autos sport

Visitors to the 2010 Paris Motor Show may have noticed a rather innocuous looking, black-topped Ferrari California on display at the automaker's stand. This is the Ferrari California HELE, which stands for High Emotion Low Emissions. Think of it as a Ferrari for the environmentally conscious.

Featuring a host of technological jiggery including intelligent fan and fuel pump control, adaptive gear shift and "electronically controlled variable displacement"...air conditioning, the California HELE is said to reduce CO₂ emissions by 23% over its non-HELE sibling.

That's 270 g / km down from 299 g /km. The California HELE also features a stop / start system that can restart the car's engine in an impressive sounding 230 milliseconds.

Ferrari is also introducing some new two-tone finishes - no doubt for the 599 GTO wannabes - and water-resistant leather for its California range. There's no word on pricing or launch dates, or in what markets the California HELE will be sold. No doubt buyers will pay a premium over the non-HELE base model.

By Tristan Hankins

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The new Lotus Elise jumps into entirely new styling territory, not so much evolving from the current model but fully reinventing itself as a baby Esprit. The only similarities are the mid-engine layout driving the rear wheels and 2-seats around corners.

The new baby Lotus will get a standard 6-speed manual (with an optional 7-speed DCT) and be powered by a Toyota 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine putting out 320-horsepower.

If the Elise is putting out that kind of go for a £35,000 [around US$55,500] base price, this is looking to be a bargain basement killer. To make that 320 ponies extra green, it will also offer mild hybrid tech and an optional start/stop system when it comes out in Spring 2015.

By Phil Alex

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Tucked away in a glassed corner of Nissan's Paris Motor Show booth was the 2012 GT-R facelift. So, did the updated GT-R make its world premiere in Paris or not? Yes and no. See, while the car made its first public appearance in Paris, oddly enough, Nissan said it wouldn't release any information until mid October.

Here's the official statement from the Japanese automaker: "The GT-R engineering team are currently at the Nordschliefe, the legendary circuit in Germany, where they are in the process of signing-off the final updates on the forthcoming enhanced GT-R. Full details of the enhanced GT-R will be announced on 18th October 2010,"

From what we can see, the 2012 model year version of the Godzilla boasts a new front bumper with LED running lights, a revised rear diffuser and new alloy wheels.

According to documents leaked back in August, the changes are said to help drop the GT-R's drag coefficient from 0.272 to 0.268 while also improving rear downforce by 10%. The car is also expected to benefit from chassis and engine modifications.

We'll update this story as soon as Nissan comes out with all the juicy details.

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The Paris Motor Show isn't all concept cars and new model launches; some manufacturers use the event to showcase limited edition models to pique the public's interest. One such limited run model is the i20 Sport Edition, co-developed by Hyundai's European R&D team and aftermarket tuners Car Research and Development (CRD) in Germany.

The exterior of the i20 Sport Edition gets body-colored front skirts and wheelarch flares, glossy mesh grille insert and B-pillar, black bezel headlights, daytime running lights, smoked side and rear glass, dark red tinted taillights and 17-inch Brabus alloys wrapped in Yokohama rubber.

On the inside, there is orange leather wrapped Recaros, a chrome shift knob and 7-inch touch screen sat nav. The centre console, door panels and gearshift cover also get the leather treatment.

The i20 Sport Edition goes into limited production in the first half of 2011, whereupon Hyundai will announce engine and transmission specs. Available as either 3dr or 5dr model, it will be manufactured in Hyundai's existing i20 plants in either India or Turkey, depending on the market.

By Tristan Hankins