Jaguar Land Rover unveils new XE sport at the Paris Motor Show

One advantage of the Paris Motor Show clashing with the city's fashion week is that you just can't move for supermodels — both on and off the automotive catwalk.

Claudia Schiffer over here one minute, Britain's Rosie Huntington-Whiteley over there the next.

And then there are the cars. Although Paris chic was all across the metropolis, the Brits did their best to upstage their Gallic hosts by sticking the British boot in — Wellingtons of course.

Give it welly: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley with the new Discovery and giant Union Jack footwear

 

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley unveils new Land Rover Discovery

Jaguar Land Rover strove to upstage Schiffer, who was on an adjacent stage as it struck up the band — a military band including soldiers in red tunics and bearskins — to unveil its new XE sports saloon and Land Rover Discovery Sport, for which it has received 1,200 orders in just three weeks.

Jaguar Land Rover chief executive Dr Ralf Speth said: 'These two cars are at the very heart of Britain's manufacturing renaissance.'

 

Huntington-Whiteley led the charge by swapping the catwalk for the new Discovery Sport's launch on the Seine.

The 27-year-old actress and former Victoria's Secret lingerie model boarded a giant 250ft barge, transformed into floating off-road assault course adorned with seven pairs of oversized Wellington boots — one of them a 15ft-high pair decorated in the red white and blue Union Flag.

Two of the new vehicles then drove around the course as the barge sailed up and down past many of the capital's most famous landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame cathedral — under the very put-out noses of haughty Parisians. A spokesman said: 'The boots, a reference to both the Discovery's versatile seating layout and Land Rover's unique take on outdoor life, brought a sense of quintessential British heritage and humour to the Rive Gauche.'

Claudia Schiffer scored highly in the fashion stakes when she unveiled the new Vauxhall Corsa. 'It's chic, just like Paris,' she said of the hot hatchback 

 

The seven pairs of giant wellies, made by British firm Barbour and becoming something of a fashion statement in Paris, were designed to highlight the Disco's seating versatility — two people at the front, three in the middle and two more in the optional folddown seats at the back.

Costing from £32,395 to £42,995, the new car replaces the Freelander and means an investment, production and jobs boost for the firm's Halewood factory on Merseyside.

It goes on UK sale on January 22 alongside the existing the larger seven-seater, full-size Discovery.

The launch model will deploy an efficient, yet powerful, SD4 fourcylinder diesel engine, four-wheel drive, with either advanced ninespeed automatic or six-speed manual transmission.

An eD4 turbodiesel version is to be introduced later in 2015 from under £30,000 and with frugal CO2 estimated at around 119g/km.

 

Bentley launched its new £252,200 Mulsanne Speed with a top speed of 190mph and acceleration from rest to 60mph of 4.8 seconds.

DID YOU KNOW? 

The Land Rover Discovery Sport has also received 1,200 orders in three weeks 

The Crewe-based luxury car maker, owned by Germany's giant Volkswagen group, has recorded its best-ever half-year sales of 5,252, a rise of 23 per cent. It is to launch a new SUV in 2016, creating 400 new jobs.

 

Brace yourself for bargains. European makers are slashing prices and offering great deals to UK consumers because Britain is the only country showing good sales growth.

'It's all about growth. Everyone wants a piece of the action. The last quarter has been particularly competitive,' said one executive.

 

Claudia Schiffer scored highly in the fashion stakes when she unveiled the new Vauxhall Corsa. 'It's chic, just like Paris,' she said of the hot hatchback in what, quite frankly, a rather cheesy and stilted bit of Eurovision-style scripting.

But the Corsa is a significant car for Britain. It was the second biggest-selling car after the Fiesta at 83,000 last year — it's actually the biggest seller in Scotland. But Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Jaguar Land Rover led the British charge of luxury cars at the prestigious motor show as booming export sales propelled them towards new record highs.

 

Luxury car brand Infiniti produced a bit of a head-turner. Its eye-catching Q80 Inspiration prototype is a four-door 'fastback' with four individual leather seats, while a plunging panoramic glass roof creates a light, airy environment inside.

 

Rolls-Royce is on a roll,' said the firm's chief executive Torsten Mueller-Otvos, as he revealed that the luxury firm, based at Goodwood in Sussex, is on target to break through 4,000 annual sales for the first time.

No doubt it'll be helped by a raunchy black-andwhite, art-house style video involving a suspenderclad Kylie getting changed in the back of a Roller which was shown at a private view at the show, after appearing at some of her concerts.

Apparently it's called 'Skirt', though I struggled to see much evidence of one.

Share or comment on this article