One of the lovelier cars on display in Hall 1 of the Paris Auto Show was the Renault Nepta, a four-seat cabriolet concept car. Its aluminum-finish gullwing doors run the length of its body, and when they're open, the Nepta really does look like a bird about to take flight. Plus, you can see the engine and passenger compartments in their entirety.
The interior is pure concept, with its abundance of leather and aluminum, and fixed seats, but the engine is a little more plausible -- a longitudinally mounted 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6, likely derived from Nissan's VQ series, and rated for 420 hp and 384 lb-ft of torque in the Nepta. A seven-speed automatic transmission routes power to the rear wheels, which measure 23 inches and are wrapped in Michelin PAX run-flat rubber. Even with the weight of the PAX system, the cabriolet would still get to 60 mph in under 5 seconds, says Renault.
Another interesting detail about the Nepta is its headlight design, which according to Renault, employs a main light beam that's reflected by crystal-shaped transparent blocks. It's not the least bit haphazard, as the reflection process is electronically controlled.
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