RENAULT have made electric motoring their total focus with FOUR new cars. We drove the FLUENCE saloon last week but at Paris they were ready to unveil a new Clio-size ZOE ZE (Zero Emissions) and TWIZY ZE Quadracycle.
But the undoubted showstopper will be the incredible DEZIR.
The French firm have launched this design study which they claim will be the look of their next generation of cars.
It's the first model under new design boss Laurens van den Acker - the man who put the Zoom Zoom into Mazda - and is now putting the Va Va Voom back into Renault.
The DeZir looks like a mini Gallic version of the Audi R8 - and almost a double-take of the German firm's electric e-tron sports car.
It's 4.2m long, only slightly shorter than a Megane coupé, but sits almost 10cm lower than an R8.
It has an aggressive front grille and is flanked by distinctive prism headlights and LED 'eyelids'.
Scissor doors add to the drama, while the rear window is replaced by two cameras which give a panoramic rearward view. This all sits on a gaping black back grille for real supercar personality.
Inside, the red exterior makes way for a wacky one-piece bench trimmed in contrasting white leather, which Renault say is designed to represent the attraction between two people. Power comes from a 24kWh rechargeable lithium-ion battery, fed to a 148bhp electric motor. This gives Audi e-tron-rivalling performance, with 0-60mph in only five seconds and a top speed of 112mph.
It's also extremely lightweight - such a crucial factor for the next generation of electric cars.
Van den Acker is clearly a bold designer with exciting plans - and insiders believe the next Clio will carry a lot of the DeZir's front-end design cues.
Renault haven't said whether they will build it yet, but clearly, with a car that looks this good, they'd be crazy not to put it into production.
PEUGEOT will not be outdone on their home soil as they show their sensational EX1 electric concept.
Sensational ... Peugeot's electric EX1 concept
It isn't actually on display at the Porte de Versailles show but will be unveiled on the Champs Elysee in the city.
We got behind the wheel last week and, like the DeZir, it shatters the theory that plug-ins are boring milk floats.
The EX1 looks like a Batmobile for the 21st century. Perhaps this battery-run supercar should be called the Battmobile.
And it has performance to match, hitting 0-62mph in 2.5 seconds and 0-162mph in 6.6 seconds. The steering wheel is a joystick, but with two handles - a bit like driving an arcade game car.
The EX1 is powered by two of the most powerful electric motors ever fitted to a car, one at the front and one at the back wheels, each with 75kW of power that pumps out 340bhp.
And the car is made of the latest hi-tech carbon and honeycomb composites, making it ultra lightweight at just 750kg, which helps to give it a range of 280 miles.
The EX1 even gets its own designer-built garage that doubles as a recharging station, via solar panels in the roof. Like the car itself, it all sounds a bit sci-fi but Peugeot say they will develop and use the electric technology, as well as some of the design cues, in future production cars.
The EX1 cost more than 1.5million euros to build, but it's likely to be the most sensational Peugeot never to go on sale. CITROEN will complete le hat-trick with the equally striking SURVOLT sports plug-in which they previously showed in Geneva this year.
Hardcore ... the awesome Citroen Survolt
The supermini-sized Survolt combines the design themes of the Revolte and GT by Citroen concept cars shown last year.
But has the potential to be a pocket rocket and to give Tesla a run for their money in the electric sports car stakes.
It also has a hardcore racy look, complete with a big wing, and it's just 3.85m long, 1.87m wide and 1.2m high.
A 200kW electric motor drives the rear wheels and there are a host of batteries in the front, middle and rear of the car.
The good news is that some of the design and technology will certainly go into their future cars - there's even a chance that it will become a proper racing car in a one-make series.
But they also have a funky new off-road concept designed with the help of fashion label Lacoste. This Tonka toy for adults is 3.45m long, making it more than 50cm shorter than the Mini Countryman and Nissan Juke.
Innovative ... the Citroen Lacoste
The Lacoste is packed with innovations which may find their way onto future Citroens. The dash is cleared of all clutter to leave a two-spoke steering wheel and LED strip.
The steering wheel can be moved out of the way to improve access, the rear bench can slide into the boot to carry large items and there is storage space in the two benches.
The exterior is an evolution of 2007's C-Cactus concept and features a high waistline and bulging wheelarches. An innovative soft-top inflates along the centre rail to keep passengers dry.
Power comes from a three-cylinder petrol engine, likely to be Citroen's next- generation 1.2-litre, with 100g/km of emissions - proving that electric isn't the only power of the future.
But whatever the power, the French are out to add ooh la la.
