Another week, another motor show done and dusted. The New York Motor Show may not be the most glamorous or the biggest motor show of the year but it does always provide important new models for the upcoming year as well as hosting the World Car of the Year award ceremony (well done MX-5).
This year’s New York Show lacked a few outrageous concept cars we’ve come to expect from these types of events. Lincoln did have a gullwinged Navigator Concept to lure Americans away from the popular Cadillac Escalade but it’s a model the rest of the world won’t be getting.
Toyota also had the Prius Prime on display. Nothing to do with the Autobots or Amazon, it’s the plug-in hybrid variant of the new Prius complete with new styling. Toyota haven’t confirmed a NZ launch for it yet so let’s not bother with that. Also, it’s a Prius.
Subaru unveiled its new Impreza with styling that was apparently taken from the stunning Concept car shown at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show. However, the only similarities I can see between the concept car and production car are they share the same name and have four wheels.
Which is this list won’t feature any Priuses or Imprezas. Instead there’s a lot of topless models, an imaginatively named concept car, and a targa MX-5. Here’s my top 5 cars from this year’s New York Motor Show.
Mercedes-AMG C63 Cabriolet
Surprise, surprise here’s a Mercedes-AMG on this list. I’ve been eagerly waiting for this car since Mercedes said they were going to do a Cabriolet version for this generation C-Class. The last time Mercedes did a car like this was when it was still called a CLK. It’s still the same basic recipe though; powerful V8, soft top roof, seating for four, and rear-wheel drive.
By now you should be familiar with the C63’s stats but to freshen your memory there’s the choice of either a 470hp345kW C63 or a 510hp/375kW C63 S. NZ will be getting the latter, hopefully before next summer. It’ll be a tad slower than the coupe, 0-100 km/h is done in 4.2 seconds versus the Coupe’s 4.1 That’s due to the roof which can be operated at speeds of up to 50 km/h. The Cabrio weighs about 125kg more than the Coupe. Regardless this is my favourite C63 model because noise.
Audi R8 V10 Spyder
We’re heading into winter in NZ which means the North are going into their summer, which explains why a few cars shown at New York are convertibles. Here’s the topless R8 in all its sunny yellow glory. It’ll be powered by the same 5.2-litre V10 as the Coupe, meaning 540hp/397kW and 540NM of torque. 0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds and a top speed just shy of 320 km/h. Power is sent to all fours via a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Audi claims this new Spyder is 50 percent more rigid than the previous generation thanks to Audi’s new aluminium and carbon-fibre Space Frame. The R8 Spyder only weighs 1612kg, or less than a BMW M4. I’m probably in the minority but I’d rather have this than a Huracan.
Nissan GT-R (Facelift)
This is the first major update to the R35 since it was launched in 2007 . That’s 9 years. Hollywood actresses go through facelifts quicker than that. There’s been a few changes here and there done to the exterior; new bonnet, a more aggressive front bumper with extra intakes, larger grille, wider side sills, new wheel designs, and a higher rear diffuser. But inside are where the major changes are.
The GT-R’s interior has always been a point of criticism. It was just too ordinary and not befitting a car of the GT-R’s capabilities. The dash has been designed, going for a more streamlined look. It’s definitely not a chunky or a as button-crazed as before. Oh and the paddles are now fixed to the steering wheel rather than the column. It’s the little things.
Yes, a GT-R isn’t supposed to be the last word in luxury and comfort but if you’re going to be spending $180k on a car, even if its for an instrument of speed, it’s no bad thing to have a half-decent interior to sit in right? If you’re worried about the GT-R losing some of its performance fret not, Nissan have kindly added /20bhp/15kW upping total output to 570hp/419kW and titanium mufflers. This should keep people happy until the replacement by the end of the decade.
Genesis New York Concept
This isn’t a Hyundai. It’s probably got as much in common with your grandmother’s Getz as I do with Vladimir Putin. No, this is Hyundai’s luxury division’s vision (say that really fast 10 times) of what their future 3-Series/C-Class rival will look like. Not bad eh?
The concept is powered by a 2.0-litre petrol four with assistance from an electric motor. Combined producing a total of 240hp/180kW and 353NM of torque. Power is sent via a 8-speed auto to the… rear wheels. The production car (G70) could potentially come with a 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 pumping out a health 367hp/270kW and 510NM of torque. They’re ticking all the right boxes with this concept and I do hope the production car (G70) will closely resemble this.
Mazda MX-5 RF
I’ve probably taken up a lot of the internet droning on about how much I like the MX-5 so this should come as no surprise. I’ve covered much of the RF in a previous article but to recap the winner of World Car of the Year 2016 and World Car Design of the Year 2016 now has a hardtop targa variant. It’s a basically a Porsche 911 Targa for a fraction of the cost. It looks great and I’m sure it’ll be good to drive too. Such awesome, much wow.
Bonus: Honda NSX GT3
Okay, I know this is a ‘Top 5’ list but I couldn’t help myself. Just look at it. This is the GT3 spec NSX that’s going to compete agains the likes of the R8 GT3, 488 GT3, and Huracan GT3. It’ll be powered by the same 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 as the road-going NSX but without the hybrid all-wheel drive system. Instead it’ll be sending its petrol-fuelled power to the rear-wheels alone. No word on power but it’ll be around the 500hp/367kW ballpark. If this isn’t a sign that Honda are planning on doing a NSX Type-R then I don’t know what is. For the love of god Honda please make it look like this, especially the wing. It’s probably very unlikely that they will, but hey one can dream. Also, just look at it.
