Nathan García takes a look at NYIAS!
Hey there! You might know me if you read Devil’s Rods at any point since it started. Thing is, I’ve been sent by the fellas at the Motornation HQ to take a look at what the manufacturers have been showing prior to the show; the Press Days start tomorrow and I’ve been invited as well, but I’ll have to work with what I know for now. Before meeting a certain Brit tomorrow, here’s what I think have been the highlights of the show so far!
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Shromet and the Appalachian. If it has the offroad worthiness its looks indicate, it should be a strong contender in the good crossover market (not counting crap on stilts). About the teaser, however…I must say I’ve been a bit offended considering my maternal grandmother comes from Mexico, but still, looks like a promising package.
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TSR Fallwing LSport V12. While the car looks a bit outdated, the twin turbo V12 under its bonnet sounds like it’s going to have some juice with 665hp. They didn’t tell us the price but eh, if the price is right, this could be a car to keep in mind.
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Nohda presented the Shourai, a little car with huge engines; offering a 2.5L V6 with snails and a 4.7L V8, it has meat and good one at it. At a pricetag of $35000 it is a car I personally would consider prioritary when looking for a sports car.
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GBSC presented the MV350. I don’t like the looks, I love the internals; these guys went in for the kill with a 680hp V10 in qualifying spec (Presumably?). I’ll just say MMMMMmaybe.
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Hah, I guessed it, Baltazar! I knew it was Stardust! Looks like they joined the sedan market with their Stardust. It looks quite good, if a bit too sober for me but by no means bad. Looks like it’ll have some meat with an option to make it AWD if you order one of the 2 liter engines. Will have to take a further look at it when they release the rest of the details.
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Audentia Regulus. The looks were a great attempt but they just need to make their headlights and tailights more modern, they feels quite outdated, ruining an otherwise good styling job. With a 4.6L V8 with 478hp it has meat for sure, with great fuel economy as well! The package it includes makes it sound like a good deal as well; I’ll keep an eye on these fellas.
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Znopresk Zanzibar! Looks like we have a big boy SUV here, in contrast with the crossovers we’ve been getting. Looks like they’ll be offering a good array of choices when ordering the car: drivetrain, engine, interior color…it’s unusual that they decided to mount the engine transversely, but hey, irrelevant to me to be completely honest. Looks like a damn fine package and one I’ll keep my eye on.
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Kasai lost their minds making a transverse V12 hot hatch. This is like throwing a hatchback and a supercar in a blender and drinking the outcome; and the idea, I’ll say, sounds good to me. AWD is a selling point to me as well. Meat is what this car doesn’t lack, but sadly the V12 edition will be limited.
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Evgenis brought us the Valkyrie. A premium hot hatch from $25000? Sign me the [censored] up. The looks are simple but functional and elegant, and they promise a broad range of options to customize our car, from paint to the rims and even the roof. The range of engines will include petrol, gas, diesel and hybrid with some meat to them and great fuel economy, and they’ll, more importantly, offer a six speed manual, and even some autonomous gadgets. I might consider this for a serious daily driver whenever I have to settle down.
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The Leviathan Maladus GTR. It looks like a sportier version of a car straight out of a spionage movie, and I think it works. But best of all, 830hp and almost 10000rpm. This guys are crazy. And I love it. AWD, active suspension, and best of all, the 830hp car gets 20MPG. That’s nuts. At only $110000 roughly, I’d consider this if you’re in the hunt for a hypercar.
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KHT Augusta Vision GT. While I feel it’s a tad overstyled, it looks futuristic and it is futuristic in the inside as well: a 2.2L I4 turbo with 315hp, 3.3 seconds (from 0 to 62 I assume?) and a fast lap time around the Nordschleife of 7:35 minutes. Good, good…
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AL Autos, this is going to be a sincere message; I feel you guys need to settle down with a lineup instead of constantly releasing new cars. You will not be able to develop a brand image at this rate and I, personally, don’t think that’s good.
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If I thought the guys at Znopresk and Kasai were crazy for mounting I6s and V12s transversely…the fellas at Iuriaro mounted an 8 liter V12 transversely, the madmen. Holy shit. Looks like this one will be a luxury edition of the Zanzibar, and I’m really digging the futuristic looks.
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PMI introduced the Puma concept. It doesn’t look too bad, if a bit too simplistic for my taste, and the rear needs some improvement to look more modern. However, seems like this is a promising sports concept with a small, turbocharged engine that prioritizes lightness. If the price is right, this might be a good platform to modify on too…only time will tell.
We’re not done, fellas! I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff. Will see you all then, and see what the show has yet to show us!