Up-and-comers
Alongside the glitzy, glamorous mega-exhibits from the world’s established major automakers, one of the joys of the L.A. Auto Show is the more obscure and newer brands that also take part. Smaller manufacturers and modifiers offer extreme expressions of automotive trends and tastes — while simultaneously hinting at future mainstream movements in the industry.
We took a look some of this year’s minnows, upstarts and curiosities.
Youabian Puma
Designed, engineered and built in L.A., the Youabian Puma is an exotic, beach-buggy-esque roadster with a curvaceous fiberglass and aluminum body and a removable top, as well as cartoonishly bulbous 44-inch tires. Powered by a racing-inspired V-8 and capable of doing 0 to 60 miles per hour in 5.9 seconds, according to its maker, the Puma nonetheless returns a claimed 22 miles per gallon during highway driving. Though the Puma is yet to go into production (and is not to be confused with the svelte Brazilian/South African sports cars of the same name), the man behind it, Kambiz Youabian, reports that a handful of pre-orders have been placed by pro athletes and Hollywood stars. So with any luck, you just might spot one on the street someday soon.
Via Motors
Utah-based Via Motors produces environmentally friendly extended-range electric vehicles (E-REVs) based on General Motors trucks, vans and SUVs which it brands “VTRUX.” Launched just three years ago, Via is no mom-and-pop operation; former GM vice chairman Bob Lutz (known as the father of the Chevy Volt) came aboard as Via’s chairman in 2011, and the company unveiled a high-volume production facility in Mexico last month. Via’s E-REV powertrain enables larger four-wheel-drive vehicles to drive 40 miles in almost-emissions-free all-electric mode and to achieve a full range of 400 miles between fill-ups. Via Motors’ auto show exhibit includes its new 402-horsepower E-REV truck, which is available for test drives.
Saleen Automotive
Founded by former racing driver Steve Saleen in 1984, Corona-based Saleen Automotive creates drool-inducing high-performance vehicles for both track and street. Models like the legendary Saleen S7 and S7 Twin Turbo supercars have won multiple GT championships and even broken records at France’s storied 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Although Saleen was until recently an original equipment manufacturer, the super-sexy S7, produced between 2000 and 2009, remains its sole “clean-sheet” (i.e., not based on an existing chassis) car to date, and the company is currently a “secondary manufacturer” of heavily modified Ford Mustangs, Dodge Challengers and Chevrolet Camaros, all of which start at around $39,000. In addition to completed conversions, Saleen is showing off superchargers, body and interior parts, and apparel at the show.
BRP Can-Am Spyder
The Can-Am Spyder is that distinctive three-wheeled motorcycle (two wheels at the front, one at the rear) occasionally seen on California roads. Launched in 2007, the Spyder is the first on-road vehicle made by Bombardier Recreational Products, a long-established Canadian company best known for its Ski-Doo snowmobiles and Sea-Doo watercraft. Though sold under the Can-Am badge also worn by BRP’s off-road competition motorcycles in the 1970s and ’80s (and currently worn by a range of ATVs), the $15,000-and-up Spyder is an utterly contemporary asphalt-hugging innovation that boasts antilock brakes and traction and stability controls. BRP dubs its outlandish Y-framed wonder a “roadster” — you can decide for yourself at the show.
Shelby American
Shelby American was founded by legendary race car driver Carroll Shelby three years after his career-crowning win at the 1959 Le Mans race. Now headquartered in Las Vegas, it builds muscular Ford-based custom vehicles, including a 575-horsepower take on the SVT Raptor truck; the Mustang-based Super Snake, Shelby 1000 and GTS; and a radically reimagined Focus; as well as component cars including “continuation” versions of the celebrated AC Cobra and replicas of a mid-1960s Ford GT40. This prolific builder has released new models every year since 2005, so expect something fresh and thrilling from Shelby American at the Convention Center, including performance parts (from wheels to gauges), helmets, jackets and even die-cast toys.
—Paul Rogers, Brand Publishing Writer
