Five exotic vehicles you might have missed at the Paris Motor Show

It’s been a funny few years for the European car industry, and the scaled-back Paris Motor Show seemed to reflect that when it returned in October after a four-year hiatus. The big French players were all in attendance, obviously, but the Germans and Japanese weren’t. That meant there was more room for the plucky start-ups, the pointless concept cars, and the hopeful Chinese brands that all seem to be on the brink of a European breakthrough.

That’s great news, it’s much more interesting to write articles about daft contraptions from overseas than about yet another electric SUV from a legacy brand. So here’s our top five interesting vehicles from the Paris Motor Show that you might have missed.

City Transformer CT-1

Have you ever wished your car could transform into a motorcycle and weave through traffic? If so, consider the City Transformer CT-1 – a car that can change shape and size according to conditions. Admittedly it can only shrink from 1.4m to 1m wide, which isn’t quite narrow enough to filter, but in principle a car that doesn’t take up any more space than it needs to is probably a good thing. The CT-1 has pretty acceptable stats for a microcar, too, with a 0-30mph time of five seconds and a 180km range. Prices start at 12,500 euros.

Lapierre Aircode DRS Alpine

Talking of “way too expensive”, Alpine has teamed up with Dijon bicycle manufacturer Lapierre to make a rather handsome limited edition carbon fibre road bike called the Aircode DRS Alpine, which is on sale now for 9,000 euros. It has a wireless electronic transmission to save weight, which is neat, though only 110 will be built; anyone hoping to shave seconds off their commute will need to head to their local Lapierre dealership pronto.

Ora Funky Cat

It might have a name worse than the Mazda Bongo Friendee, but behind the baffling branding is a serious new entrant to the European EV market. Launching in the UK later this year, the Funky Cat is good for almost 200 miles on a single charge, will cost around £30,000 and – unlike most cheap EVs – looks pretty adorable. But will the cute styling be enough to coax buyers away from bigger brands? Well, with hints of Beetle, Giulietta and even 996 if you squint, it’s in with a chance against more boring competition, though the real challenge will be building dealer support from scratch.

Dacia Manifesto

The Manifesto is a good old-fashioned concept car, which bears no real relation to anything Dacia is planning to do beyond a few tenuous metaphorical points. It has a cork dashboard (representing natural materials) and a stripped-back form (occupants are at one with their environment). The seat coverings turn into sleeping bags and the headlight, singular, can be removed and used as a torch. One innovation will actually make it into production, though – the YouClip system for attaching accessories is set to be available on the next-gen Duster.

Hopium Machina

Optimistic-sounding French startup Hopium has unveiled the Machina, a hydrogen fuel cell electric luxury performance car. It’s definitely a niche within a niche, but with a claimed 1,000km range and a refuelling time of just three minutes, the Machina has some appeal over the likes of the Taycan or the EQS. Hopium plans to open its factory in Normandy in 2025 and says it wants to sell 20,000 cars per year. Perhaps by the time they’ve got up and running, there’ll be enough hydrogen stations to support this new kind of fuel cell grand tourer.