We Stopped by the 2018 Paris Concept Cars Show and Weren’t Disappointed

Paris is known as the fashion capital of the world and that even extends into the automotive sector. Every year notable concept cars are brought together in a showcase of pure automotive beauty. The vehicles are displayed and judged purely on aesthetics – not horsepower, technological advancement, or even mass-market appeal. It all comes down to unadulterated beauty.

This year’s winner of the “most beautiful concept car” is the Mazda Concept Vision Coupe, a Mazda design study that debuted at last October’s 2017 Tokyo Motor Show in Japan. The sleek two-door coupe features a fastback roof, a short front overhang, a long rear overhang, and a hood that rival’s the Bat Mobile’s for length. Equally long is its massive wheelbase. The Concept Vision Coupe is also incredibly wide, accented by Mazda’s low-slung, six-sided grille and aggressive headlights.

The Paris Concept Car Show ran until Feb 4th, but we've got some cars from the show listed below.

Special shout out to Cyril for the trip and pictures.

Aside from the Mazda Concept Vision Coupe, the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 Cabriolet was one of the most striking cars at the event. The Maybach debuted at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and quickly became one of the most memorable Mercedes concepts in the last ten years. Its low, long, and wide body was designed to recall the glory and grandeur of Mercedes from the 1930s. The Maybach 6 Cabriolet certainly does that, while adding in modern technology like an illuminated cabin and a 738-horsepower electric drivetrain with a 200-mile range.

Also present is this 1947 Delahaye 135M with a custom body from Figoni-Falaschi. The car debuted at the Trocadero Concours in Paris that year. In 1955, the car was bought by the novelist Georges Amaud, who later used the car in a film adapted from his book “Salary of Fear.”

Another beautiful car came from a surprising source: Kia. It’s the Kia Proceed, a concept that debuted at the 2017 Frankfurt Auto Show. It was designed to preview what Kia might have up its sleeve for future designs, specifically of the Cee’d and Proceed cars available in just about every country besides America. Of course, parts of the design can be seen in the highly lauded Kia Stinger, too.

On the performance side of things is the Lamborghini Terzo Millennio. This concept was built with the help of MIT here in the U.S. in order to explore what an all-electric Lambo might look like. The project focused on five key points, which included energy storage, innovative materials, its powertrain, its design, and the overall emotion of the supercar.

The show wasn’t devoid of racecar concepts, either. Renault brought its Formula 1 concept racer that projects what F1 might look like in 2027. It includes LED lighting, active aerodynamics, and a polycarbonate cockpit designed to better protect the driver during a crash.

Though hardly the last car at the show, the BMW Z4 Concept certainly garnered plenty of attention. Built in cooperation with Toyota, the Z4 Concept previews what we can expect from BMW’s new two-seat roadster when it finally hits production. The car also gives some slight hints at what Toyota is doing, too, since the Japanese automaker is building its all-new Supra sports car on the shared Z4 platform. We expect the new BMW Z4 to launch sometime in 2019 with the Toyota Supra not far behind.

Take a gander at the full gallery of photos we have from the 2018 Paris Concept Car Show. There is plenty of beautiful (and some more questionable) vehicles to gaze at.