Motor shows are not motor shows without the concept cars, and one of my personal favourites for Paris 2010 is this – the Renault DeZir concept. With curves in all the right places and wearing a beautiful red dress, I actually enjoyed photographing Mademoiselle DeZir and stayed on for awhile just to admire it after the snapping.

More than just a flight of fancy, DeZir is the first project to have been led by new design boss Laurens van den Acker and marks the beginning of a sequence of concept cars that will provide an insight into Renault’s new styling vision, like the now dead Nagare movement at Mazda, which van den Acker created when he was with the Zoom-Zoom company.

This seductress was designed to evoke ‘simple’, ‘sensuous’ and ‘warm’ feelings, according to Renault. Along with the cute Zoe, DeZir “lays the foundations for the brand’s forthcoming vehicles’ design cues”.

The vertically-mounted 24 kWh lithium-ion battery is located behind the seats and provides the car with a range of 160 km. The electric motor is the same unit used in Renault’s Z.E. range, although it’s located in the middle of the car here and has more go: 150 hp and 226 Nm. The tubular steel frame and suspension of the showcar comes from the Megane Trophy race car while the body is made from Kevlar.

It looks slippery and it is; drag coefficient (Cd) is rated at 0.25. Renault says that this KERS equipped concept accelerates from 0 to 50 km/h in two seconds flat.

Gallery after the jump.
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The Renault-Nissan Alliance is dead serious about the electric revolution, and with the Nissan Leaf already creating waves, the Paris Motor Show saw Renault opening order books for the Kangoo Express Z.E. and the Fluence Z.E. electric cars. They will go on sale in mid-2011, and the Z.E. range will later expand to include the scooter-like Twizy and this cute Zoe.

The Zoe Preview is an accurate preview of the car that will debut in mid 2012. How true? Renault says that what you see here is 90% identical to the car that will roll out from Flins, France. This Zoe is also significant because it showcases Renault’s new brand identity for the first time, including the front look, so get used to it.

The Zoe is a Clio sized supermini that’s electric powered but has “everything expected of a B-segment car” including a roomy interior, spacious boot, manoeuvrable handling in the city and reassuring road holding for longer drives.

A lithium-ion battery powers the 80 hp/222 Nm electric motor with a combined range of 160 km. 0-100 km/h is done in 8.1 seconds on to a top speed of 135 km/h. Charging from your regular socket takes between 6 and 8 hours via a “Wall-Box” that comes with the car. For emergency situations, a public fast charge point will give 60 km range in less than 10 minutes or 80% battery capacity in 30 minutes.

The showcar also has some creative highlights. Billed as a “Spa Car”, the Zoe also has anti-dehydrating air con (good for skin), a toxicity sensor for cabin air, a stimulating or relaxing scent diffuser (created in conjunction with Biotherm, L’Oréal) and light therapy courtesy of Philips. Cute, just like the car.

Live gallery from Paris after the jump. For studio pics, click here.
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