The Mondial de l’Automobile was not to be missed by your servant, and I spent two days at the show, enjoying all the automotive novelties, the state of the art (electric) technology, the beautiful show stands, the (female) elegance, and last but not least the colleagues and friends we were so lucky to meet there. I present you this story, dear reader, as a blog, as there was so much to enjoy and to see, and invite you to read here the first part, with much more to follow…

Hans Knol ten Bensel

We already told you, that we drove to Paris at the wheel of the Giulietta Quadrifoglio, and we decided to drive this “pur sang” all the way to the show, traffic jams or not. Departing at 7.30 from my apartment in the seventh arrondissement, I was astonished to meet no heavy morning traffic at all, and I arrived a mere 15 minutes later at the parking building at the gates of the “Mondial.”

To my further joy and surprise, the parking space which was reserved for the two days of the show was very spacious indeed, and on top of it all, a shuttle car drove me swiftly to the main entrance of the show building. In the parking building I noticed two reserved spaces for electric vehicles, indeed, times are already changing in the city of light…

I first saw the tasteful BMW stand, and my eyes fell of course on the beautiful BMW Mille Miglia Coupé which basked under the spotlights. BMW has made captivating cars for decades, and this car clearly proved the case..

But the BMW stand was also the setting for the world premiere of the BMW Concept 6 Series Coupé. In this design study for a premium-class 2+2-seater, classic BMW coupé styling cues are given a modern rendition. Among the innovative details featured in this concept study are full LED headlights and a newly designed, freestanding Control Display for the iDrive operating system.

Another première at the stand was the new BMW X3. For the first time the Auto Start-Stop function is combined with a six-cylinder engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission. The new BMW X3 is also the first BMW X model to feature electromechanical Servotronic steering as standard and the option of Drive Dynamic Control. Also unique in this segment are the driver assistance systems from BMW ConnectedDrive available for the new BMW X3, which include Adaptive Headlights, Head-Up Display and the rear view camera with Top View. We show you a picture of the car here, in the xDrive 2.0 D version, which will prove very popular in our country...

Green technology is also all the rage at BMW, and noblesse oblige, there was also the ActiveHybrid X6 to be admired on the show stand…

This ts the first part of our Salon Blog, with many more to follow... stay tuned on these pages!