The LA Motor Show saw many fascinating new cars and a small handful of them could eventually make their way to India. Here’s a list of such cars.
The LA Motor Show has seen quite some action this year with many new concepts and car launches. The major participants included Toyota, Mercedes, Hyundai, Kia, BMW, and Audi. Although most of these cars were primarily for the North American market, a small handful of cars will also eventually make their way to India. Here’s some of them.
Hyundai Vision T
Hyundai unveiled the Vision T plug-in hybrid SUV concept at the LA Motor Show. While this is just a concept, the Vision T essentially previews the design of next-gen Tuscon SUV which is to debut soon. We have seen spy shots of the next-gen Tuscon and the front-end design draws a similarity with the Tucson. Also, this concept is hybrid SUV and so will be the next-gen Tuscon. The Vision T borrows various styling bits from the Kia Futuron concept.
Audi RS Q8
The RS Q8 is Audi’s answer to the Lamborghini Urus. Both are essentially based on the same platform. The Audi RS Q8 is powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine that develops a whopping 600PS of power and 800Nm of torque. The engine comes mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission that sends power to all four wheels via Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive tech. 3.8 seconds is all its takes for this brute of a machine to sprint from 0-100 kph. It will hit 200 kph in 13.7 seconds and has a top-speed of 250 khp. Considering that the Urus has done quite well here, Audi might consider to bring this to India as well. In fact, it could also be cheaper than the Urus is in India.
US-Spec Kia Seltos
Kia showcased the US-spec Seltos at the LA Motor Show. Visually, both cars are almost similar but the US-Spec car gets more rugged bumpers on both ends and larger dual-tone 18-inch alloy wheels. On the inside, the US-spec Seltos gets a floating touchscreen infotainment system instead of the one in India which comes integrated with instrument cluster. The rest of the cabin is identical. The bigger differences are in the mechanical front. The US-spec Seltos is powered by a 2.0L, naturally aspirated petrol engine with 150 bhp or a 1.6-litre turbo petrol unit which churns out 174 bhp and there’s a 7-speed dual clutch transmission available with this trim. It also gets an all-wheel drive system with a center locking differential. If not anything else, Kia might bring the AWD system to the India-spec Seltos at least.
Porsche Taycan 4S
Porsche has already confirmed that the Taycan Turbo and Turbo S are destined for India and are expected to hit our shores by early-2020. At the LA Motor Show, Porsche has unveiled the entry-level Taycan and that is the Taycan 4S. In fact, it is the Taycan 4S that makes the most sense for the Indian market. It would be cheaper than the top-spec Turbo S by a substantial amount in India, by almost half a crore. What you get is a downsized 79.2kWh battery pack pushing out 530PS along with a driving range of 463km. Sounds more than enough for India.
Porsche Macan Turbo
Porsche also unveiled the Macan Turbo at the LA Motor Show. Now, Porsche has already listed the Macan Turbo in their India website. Although the launch date is yet to be revealed, we expect the Macan Turbo to debut in India by next year. The Macan Turbo is powered by a 2.9-litre V6 engine that puts out 440PS and 550Nm. It will just take 4.3 seconds to do the 0-100 kph sprint and 4.1 seconds with the optional Sport Chrono package with a top-speed of 270kmph. Currently, the Macan is priced from Rs 69.98 to Rs 85.03 lakh in India.
Also Read : These One-Off Kia Seltos X-Line Concepts are Simply Stunning!
BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe
It is based on the 1 series and comes with a front-wheel drive setup. The 2 series Gran Coupe gets three engine options – a 1.5-litre, a 2.0-litre petrol and a 2.0-litre diesel paired with a 6-speed MT / 7-speed DCT/8-speed AT. Power output from these engines range from 140PS to a rather healthy 306PS. In terms of styling, the 2 Series Gran Coupe divides opinion. Firstly, there’s the ever growing kidney grille which is let’s say not the most aesthetic. The rest of the face look pretty much standard BMW and then when you go around the rear, its again being called un-BMW like. We expect BMW to bring in the 2 Series Gran Coupe to India by 2021.
Also Read : Here Are All the BMW Cars that Made a Noise at the LA Motor Show!
Mercedes GLE AMG/GLS AMG
Mercedes unveiled the AMG GLS 63 SUV and the GLE 63 SUV at the LA Motor Show. Being an AMG version, both the GLE and the GLS S gets the typical AMG bits like the panamericana grille and huge AMG bumpers at both ends with bespoke newly designed wheels. Both cars are powered by a similar 4.0-litre V8 biturbo engine which makes 611PS of power and 850Nm of torque. It also comes with an EQ Boost starter-generator running on a 48-volt electrical system which adds 21PS and 250Nm to those numbers. That’s a total of 1100Nm of torque. Although Mercedes hasn’t specifically said about them coming to India, we are sure it will eventually make it to our shores like most other Mercedes-AMG model.
