This was a surprise second showcar from Citroën at the Paris show. The car is the result of a partnership between Citroën and Polyphony, designers of the multi-million selling driving simulation game Gran Turismo 5. In the game, GTbyCITROËN features an electric drive train powered by a fuel cell and Citroën claim they are the first manufacturer to design a car specifically for the virtual environment, although CDN remembers the Toyota MTRC concept of 2002 followed a similar path.

Designed by Gilles Vidal's advanced concepts team - led by exterior designer Takumi Yamamoto - the pearl white GTbyCITROËN is notable for the way it offers a raft of elegantly-resolved solutions that move the debate forward for the generic mid-engined supercar fomat. There's an overall theme of overlapping mobius strip-type surfaces that weave and interlock together in a most satisfying way. Of particular note is the way the rear fenders wrap over to meet in the center of the roof and are sliced in such a way as to produce a pair of chevron-shaped air exits when seen from the rear. The front end features vertical side blades, as on the Hypnos and C-Metisse, with slim blue LED headlamps hung from the top surface. Note the pronounced snout, not unlike a Maserati GranTurismo (ironically!) and fenders that have an unusual peaked top surface.

The interior, designed by Pascal Grappey, is entered by McLaren-type gullwing doors. It appears wonderfully baroque, with an IP that comprises three layers of copper metal and a tiny red-colored F1 style wheel containing a readouts screen within it. In addition, the two upper wings of the IP fold in to meet a head-up display screen in front of the wheel. The center console is orientated towards the driver and contains a series of toggle-type switches set in billet steel. Meanwhile, the door lining has a rolled leaf armrest in milled copper. This is a true fantasy showcar but one that is beautifully modeled and resolved.

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The Kiyora is one of those cars that at first sight don't immediately grab you, yet on closer inspection contain a wealth of new ideas that as a sum are highly impressive. Developed at Mazda's MDE studio outside Frankfurt, the theme of this concept is based around water, as evidenced in the water droplet side profile, window shapes and the exterior color. The ‘flow' theme from the Ryuga and Nagare concepts has been shrunk to fit these short and tall proportions and appears to work OK but one of best views of the car is from above, where the cantrails and rear lamps work well against the glass areas to create a real feeling of water flow. However, some designers we spoke to commented that, whereas the latest Mazda concepts from USA and Japan have taken Mazda's flow theme into new realms of 3D form language, this concept seems to resort to conventional applied graphics to provide the flow elements within the design.

In this respect, the interior is more impressive, as it integrates a number of genuinely new ideas. The vee-shaped IP in front of the driver uses liquid skin display technology. "It's conceived to ripple like water when you touch it" explains interior designer Gregory Vera. "Icons bounce off each other as if floating in water. It's a logical next step in intuitive feedback". In addition, the sloping rear bulkhead at first appears to contain no seats but closer inspection reveals two ‘hidden' rear seats made of a new knitted polyester fabric that stretches when ones sits on it but retracts to form a single rear bulkhead when not occupied, a bit like a traditional deckchair.

The Kiyora also channels rainwater from the roof into an activated carbon filter and then into a drinks bottle that sits between the seats, just below the cantilevered center console.

This was a surprise launch from BMW and less of a concept than merely a preview of the forthcoming production model. Shown here as an exterior mock-up only, the X1 will be built off same platform as the Mini Crossover, also shown here this week. Comparing the two cars, one sees the similarity in basic proportions but whereas the Mini takes steps to visually shorten the hood, the X1 has multiple hood feature lines to lengthen it as much as possible.

Initial impressions of the X1 are, firstly that it's a conservative BMW and, secondly, that it doesn't appear much smaller than an X3. Dimensionally there's only 108mm in it so there appears to be potential for a lot of overlap here. The biggest difference is in the form language, which is softer in every way than the X3 but includes a number of somewhat whimsical feature lines to spice up the design and differentiate it further from existing X3 and X5 models.

Most obvious of these is the secondary ‘Hoffmeister kink' line on the C-pillar that fades out then reappears as a subtle indented line curving through the doors and ending at the repeater lamp. There's a similar random dropping line outboard of the front headlamps too.

In many ways it would have been nice to see BMW being a bit braver with this X1, as it will be the first premium ‘baby SUV' in the market and has a chance to re-define the existing SUV aesthetic. As it is, it underwhelms as a design but with all the latest BMW technical hardware on board it at least won't have penalising fuel bills, so it's sure to have strong sales potential with fashion-conscious buyers keen to trade down from larger SUVs.