The Renault TreZor scoops the Most Beautiful Concept Car of the Year 2016.

• The Renault TreZor scoops the Festival Automobile International’s award for the Most Beautiful Concept Car of the Year 2016
• The Renault TreZor is an all-electric GT that embodies the styling cues and technologies set to feature on upcoming Renault models

AWARD-WINNING RENAULT TREZOR

The 32nd Festival Automobile International at the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris, France, has singled out the Renault TreZor as the Most Beautiful Concept Car of 2016.

“I would like to thank the jury for this award which inspires us to continue to pursue our design strategy,” says Laurens van den Acker, SVP Corporate Design, Renault. 

“The TreZor’s powerful, sensuous lines pave the way for the styling and technologies that will be features of our upcoming models. It also marks the beginning of a new cycle of Renault concept cars.”

“The jury decided this award should go to the TreZor because of the extreme beauty, sensuality and elegance it exudes,” observes Rémi Depoix, President of the Festival Automobile International. 

“It is the epitome of a concept car and we were notably won over by the cohesion of its overall design and the attention that has been paid to the details. It is a fine creative work which, we hope, will inspire Renault’s future roadgoing models.”

A POINTER TO THE STYLING PHILOSOPHY OF UPCOMING RENAULTS

The lines of the Renault TreZor are warm, sensuous and refined, while its assertive front end incorporates signature C-shaped lights. In terms of their styling, Renault’s upcoming models will draw their inspiration from the TreZor’s DNA as their forms become even more fluid and mature.

The TreZor’s interior design, meanwhile, places the emphasis on driving enjoyment and features a large enveloping touchscreen display that reinforces the cockpit feel. 

This customisable, connected interface juxtaposes warming, prestige materials like wood and leather. The interiors of upcoming Renault models will take their inspiration from these increasingly refined styling trends and connected technologies.

For the duration of this year’s Festival International de l’Automobile, the Renault TreZor will be on display at the Hôtel des Invalides alongside other concept cars selected by the jury. This display will be open to the public from 1-5 February 2017.

Citroën's C4 Cactus wins coveted ‘Most Beautiful Interior’ prize at 30th International Automobile Festival.

• 30^th International Automobile Festival has given Citroën C4 Cactus ‘Most Beautiful Interior’ prize
• Linda Jackson, CEO of the Citroën brand, collected the prestigious award
• Original Cactus concept & C-Elysée, the winner of the 2014 FIA World Touring Car Championship, are on display at the festival until 1 February

The New Citroën C4 Cactus has scooped the ‘Most Beautiful Interior’ of the year prize at the 30^th International Automobile Festival in Paris. Linda Jackson, CEO of the Citroën brand, collected the award.

Every year, the International Automobile Festival features a display of concept cars, celebrates automotive design and pays tribute to the year’s finest automotive and artistic achievements. Prizes are awarded by a jury of experts and enthusiasts from the worlds of motorsport, architecture, fashion, design, culture and media.

The judging panel, chaired this year by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, awarded the New Citroën C4 Cactus with the ‘Most Beautiful Interior’ honour. The award goes to the production model with the most relevant design approach in terms of the harmony of shapes, materials and colours.

This accolade recognises the work of the interior design teams at Citroën. The interior of the Citroën C4 Cactus has a de-cluttered dashboard for a more comfortable cabin environment. It is this approach that won over the judges.

The interior is both stylish and functional, with special storage compartments and details, such as suitcase-style straps on the doors. The slimline, floating dashboard is topped by a large and easily accessible storage area created by transferring the front passenger airbag to the ceiling. Comfortable seats sport a sofa-inspired design, while the 7-inch touchscreen groups the majority of the car’s controls.

In addition to the judging panel, the Citroën C4 Cactus has already won over a considerable number of customers, totalling more than 42,000 orders in 2014.

The International Automobile Festival is open to the public until 1 February at the Hôtel National des Invalides, Paris. On display is the original Cactus concept car, which preceded the C4 Cactus production model, and the C-Elysée, the winner of the 2014 FIA World Touring Car Championship.

Alfa Romeo 4C Supercar scoops two more major awards.

• The Alfa Romeo 4C supercar honoured in Germany and France with two major awards
• The 4C was named 'Most Beautiful Car of the Year 2013' at the 29th International Automobile Festival in France.
• Drawing in 41 percent of all votes, Alfa Romeo 4C was the clear winner ahead of the BMW series 4 (25%), Mercedes CLA (22%) and Mazda 3 (12%)
• The 4C also topped the “Importers” sports cars category in the prestigious Auto Motor und Sport “Best Cars 2014” awards, ahead of 28 rivals from the pantheon of international, sports car manufacturers
• The Alfa Romeo MiTo and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta also score podium finishes in their respective vehicle segments
• Louis Carl Vignon, Head of Alfa Romeo for the EMEA region, collected both awards on consecutive days in Paris and Stuttgart

Alfa Romeo couldn't have wished for a better start to 2014: The Alfa Romeo 4C has not only claimed the “Most Beautiful Car of the Year 2013” title at the 29th International Automobile Festival in France, it has also scooped the top award in the “Importers” sports car category in the Auto Motor und Sport “Best Cars 2014” awards. In both cases, the awards were decided by a public vote.

In the process of claiming the ‘Most Beautiful Car of the Year 2013” title, the Alfa Romeo 4C claimed an astonishing 40.70 percent of the votes in a worldwide survey, significantly more than the BMW 4-Series, (25.55 percent), Mercedes CLA (22.15 per cent) and Mazda 3 (11.60 per cent).

Created in 1986 in Chamonix and presided over by Remi Depoix, the International Automobile Festival recognises creativity in automotive design and is now a key event on the world automotive calendar. The Most Beautiful Car of the Year title was first awarded in 1988, with the Alfa 164 winning the inaugural award. Alfa Romeo has also won in 2005 with the Alfa Brera and again in 2008 with the Alfa MiTo.

Meanwhile in Germany, the readers of the prestigious motoring magazine 'Auto, Motor und Sport' voted the Alfa Romeo 4C top of the “Importers” sports car category in its 'Best Cars 2014' awards, ahead of 28 considerably more expensive models from numerous specialist sports car manufacturers.

More than 115,000 readers chose the Alfa Romeo 4C as the most exciting, imported sports car of the year, with Alfa Romeo’s two other, recently-revised models also making the podium for imported cars in their respective categories: the Alfa Romeo MiTo came second in the 'hatchback' segment, while the Alfa Romeo Giulietta took third place among the 'compacts'.

Louis-Carl Vignon, Head of Alfa Romeo EMEA, attended both award ceremonies in Paris and Stuttgart. In France, Mr. Vignon was joined by Marco Tencone, Head of Design Alfa Romeo, Alessandro Maccolini, Head of External Design Alfa Romeo, Maurizio Zuares, C.E.O of Fiat France, and Sébastien Perrais, Alfa Romeo brand Director in France.

These latest awards add to the ever-growing list of accolades bestowed upon the Alfa Romeo 4C. It was recently named 'Car of the Year 2013' by the editors of FHM magazine in the UK; it won the 'Coup de cœur 2013' award of Automobile Magazine in France and it was named 'Auto Trophy 2013' by the readers of the German magazine Auto Zeitung.

ABOUT THE ALFA ROMEO 4C

Designed and engineered by Alfa Romeo - and built by Maserati in Modena - as a pure driving machine, the mid-engined Alfa Romeo 4C is powered by a new, all-aluminium, 240hp, 1750 Turbo Petrol engine and features Alfa Romeo’s latest-generation ALFA TCT transmission and Alfa D.N.A. driving mode selector - now with a new “Race” mode. The 0-62 mph sprint takes just 4.5 seconds and top speed is 160 mph, but thanks to its light weight and advanced engine and transmission technologies, its official combined-cycle fuel economy figure is 41.5 mpg and its CO2 emissions are just 157g/km.

The Alfa Romeo 4C’s compact shape accentuates its remarkable agility: With a dry weight of 895kg; a 40:60 front-to-rear weight distribution; track-honed double-wishbone suspension and Brembo brakes, the Alfa Romeo 4C is capable of generating 1.1g of lateral acceleration and in excess of 1.2g of deceleration force.  The exhaust has been tuned to emit a full, rich sound and the unassisted steering is progressive, direct and engineered to convey as much feedback and feel as possible. The steering ratio (16:2) is such as to allow 90% of bends to be taken without having to take your hands off the steering wheel. The Alfa Romeo is priced from £45,000 OTR in the UK.