2012 Paris Motor Show: Photos & Impressions

Tom · Oct 10, 2012

The alternating rhythm of the IAA & the Mondial de l'Automobile brought this years' motor show back to Paris once again and it's spiked with both new supercars and innovative electrical cars. It's also been the place for lots of introductions for both production and concept cars, the Peugeot Onyx and Bentley GT3 Race Car amongst them. Some racing games are also on display, Gran Turismo 5 and WRC3 amongst them. There was a Lotus GP2 (it looked like a GP2, at least) car with a T500RS + F1 rim built in as well but sadly it wasn't ready for action.

Each and every famous (and one orthe other not so famous) manufacturer has it's booth and most of them like to show their new cars not only from afar but invite visitors to take a seat - there are exceptions, like Ferrari, Bentley and Rolls Royce. This is especially a shame since Ferrari had one of their 2011 Formula 1 cars at the booth and Bentley introduced their new GT3 car and thus had it on display. Both manufacturers are basically forcing the broad public to watch those beautiful pieces of machinery from afar.

There are, however, supercar manufacturers which are quite the opposite. When I stood behind the little plexiglass barrier outside the designated space of McLaren and asked the gentleman working at the McLaren booth if he could step aside so that I could take a picture of the P1 caused him to ask me why I don't simply queue up and come in. 5 minutes later I sat in an orange MP4-12C and he asked me, still amused, if I wanted to order one. Thumbs up to McLaren!

I've managed to take some pictures despite them being not perfect since I had problems getting my tripod in and most manufacturers didn't like the flash on my camera too much. If you're currently near Paris and into cars (why would you be on RD if you're not?) you should definitely spend 13€ and pay a visit to the Mondial de l'Automobile 2012.

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Everyone is invited to discuss both the 2012 Paris Motor Show and automotive topics in general in our dedicated automotive forum, the general motorsports forum and the Formula One forum.

[pictures: Tom Endres]