PARIS MOTOR SHOW: Ducati power for VW XL Sport

Last but not least to appear in a press-only evening held by the Volkswagen-Audi Group in Paris overnight was the exciting Volkswagen XL Sport.

A concept car combining the frugality of the Volkswagen XL1 with the power of the Ducati Panigale Superleggera, the impressive XL Sport produces 149kW of power from a 1198cc vee-twin liquid cooled engine.

As we reported right on 12 months ago, the XL1 Sport is not a hybrid at all. Gone are the slippery aerodynamic wheel spats at the rear and in their place are muscular Nissan GTR-style quarter panels, air intakes and a rear spoiler. A longer wheelbase complements the sport's car's wider and longer stance. But it's the drivetrain that underpins the guts-and-glory conversion of the fuel-sipping XL Sport. With the engine running through a seven-speed DSG the XL Sport can reach a top speed of 270km/h and will peel off a 0-100km/h time of 5.7 seconds. The motorcycle engine can rev to 11,000rpm to get there. As the 200,000,000th vehicle built by the company, the XL Sport is expected to steal the stage at tomorrow's Paris motor show.

Volkswagen wasn't the only brand in the group to get a look-in during the star-spangled occasion. A new model was presented from just about each of the 12 brands at its pre-Paris motorshow event. The event allowed journalists the chance of a sneak peek at the vehicles set to dominate the VAG stands tomorrow, with a heavy focus on electrification.

Audi headed the preview with its five-door TT Sportback concept, a vehicle similar in proportion to the Mercedes-Benz CLA. It's the third conceptual model Audi has shown off the TT line, and like regular TT variants is underpinned by VAG's MQB (modular) transverse architecture.

Billed only as a concept, Audi head Dr Ulrich Hackenberg says the concept is a "glimpse of a new model in the future TT family". The five-door variant shares similar styling cues to the coupe and roadster variants, but is 290mm longer overall and 120mm longer in the wheelbase. It is powered by a 2.0TFSI engine Audi says makes 294kW which should give the TT Sportback a 0-100km/h time of just 3.9 seconds.

The TT Sportback was followed by the much anticipated Ducati Scrambler. Harking back to the Italian brand's namesake of 1962, the Scrambler is not a retro bike, said Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali, but a "new brand that represents a new way of thinking about motorcycling".

A move upmarket saw Bentley's new Mulsanne Speed take to the stage, arriving with none other than Bentley CEO Wolfgang Durheimer in the backseat. Durheimer described the newest flagship of the Bentley brand as a car as much for those being driven as it was for the driver.

Durheimer went on to say that the Mulsanne Speed will get its important passengers "to meetings quickly", and with 400kW and 1100Nm, a 0-100km/h time of 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 305km/h, we're pretty sure he might be right.

The stage then took a trip back in time with a show of Kombis dating back to 1950. The parade of classic models served to introduce the T5 California Beach edition, which Commercial Vehicles CEO Eckhardt Shole says offers "unlimited freedom as standard".

Shole also introduced the already leaked Tristar concept, stating simply that the model offered both "the best features of the T series and a glance to the future of the Transporter"... though we're not sure the T6 will come standard with an Espresso machine.

Spanish brand Seat took to the stage next with a wagon version of its Octavia-sized Leon dubbed Xperience. The 4Drive (all-wheel drive) model arrives with the most powerful diesel engine to yet be offered in a Leon (138kW), and according to Seat president Jurgen Stackmann provides the "perfect blend of fun and emotion".

From one extreme of the brand to another, Bugatti president Wolfgang Durheimer introduced the sixth and final model of the Veyron Legends Series, a model devoted to the memory of Bugatti founder, Ettore Bugatti.

Promising the virtues of tradition, craftsmanship and fine engineering for which the brand is renowned, the special model will, like other Legends Series, be capped to a production run of three. The sixteen-cylinder engine still offers 894kW and promises a top speed of 432km/h, and while the front guards, bonnet and doors are sculpted from aluminium, the badges are coated in platinum.

But it was perhaps the silent introduction of the petrol-electric Lamborghini Asterion LPI910-4 plug-in hybrid that caused the biggest stir. CEO Stephan Winkelmann said the concept model embraced all of the "brand's visionary cutting-edge technologies, pushed its boundaries yet remained pure, offering only what you can't do without".

With the combination of V10 power and three electric motors the statement is rather questionable, however, the promise of a 0-100km/h time of just under three seconds means the half bull / half man Lambo is one we're more than keen to see make production.

The electrification of VAG models took a momentary pause as Czech brand Skoda introduced its third-generation Fabia light hatch. With traditional, albeit new engine varieties, the more stylish, slightly edgy new Fabia five-door was said by Skoda head Dr Winfried Vahland to offer all the functionality and spaciousness we've come to expect, with a more expressive, emotional design.

Styled similarly to the all-new Octavia, the Fabia weighs in at less than 1000kg, and promises even more comfort, better environmental credentials and more equipment than the outgoing model.

Porsche then took to the stage with its all-new Cayenne S E-Hybrid, the third model in the sports brand's portfolio to offer hybrid power. Porsche head Mattias Muller said the Cayenne S E-Hybrid continued Porsche's push toward sustainable motoring, adding that "mobility needs to be environmentally friendly and easy on resources" if we are to continue enjoying sporting vehicles.

The Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid combines a 305kW/590Nm 3.0-litre supercharged V6 petrol engine with an electric motor making 70kW. It will hit triple figures in 5.4 seconds, has a top speed of 243km/h yet sips just 3.4L/100km (combined) while emitting only 79g/km of CO2.

More electrification saw the Volkswagen Passat GTE arrive on stage with plug-in hybrid technology providing 115kW of petrol power with 85kW of electric power. Offered in sedan and wagon format, the Passat GTE is said to deliver up to 50km of all-electric motoring, or over 1000km when combining the efforts of the 1.4 TFSI petrol engine. The NEDC combined cycle figure for the Passat GTE is less than 2.0L/100km and fewer than 45g/km of CO2.

Volkswagen and its associated brands will unveil all these new models and concepts at the Paris show from later today, our time.