5 Brands You Must Visit at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show

BMW, Audi, and Porsche all have big debuts planned for L.A. while AMG and Jaguar will focus on big performance.

Later this week, the 2018 Los Angeles International Auto Show will open to the media, followed by the start of public days on Friday. The 2018 L.A. show will host a long list of vehicle introductions from automakers around the world, but European brands will have an especially powerful presence this year, headlined by one of the greatest German sports cars of all time.

Jaguar’s Full Range

It looks as though Jaguar won’t have any big debuts in L.A., but fans of the legendary British brand will be able to check out the entire vehicle portfolio. This includes the models that have traditionally made the brand so popular, including the XJ, the XE, the XF and the sporty F-Type, but fans of the brand will also be able to experience the high performance F-Pace SVR, Jaguar’s first high performance SUV, along with their electric entries; the E-Pace and the I-Pace.

In total, Jaguar will offer something for everyone, from sport sedans to convertibles to performance SUVs to electric vehicles, so fans of the brand will get to experience all of the models in one convenient location.

AMGs Galore

Mercedes-Benz has a massive display at pretty much every major auto show around the world and Los Angeles will be no different. Fans of the Benz brand will be able to check out dozens of vehicles, spanning the company’s entire range of offerings, but the spread will be particularly excited for fans of high performance German motoring.

The AMG division will have at least seven vehicles on display, including the GT 53, the GT 63 S, the GT 63 S Coupe, the S 65 Cabriolet, the CLS 53, the E 53 Cabriolet and the C 43 Cabriolet. There could be others as well, but those are the vehicles confirmed on the LA Auto Show website, so if nothing else, fans of the Mercedes AMG lineup will be able to get close-up-and-personal with those seven high performance machines.

BMW Debuts a Little of Everything

It looks though BMW will have the biggest collection of new vehicle debuts with six introductions planned for the 2018 L.A. Auto Show. As is the case with Mercedes-Benz, BMW looks to show off the whole model range, but they will also debut new vehicles in several different categories.

For those family-minded buyers, the X5 Sport Activity and X7 Sport Activity will debut in the City of Angels. Fans of small, sporty sedans will be excited to meet the new M340i, roadster fans are sure to love the new Z4 M40i and all BMW enthusiasts are sure to be excited to meet the new 8 Series coupe and convertible in person.

Audi’s Tesla Fighter

Audi will take a different approach to high performance debuts at the 2018 Los Angeles International Auto show with the introduction of the e-Tron GT concept four-door electric performance coupe. While called a coupe, this four-door Gran Turismo concept is expected to be designed on the Porsche Mission E platform, while possibly offering more power than the Porsche.

The e-Tron GT is expected to be the flagship performance machine of Audi’s electric vehicle push, so it could feature a unique drivetrain form the Mission E, relying on a three-motor system with dual powerplants on the rear axle. Regardless of what engine configuration Auto uses, the e-Tron GT concept should be a proper competitor to the Tesla Model S.

Porsche and the New 911

Porsche will surely have a big spread of high-performance machines, but the main attraction from Stuttgart will be the debut of the eighth generation 911. The company has teased the new sports car, showcasing the lines of the next 911 in a thrilling teaser, but beyond what we could see in that short video, it is unclear what to expect.

We know that there will be some evolutionary exterior design changes coupled with improvements on the inside, but we will have to wait and see what surprises Porsche has planned for the drivetrain of the new 911. In any case, this will be one of the hottest debuts at the 2018 L.A. show for sure.

Join the Team Speed forums now!

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

Facebook   Twitter