Los Angeles Motor Show: The Hottest Cars Launched This Week

This is the ‘entry-level’ model for Porsche’s new all-electric flagship, and while it’s not quite as outrageously quick as the Turbo variety, it still manages 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds. At £15k cheaper, it's a pretty tempting alternative.

With the Taycan, Porsche has managed to successfully overcome two concerns around electric cars: for one, it drives like a sports car, and also offers real world practicality on the charging front. This 4S can travel 2,100 miles in 24 hours, including charging time, though we’d recommend queuing up some good podcasts before testing that number out.

This monster SUV is officially the fastest SUV around the Nürburgring circuit – a record that really means something in the ever-competitive car industry. And at 7m 42s seconds, it’s faster than many specialist sports cars.

Propelled by a 4-litre twin turbo estate offering up 592hp, it carries a very deliberate air of menace, thanks to its black grille, razor sharp lines and taut road position. The overall impression is of a car that might start a fight if you looked at it for too long. And we kind of like it. It will cost north of £120,000 when it hits the UK next spring.

Looking like an old Land Rover Defender that’s been customised by a rapper in the post-apocalypse, this all-electric pick-up from American brand Bollinger (no relation to the champagne house) ticks a lot of boxes – speed, load-carrying, indestructibility, plus smart charging options and a fully configurable body shell. Built in Michigan next year, they’ll be on the roads – and off them – in 2021.

Lexus’s best-looking car, the silky LC500 coupé, belatedly gets the convertible treatment, and it looks the business. Initially only available in a 5-litre V8, much engineering work has been done to convert the coupé into roofless form and maintain both its looks and its feel on the road. It will be available in time for summer next year.

The big announcement of the show is Ford’s first ground-up all-electric Mach-E – a crossover SUV that will leverage the pedigree of its coolest car, the 55-year-old Mustang. It feels like a canny move from Ford, who must know it pays to make electric cars as desirable as possible in order to persuade customers to make the switch.

The four-door version of BMW’s flagship coupé is powered by the same 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 and promises matching performance numbers – that means 3.3 seconds to 62mph. Its extra space and rear legroom will put it up against the Porsche Panamera and the Mercedes AMG GT63 4-Door in the off-a-shovel stakes.

Announced in China over the same week as the LA Auto Show, Aston’s long-awaited entrant in to the SUV market couldn’t come at a better time, given the brand’s value has dropped nearly 75 per cent since its IPO. Given the success Bentley, Porsche and most recently Rolls-Royce have had in this market, the DBX has huge potential, and it certainly delivers on looks – SUVS don’t tend to be beautiful, but this DBX might just have managed it.

In another part of LA, Tesla’s glitzy unveiling of its brand new “cybertruck” may have made headlines for its not-quite-bulletproof windows, but purely on design terms, you have to kind of applaud the audacious, brutalist, even post-apocalyptic looks of this brand new model ,which intends to disrupt the beloved American pick-up truck market.

Elon Musk suggested James Bond's Lotus Esprit was an influence for its pointy design, which you'd think may soften slightly by the time it hits the roads in late 2021. The entry level model promises 250 mile range at under $40,000. Just don't expect it to work underwater.

Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more delivered straight to your inbox

SIGN UP