The Paris Motor Show is held only every other year — so in celebration of the 2010 show starting later this week, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite Parisian debuts from years past.
Think you can identify the car above? Send your best guess via the comments section below.
Did You Name Friday’s Jaguar?
The photo was hazy, but kudos to those who identified last week’s car as being the 1957 E1A — an experimental vehicle that led to the legendary E-Type.
It’s unknown exactly how the name came to be, but the E1A project, born in 1957, was Jaguar’s first stab at designing a replacement for its XK range. The aluminum-bodied roadster sported similar construction to the D-Type racer, although its rear suspension — an independent design — was a break from the D-Type’s live rear axle.
Jaguar also cobbled up a second prototype, the E2a, although the design was modified slightly for racing purposes. Headlamps were fitted, the windshield and windows reshaped, and the entire rear of the car was given a rotund shape in an attempt to improve aerodynamics. It ultimately raced at the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans courtesy of Briggs Cunningham, who also fielded a trio of Chevrolet Corvettes — one of which managed to eke a class victory at the event. The E2A still exists to this day, although the E1A was scrapped by the factory.
