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Lotus Exige GT3 and 2-Eleven

By Ben Whitworth Motor Shows 08 March 2007 11:49 Not one, but two hardcore Lotuses? Tell me more... Lotus pulled the wraps off two adrenalin-fuelled racers – the racetrack-biased 2-Eleven and the hardcore Exige GT3 (above).

First Sight: BMW Zagato Coupé

"I've been looking for a way to collaborate with Zagato and Nori [Norihiko Harada, Chief Designer Zagato] for around 20 years," explains Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design as we stand in the shadow of the magnificent Villa Erba. "Last year at this event we had a conversation and decided that it was the right time to do something." BMW and Zagato both have history associated with the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este – Europe's most glamorous car show – yet until last weekend the two illustrious names had never crossed paths. The BMW Zagato Coupé marks the first project between the two and the first Italian-designed car to wear the blue and white propeller since the 2003 Bertone Birusa.

First Sight: Mercedes-Benz A-Class

The first generation A-Class was the first front wheel drive passenger car from Mercedes-Benz and its first compact hatchback. Its revolutionary packaging and infamous encounter with an elk made a big impact in 1997, and since then over a million have been sold. Specification The new A-Class maintains its predecessor's innovative sandwich floor concept, where the powertrain moves under the passenger cell in the event of a big frontal impact and thus enables a longer cabin for the length of footprint.