2019 NAIAS Pre-Show Coverage
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> We're here, live, in the Motor City. This year, we're finally here for the first ever report of NAIAS, since our creation of [Drivers.com](http://discourse.automationgame.com/t/drivers-com-the-internets-auto-guide/28425) in 2018. Look at all those carmakers have released their new creations in NAIAS this year, they are all fabulous! With hours left for public showcase, let us look at the cars the automakers revealed in this show!
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Birmingham Birckham SC
Birmingham
Firstly, there’s Birmingham’s latest creation, the uncreatively named Brickham Sports Coupe. The coupe claimed to return to a time when handling matters more on a sports car, and what’s more it has a pretty great looks and much refined than we thought. And speaking of refinement…
Ursula F7
Ursula
…the famed German automaker Ursula finally released their full-size luxury sedan, the F7, after a failed attempt in 2006. The all-new luxury sedan comes with new engines, loads of tech and of course, a cleaner, crisper design, and tries to stun those SUV-craving people to buy their car with crazy marketing terms like “Perfection Achieved”. We hope this will be ending up awesome than we expected.
The F7 may be their biggest thing from Ursula this year, but they can’t forget to mention all of their other cars. The G3 600GT sports car, after a year of long wait, was now released with upgraded suspension and a more powerful engine. The F5 now gets better looking thanks to SddF (Studio di design Fiorentino), but then a full-touchscreen infotainment system (almost) hinders the car’s great looks.
Also, Ursula also announced their plans to join the next year’s FIA WEC LMP1 race, with all-new rules and regulations, and in the meantime launched a new prototype. Why now? 2020 is like 11 months away, and I’m ain’t saying the start of 2020’s LMP1 season, why do you bother to release it?
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AL Autos Quaestus
AL Autos
AL Autos launched a car that sounds like an EV but it isn’t. Yes, that’s right. The Irev, a sport-oriented, 5-door hatchback. With a questionably designed front. The car can be beautiful, but I have no idea why they choose an edgy front for the car. At least the rear is great tho.
The Quaestus sedan may have a more “normal” name and a better-looking front compared to the Irev, but I’m not sure why a C-Class competitor can have such an heavy weight. I can’t say the car will have worse handling than its competitors, but then it will certainly be improved by AL themselves.
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Evgenis Sphnix
Evgenis
SUVs. We have loads of them. And the Sphinx is just one of them. Except this British SUV has other intentions. Unlike the AL’s extremely edgy design, the Evgenis Sphinx has a pretty face, with loads of tech and a better drive to match, with a focus on eco-friendliness, thanks to man made leather and hybrid powertrains. Expect this car to be brilliantly executed. But the price…not so much to say. Maybe because the car is targeted to rich hipster vegans…scratch that, I’m just kidding.
Huangdou CC
Huangdou
With a name literally mean “soy bean”, and being Chinese, we could assume that it’s new cars will be shitty. Nope. The new CC is now revived as an SUV, instead of a convertible hatchback like the original models, tries to be better than its Japanese competitors with a big, sexy grille, loads of options and an in-car assistant with holograms, that can turn into an anime girl, known as Yumi. (She’s cute tho, BTW) Much better than Ursula Guide on the F7, I’d say.
Not one, but two. The new SC is just as cool as the CC. This time, it’s a sports coupe fitted with an economical but potent engine and much better looks. These cars can prove that China can make great cars, period.
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Harada Sereva
Harada
Moving on to Japanese automaker Harada, their Hercule (without an “s”) pickup and the Topisa SUV gets a new…facelift with more features. I’m okay with the Topisa, but the Hercule…I know the Japanese automakers are much more conservative when it comes to making cars, but with other automakers launching all-new cars to the show, why just stop there?
Except I was wrong. Harada launches new cars too. The Sereva sports car is now finally replaced this year, and it’s now quicker and more powerful than before.
On the other hand, Rakuda, Harada’s luxury brand, created a much more uglier sibling to the Sereva, the SK. Compared to the more utilitarian Sereva, this has much more luxury kit and not enough info about the car.
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Studio di design Fiorentino TURBINA II Concept
Studio di design Fiorentino
Besides designing Urusla’s F5 concept, SddF themselves also have their own car to show. The Turbina II, pays homage to the ‘66 Turbina concept with a styling inspired by it. Just like the original, it’s powered by a turbine, except this time the turbine powers the electric motors instead of powering the car.
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Fuji Sceptre
Fuji Motorworks
Fuji’s newest creation, the Sceptre supercar is going to be a beast in the road. And we expect it will be powered by a V10 or at least a V8. Nope. Instead, a 2.5 liter 6-cylinder moves the car, generating a “measly” 449 hp. We hope this is a right decision for the car, since the car is much fuel-efficient compared to its competitors.
And nope, they aren’t done revealing cars yet. The new Conquest SUV has pretty good practicality, yet packed in a extremely boring design. Still, people will still buy it.
A sedan was also planned to launch, but for unknown reasons, Fuji decided not to release it. We’ll wait for Geneva then. Could be better, could be worse.
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Corsica Cheetah
Corsica
After the controversial last-gen Cheetah, and loads of spy pics, Corsica finally released the new Cheetah muscle car is now revealed. The new car finally returned to its roots with an 2 + 2 layout and of course, an V8. This is going to be epic, but only tests will tell.
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Okul S73
Okul Motorcars
The Estonian automaker finally released 4 neatly designed cars in Detroit. The S93 sports car is a small car with a big punch. It looks great, it drives great (in paper), and has all those things every good luxury driver’s sports car has.
The much larger S73 sedan, although it does not have the mass appeal of the Germans and the Japanese, the small sedan has its good things too, with an N/A engine, rather than the turbochargers literally everyone is using. Glad to see some variation to the competition.
And yes, downsizing strikes again. The S98 NH ditches the fabulous V10 for a boxer-6. Even more bad news, the fabulous V10 is going to end in 2020. Bad times. Now we wish the production car is better than we think. Speaking of motorsports, the other car on the show is the NH ARX, a turbocharged inline-4 race car, is the Estonian firm’s first ever motorsport outing for proving us that Okul is no slouch either.
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Tanaka Aventus
Tanaka
Tanaka finally replaced it’s Aventus full-size luxury sedan. Unlike the last gen, the full-size hatchback sedan has a big grille (although not as flashy as Huangdou’s CC), and it’s available with 2 (kinda) underpowered engine choices. At least the 5.0 S model has 460 hp, which is enough for most people.
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Gabatron Ville
Gabatron
On the opposite side, we have a city car named Ville, by Gabatron. It’s the perfect city car, with its compact size, good top speed, excellent safety and of course, a plan to make a larger model for carrying more people. Great job. But please give us the electric range of this car now or else the buyers could get something that is awful in battery range.
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Axuma DSF
Hokuto
Perhaps the biggest launch on NAIAS this year, Hokuto went all-out against Ursula and released themselves a new luxury brand, Axuma. That’s right, Hokuto now decides to compete in the luxury segment. Everyone, please be noted.
The new brand comes with 2 new cars, the SF executive sedan, and the DSF large SUV as Axuma’s first cars. The cars were neatly designed, loaded with tech and claimed to be better than its German competitors. More models are confirmed to released, and the Germans is now going to have sleepless nights.
Shromet Strasser
Shromet
Shromet released a new SUV yawn, the German-sounding Strasser. Okay, the name isn’t a problem at all, but all those power, technology and comfort for a good price. OK. We’ll see what happens next then.
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Murasaki Akari
Murasaki
Murasaki, originally an Japan-only automaker, has finally arrived to the international market with the all-new Akari supercar. Unlike Okul, this supercar is equipped with an N/A V10 creating 580 hp. But a transverse layout, on a V10 supercar? I’m not that sure about that.
Meanwhile, the Yasai SUV is also announced in this show. It doesn’t have the feel of other cars in the show, but it could be critical to the company’s expansion to the international market.
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Kyoki Pandora
Kyoki
The American car company with a Japanese name finally launched a gorgeous supercar, the Pandora. Twin turbo 4.5 V8, with 690 hp and a weight of 1413 kg does really sound good on paper, but is the drive counts. A lower powered version with much more comfortable suspension is coming soon, if you just want a GT instead of a supercar.
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GEC GD20
GEC
A new mid-sized family cars are the main highlight of GEC’s press release, which is the GD20, an “alternative of CUVs” according to the CEO of the company. What’s weirder than the car, is the wheels. 16-inch wheels as standard? Inb4 someone else says “HOW COME THOSE WHEELS ARE SO STUPIDLY SMALL” in the comment section. Still, nice try.
D&H Fallow Silhouette Car
Deer and Hunt
Deer and Hunt released a new race car, a.k.a. the Fallow “Silhouette Car”. Its got a V16 pushrod engine that is based from a truck. And they say it’s not done, implying the car should be better than it intended. We’ll wait for it for more news to come.
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LMC Tempest
Leviathan Motor Company
The Tempest luxury sports car wants to stand out against it’s competitors by making the design of the car better than most cars on the show and has an hardtop. Good looks can’t prove anything tho, but I’m sure it would thanks to it’s good performance and handling.
Zenshi Shinden X2
Zenshi
Somehow, another large sedan came to this show. This time is Zenshi’s facelifted Gundan, with an more aggressive appearance and a reworked V12 engine. And it costs less than your typical S-Class. Yeah, with an V12 of course.
The Shinden X2 supercar might sounds like some Gundam robot, but nope, it’s a V10TT supercar with a massive HP, 4-stage aero and an absurd asking price. What’s next, a real Gundam robot?
Auxuras STL
Auxuras
Is the Japanese really want to show off this year? But the newly released Auxuras STL, claims to have no physical buttons in car. For real. What’s the point of buttons anyway? /s
Besides the STL, the ITL Spec-V is also showcased at Auxuras’s own press event. While it’s not as “innovative” as the STL, but it has more power, and handles much more better.
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Bradford Model A
Bradford
The Model A is finally here, with a 300+ km/h top speed, and a horrible front end that makes the AL Autos Irev a beauty. Oh gosh. But in the other end of the spectrum, the Battaliga looks great, and drives great. But those tailpipes tho. It’s larger than my laptop, I say.
Martin-Wagner Stratus
Martin-Wagner
Somehow, they have made a decision to make their public showcase just several hours before the deadline. At least they did show us something special. The new Stratus is a big release to the company’s famous compact car, and they even shown loads of updates and engines to the car. But one big question: could it live up to it’s name?
Simge Pista X
Simge
Unexpectedly, Simge (short for Simulated Generated, and why its shortened name sound Korean to me) came to this show, and released the Pista X sports car and the Engima X sedan. To be honest, I even thought somebody just rebadged some older car and resell it, because they look a bit dated. Do your design better, Simge.
Oh yeah, I have forgot about the Portare SX too. Although I say the looks is quite outdated, but an 800+ hp flagship model sounds crazy as hell. Trust me.
That it for this year’s NAIAS. See ya’ll on Geneva!
More updates coming soon, stay tuned.
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