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At first glance, the Audi e-tron Spyder unveiled in Paris might appear to be just a topless version of the e-tron Coupe shown in Detroit. The most significant difference concerns the drivetrain. Whereas the e-tron Coupe was a pure EV, with an electric motor driving the rear wheels, this latest e-tron concept is a plug-in hybrid that sends power to all four corners in a system that Audi calls e-quattro.

Back in 2008 Audi began work on project Anniversario, a supercoupe that was meant to highlight the firm's centenary in 2009 with a debut at the Pebble Beach Concours weekend. But then the stock markets collapsed, overt celebrations were no longer en vogue, and at the rather subdued 100 years of Audi party we witnessed the debut of the socially and environmentally more compatible zero-emissions R8 e-tron. A mere twelve months later, however, the global economy has recovered (somewhat), Audi is almost three quarters through yet another record year, and the brand motto Vorsprung durch Technik (Advantage through Engineering) can again be advertised by much harder-core products. As it happens, 2010 marks the 30th birthday of the Quattro 4WD system pioneered by the ingenious Ferdinand Piech, who fathered the iconic Ur-Quattro, which was unveiled at the 1980 Geneva auto show. The most extreme variant of the chunky four-seat coupe was the limited edition, short-wheelbase, plastic-bodied Sport Quattro that triggered all those famous world championship-winning rally cars. What could be a better source of inspiration for the new Quattro?

Back in 2008 Audi began work on project Anniversario, a supercoupe that was meant to highlight the firm's centenary in 2009 with a debut at the Pebble Beach Concours weekend. But then the stock markets collapsed, overt celebrations were no longer en vogue, and at the rather subdued 100 years of Audi party we witnessed the debut of the socially and environmentally more compatible zero-emissions R8 e-tron. A mere twelve months later, however, the global economy has recovered (somewhat), Audi is almost three quarters through yet another record year, and the brand motto Vorsprung durch Technik (Advantage through Engineering) can again be advertised by much harder-core products. As it happens, 2010 marks the 30th birthday of the Quattro 4WD system pioneered by the ingenious Ferdinand Piech, who fathered the iconic Ur-Quattro, which was unveiled at the 1980 Geneva auto show. The most extreme variant of the chunky four-seat coupe was the limited edition, short-wheelbase, plastic-bodied Sport Quattro that triggered all those famous world championship-winning rally cars. What could be a better source of inspiration for the new Quattro?

The 2011 model year is looking like a fairly quiet one for the major European players. The Volkswagen group has new bookends, with a redesigned Jetta and the Sybaritic Bentley Mulsanne- plus a fresh Audi A8 in between. Both Swedish carmakers enter 2011 with new owners and new sedans- the Saab 9-5 and the Volvo S60- to celebrate their new leases on life, and, of course Fiat returns with its tine 500.

Mazda's timing was perfect. In the late 1970s, British and Italian sports car makers were hanging by their fingernails, C3 Corvettes were aging ungracefully, Datsun's lovable Z-Car was evolving into the foppish 280ZX, and Porsche's 924 suffered from a hodgepodge of Volkswagen and Audi components. So the Mazda RX-7 that arrived in the spring of 1978 (as an early '79 model) was the answer to unspoken sports car dreams: it was attractive, fun to drive, and -- with a sticker as low as $6395 -- bargain priced. As a bonus, the RX-7 was powered by a rotary engine, which at the time was only one step down from a turbine as a source of wonder and amazement.