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Payne: Here’s my Top 10 from the LA Auto Show
Posted by Talbot Payne on November 25, 2024
Los Angeles — Auto shows are past their peak, but they are still great shopping malls. Better than your average mall, in fact: You can test the products outside.
Like Detroit and New York, the 2024 LA Auto Show has lost a number of automaker booths, including those from Audi, BMW, Mini, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, Polestar, Infiniti, Mercedes, Mazda and Porsche (though local dealers did a nice job filling in for the latter). But the anchor automakers are still there — Chevy, Jeep, Ram, Ford, Toyota, Honda, VW, Hyundai, et al — and, like a mall, there were plenty of cool boutique stores in between.
Best of all, there’s lots of action outside thanks to LA’s balmy weather (oof, Detroit is going to be chilly in January). You can test drive everything from a Subaru to a Cybertruck — and even take a self-driving Jaguar to the show courtesy of Waymo.
Here are my Top 10 vehicles from the show:
Nilu
Every auto show needs hypercars and LA’s standout is the limited-edition Nilu. The V12-powered rocket is an analog reaction to today’s hybrid, forced-induction, 1,000-horspower cyborgs. This is an old-school, mid-engine beauty powered by a normally-aspirated engine and good ol’ stick shift between the seats.
Built around a carbon-fiber tub, the 2,645-pound Nilu features gorgeous styling, as you’d expect, from designer Sasha Selipanov, whose resume includes the Bugatti Chiron, Koenigsegg CC850 and Lamborghini Huracán. His company, Nilu27, is adorably named by combining the names of his daughters — Nika and Lucia — and the number of his favorite race driver, Gille Villeneuve.
Behind the cockpit is an adorable, exposed V-12 engine developed by New Zealand’s Hartley Engines — complete with snake exhaust reminiscent of 1960s Formula One cars. The specs? 1,070-horsepower at a screaming, 11,000 RPM, 2-second 0-60 mph time and 248-mph top speed. Fifty-four will be built for a cool $2.8 million each.
Chevy Corvette ZR1
Or you can put down a deposit on a $200,000 ZR1 making 1,064 horsepower. The King of ‘Vettes is on display for its first major auto show and it’s dressed in yellow just like the King of Beasts.
The Chevy Corvette ZR1 made its auto show debut in LA with eye-catching yellow paint and 1,064 horsepower. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
This lion sports huge front and side air scoops, and a menacing black tail — er, wing — out back. Unlike the track-focused Nilu, the engine isn’t exposed — since you can use it as a daily driver — but underneath is a high-revving, twin-turbo V-8.
Ford Maverick Lobo
Ford’s affordable entry-level pickup just keeps on giving. This is an all-wheel-drive pickup with the soul of a Focus RS hot hatch. Lobo steals the RS’s twin-clutch out back for maximum traction (and drifting), throws on wicked 19-inch black aero wheels, and slams the chassis to the ground.
Equipped with Mav’s spunky, 238-horse, 2.0-liter engine option, the pickup aims to eat Miatas at autocrosses.
Jeep Wagoneer S
Don’t be fooled by the Wagoneer name. This is not a variation on the giant truck-based mega-ute, but Jeep’s first all-electric compact SUV aimed at the Tesla Model Y.
Bearing signature Jeep elements like a seven-slot fascia and Uconnect infotainment system, the S stands for speedy with a 0-60 mph dash in 3.4 seconds. It’ll also clean out your wallet in a hurry starting at $72k.
Hyundai Ioniq 9
Ioniq is redefining Hyundai with an upscale EV sub-brand. The 9 joins the 5 hatchback and 6 sedan in the Ioniq lineup and bears familiar cubed lighting touches. Inside, it’s a different animal with three roomy rows for the family, a moving center console and panoramic roof.
With around 300 miles of range, the 9 will require a long charging stop on a road trip, so the kids can stretch their legs.
Kia EV9 GT
Not to be outdone, Hyundai’s sister brand Kia stays one step ahead with a performance version of its own three-row EV.
The EV9 GT sports 510 horsepower and a 4.9-second 0-60 sprint so you can get to the next charging stop more quickly.
Volkswagen Tiguan
The LA Show is all abuzz over the ID.Buzz, a high-tech, electric resurrection of the iconic VW Microbus. But at a lofty $60k, the Buzz will only be affordable to a few.
The ID.Buzz is VW’s show-stopper in LA but the redesigned Tiguan, left, combines sharp styling, practicality and a reasonable price. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
At half that price is an all-new model of the brand’s meat-and-potatoes Tiguan SUV. Now based on the same platform as the Golf GTI hot hatch, Tiggy should be more fun to drive — including a horsepower boost to 201.
With sleek styling, this is the most attractive VW SUV in a long time.
Tesla Cybertruck
This is Hollywood and the Cybertruck looks like is just rolled off a sci-fi movie set. Pick your visual analogy — trash compacter, door stop, cheese wedge — the stainless steel, exoskeleton-chassis Cybertruck looks like nothing else on the road.
The Tesla Cybertruck looks like nothing else on the LA Auto Show floor, or on the streets outside, for that matter, where show goers can get a ride inside the unconventional electric pickup. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
And with Tesla’s familiar, spare screen layout, it looks like nothing else inside either. The Cyertruck is front and center at the Tesla stand — but you can also drive it around the Convention Center outside. The Tesla is one of dozens of cars available to drive, including electric Polestars and quick Subaru WRXs.
Ineos Grenadier
Like the Nilu to ZR1, Ineos is the yin to Cybertruck’s yang. The Grenadier is an old-school off-road brute.
No fancy screens or exoskeleton here, just an all-terrain-tire clad, ladder-frame SUV that can run through walls. Engineered in Austria, built in France and named after a London pub owned by the Ineos conglomerate, Grenadier turns the clock back to ‘80s Land Rovers.
Tesla/Waymo
Next to the Cybertruck at the Tesla display is the brand’s Robotaxi, scheduled for 2026 release at $30k.
You can see a prototype of Tesla’s promised Robotaxi at the LA show. Or to experience autonomous driving now, step outside and hail one of Waymo’s self-driving Jaguars. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The fully autonomous vehicles features a pair of seats, roomy hatchback, and single screen. And no steering wheel.
Unlike Cybertruck, you can’t take a ride outside. But you can hail an autonomous Jaguar with the Waymo app. Waymo is the show’s official ride-share partner, and its driverless Jags will take you anywhere across LA’s 72 square miles.
I hailed one back to my hotel. Maybe GM’s autonomous Cruise service will be available at the Detroit show some day.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.