Los Angeles Auto Show 2021
Almost like old times
Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS 3
© press-inform – the press office
The American auto shows this Corona year flopped. At the end of the year, the Los Angeles Auto Show is doing a lot better, even if the big innovations are missing from Europe. Almost everything is electric – apart from a few high-performance athletes and mighty luxury SUVs.
Porsche is flexing its muscles once more on the Pacific at the end of the automotive year. While other European automakers have long since shown the cold shoulder at the former image fair in autumn in California, things look completely different with the Zuffenhausen-based company. At its designated favorite trade fair, Porsche is not only presenting the final derivative of the bulging Taycan series – including the estate version of the Sport Turismo – with the GTS, but also the wild cherry on the in-house motorsport cream with the 718 Cayman GT4 RS. 500 hp, a top speed of 315 km / h and a concealed racing license let the sportiest of all Porsche Cayman now put the once so overpowering 911 GT3 on the skin. One of the direct competitors is also setting an exclamation point in the Los Angeles Convention Center: General Motors is showing its impressive sports version of the Corvette Z06 – with a 670 hp V8 without any thought of electrification.
As much as Porsche is pounding on the drum and putting its new models in the right light on what is probably the most important market, it looks just as thin with the other companies from Europe. Most manufacturers have said goodbye to the international auto shows outside of China and the new electrical brands such as Tesla, Nio or Rivian also have a different focus. The situation is different with the Hyundai Group, which is represented with its two volume brands Hyundai and Kia at the LA fair more confidently than ever. A real show is the Hyundai Seven, a luxury crossover that is well worth seeing and shows where the Koreans want to go in the next few years – in the premium segment. “The Seven demonstrates our creative vision and the progressive technical development for the future of electrified mobility,” says Jose Munoz, CEO of Hyundai Motor North America, “its innovative interior, the environmentally friendly drive train and the outstanding safety and comfort functions show how great will be the future for Hyundai’s SUV customers. ” The crossover, well over five meters long, is based on the in-house Electric-Global Modular Platform, a special BEV architecture and, like the smaller Ioniq 5, draws attention to itself with a cozy interior and striking LED lighting units. With the 350 kW charger, the luxury SUV can recharge its battery pack from 10 to 80 percent in 20 minutes – up to a maximum range of almost 500 kilometers.
It looks a bit too similar with the Kia EV9. The EV9 is a twin model of the Hyundai Seven and so you might wonder why a company is showing the supposed sister vehicle at the same fair just a few hundred meters away. The Kia EV9 looks even more pleasing than the view of the Ioniq 7 and is much closer to reality. Chief Designer Karim Habib: “We have clearly formulated our intentions – to become a leading global provider of sustainable mobility solutions – and today we are proud to show the world our electric SUV study. It combines a highly developed emission-free drive with a cutting-edge exterior design and a contemporary interior based on innovative technology. ” But even the overlapping trade fair appearance does not change the fact that the Koreans in Los Angeles are the ones who set the tone. While the Europeans, apart from Porsche and Jaguar Land Rover, have largely said goodbye to the US trade fair business, other Asians are playing big alongside the Koreans. More than ever, Vinfast will be there with the new German CEO Michael Lohscheller, who not only announces the two new electric SUV models VF e36 and VF e35 at the auto show, but also announces the US headquarters of the Vietnamese group in Los Angeles. “Our future is electric and with the two new SUVs we will come to Germany in the fourth quarter of 2022,” confirms the former Opel CEO.
Mazda is showing its new crossover for the US market with the CX-50 at the Los Angeles trade fair. The CX-50 is the first Mazda to be manufactured from the new Mazda-Toyota cooperative plant in Huntsville / Alabama. A big number in the USA is Subaru and so it is not surprising that the booth of the all-wheel drive Japanese is by far the largest at the American exhibition. To be seen for the first time: the Subaru Solterra as a twin model of the electric Toyota bZ4X, which is also to be marveled at for the first time in the metropolis on the Pacific. Nissan, which has almost disappeared into oblivion in Europe, shines significantly more in Downtown Los Angeles with the electric crossover of the Ariya and the cool Nissan Z than in our part of the world.
A few meters away, the new luxury SUV Lexus LX 600 gets a lot of attention, with models like the Lincoln Navigator or the likewise new Range Rover meeting two of its worst competitors in a trade fair hall. A rather endless story seems to be that of the Fisker Ocean. Once again, Henrik Fisker shows the production version of his electric SUV. But it is still not clear whether and when the crossover, which is well worth seeing, will one day hit the international markets. It looks better with the electric Ford F-150 Lightning. It could become a real game changer in the US. With more than 150,000 pre-orders, the best-selling US car of the past four decades is fueling hopes for the big switch to the electric trend from many other manufacturers, including those outside of Tesla. But that started a long time ago – more than ever at the Los Angeles Auto Show 2021.