In some cases, manufacturers had managed to combine alternative powertrains with exciting-looking sports cars.
3 caracteristic exemples:
- The Lexus LF-A Roadster, a soft-top version of the coupe shown 9 months ago in Geneva. With a 500bhp, front-mounted 5-litre V10 it’s nowhere near as green as the Fisker – but it would give Toyota’s luxury car division a genuine supercar flagship to reinforce its up-market credentials.
- A less expensive, but no less important coupe is the Cadillac CTS Coupe, a surprise unveiling at the show. The angular-styled 3.6-litre V6-engined two-door might just be the car to kick-start Cadillac’s flagging European sales, giving the brand a genuine BMW M3/Audi S5 rival, though production is still a couple of years away.
- Volkswagen calls its sleek, low-roof derivative of the Passat a Crossover Coupe, or CC. It bears the same relationship to the regular Passat as the Mercedes CLS does to the E-class. It’s a four-door coupe that carries a premium over the more conservative sedan.