, and the exhaust pumps out nothing but water vapor. But there are downsides the technology: It’s expensive. Hydrogen fuel is hard to find, no cheaper than gas, and its production can produce greenhouse gases, if it’s generated from natural gas.
Toyota
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For Paris, Infiniti trotted out the ambitiously named Q80 Inspiration concept. Infiniti
For Paris, Infiniti trotted out the ambitiously named Q80 Inspiration concept.
Infiniti
As a design study, it's superb. Unfortunately, we don't expect the struggling luxury arm of Nissan to make a production car that looks anything like it. Infiniti
As a design study, it's superb. Unfortunately, we don't expect the struggling luxury arm of Nissan to make a production car that looks anything like it.
Infiniti
Two years after buying Ducati, Volkswagen has done something unexpected: It took the motorcycle brand’s 197-bhp V-twin engine, used on the 1199 Superleggara bike, and slapped it under the hood of a car. Thus we have the XL Sport concept. Volkswagen
Two years after buying Ducati, Volkswagen has done something unexpected: It took the motorcycle brand’s 197-bhp V-twin engine, used on the 1199 Superleggara bike, and slapped it under the hood of a car. Thus we have the XL Sport concept.
Volkswagen
That Ducati engine is the world’s most power V-twin. Thanks to the XL’s minimalist and aerodynamic design, it will be enough to send the concept from 0 to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds, and up to a top speed of 168 mph. Volkswagen
That Ducati engine is the world’s most power V-twin. Thanks to the XL’s minimalist and aerodynamic design, it will be enough to send the concept from 0 to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds, and up to a top speed of 168 mph.
The Left Coast Lifter, one of the world's largest floating cranes, made its debut at its destination yesterday: the Tappan Zee Bridge, which many of us have often used over the years.
Among those on hand to greet the giant crane was Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who made the decision to build a $3.9 billion, twin-span replacement for the aging three-mile-long Tappan Zee after more than a decade of delays and studies by former governors and other public officials, the New York Times reported.
Nicknamed I Lift NY, the super crane is an important factor in New York's most ambitious infrastructure project of the 21st Century.
It will be used to install large sections of the new bridge, some weighing up to 1,000 tons.
The huge crane traveled from its home on San Francisco Bay, through the Panama Canal and then up the East coast.
The
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is one of Claude Debussy's most famous
works.
Prelude
was considered revolutionary when it was first performed in
1894.
It was
used as the score for the ballet Afternoon of a Faun, which was choreographed
by Vaslav Nijinsky and first performed in Paris in 1912.
Debussy
was one of the best known figures associated with Impressionist music,
though he disliked the term when applied to his compositions.
He was
one of the most gifted composers of the late 19th and 20th
century, and his use of non-traditional scales influenced many who followed, including Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Bela Bartok and George Gershwin.
He also influenced many prominent jazz figures, including Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Bix Beiderbeck, George Shearing and Thelonious Monk.
He was
made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1903.
Long before the latest fence jumper captured international attention by getting as far as the East Room, the history of White House security breaches was vast and varied, the New York Times reported earlier this week.
In its early years, the People's House -- as several presidents liked to refer to the White House -- was often a place where many could freely come and go.
In the early 20th century, more security was enforced at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Yet over the years, a surprising number of uninvited people have made their way in.
