The Chicago Auto Show launched earlier this year, in the wake of blizzards, deep freezes and subzero wind chills. At face value the Chicago Auto Show is sometimes a bit of a boring offering for the typical enthusiast, long on utility and practical fare, while short on fun and sporting options. However, regardless of what is on display; for the car guys, enthusiasts, petrol heads, gear heads, whatever nomenclature you prefer, this show is a glowing beacon of hope. Unlike other regions of the US, here in Chicago area and much of the northern states in general, there is a very distinct ending to “car season”. The end is a nemesis to all those beloved project cars that ride too low to the ground, that drive power to only the rear wheels, wear sticky and soft compound tires meant only for warm weather, or are just too precious to be exposed to the risk of accelerated, salt induced corrosion. That nemesis is winter, and it is what sends hordes of those great rides; whether hopped up imports, gawk inducing exotics or old school muscle cars, into a prolonged hibernation behind closed garage doors. They sit hidden away, snuggled safely under car covers, a battery tender soothing their confidence with a reassuring “don’t worry buddy, you’ll be back out there in the spring, it'll be just around the corner”. As an automotive enthusiast in the midwest and Chicago specifically, the auto show is like our battery tender, offering us reassurance that spring is indeed just around the corner (that is, a couple of months away anyhow). It is an opportunity to walk among an expansive sea of pristine new vehicles. When you've spent months seeing very little sun in general, and most every car is covered in a filthy mix of black snow, salt deposits and road grime, you begin believing that perhaps you may never see clean new cars again. The bright lights above, plush carpets underfoot, and all the shimmering new cars around you will have you feeling like it is spring again. Some might take this for granted, but this time of year Chicago is a landscape awash in gray, black and the white of snow, it is like living a black and white movie. (Think “inkwell” on your instagram filter.) The Chicago auto show is an early taste of spring, and a welcome automotive oasis in the several “desert” months of winter where car shows just do not exist in this region. It is a dependable oasis as well, having been held for 115 years, that too gives us reassurance that it won’t be going anywhere soon.
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| Toyota had this Unicorn/Pegasus thing assuring us, "spring will be here...in three months...maybe" |
I mentioned earlier, that sometimes the Chicago Auto Show offerings can be a bit bland and boring. This was not the case this year. I am not sure if I was just riding high on the euphoria of having a media access pass (think Wayne's World movie when they have back stage passes), or just that we seem to be in a golden age of sporty, fun cars. I would tend to believe the latter is closer to the truth. There is no doubt that today the automotive world is awash with cars that offer any given combination of speed, sharp handling, and great styling, in a diverse range of price levels. Of course we all love to stare at and fantasize about the expensive stuff, so lets start with a few of those...
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| Stunning looks, from...a Toyota! |
Admittedly, it is a bit presumptuous to assume Toyota's FT-1 concept car will be expensive, or that it will even make production. But just look at it. It is gorgeous. It was the first thing I spotted when entering the hall, and I could sit and look at it for hours. It really is one of the best looking cars I have seen, so much that Toyota just have to put it into production, it would seem crazy not to. I've weighed in on my thoughts/speculations on the new FT-1 in the past in my piece on revvolution.com, so it's no secret I am a fan.
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| Told you I could stare at it all day! |
The only question for most, is whether this will be a new Toyota Supra, or the new Lexus LF-A if it finally does make production. It has the proper look, and if it is packing a BMW sourced, turbocharged straight-six engine under the hood as rumored, it could be amazing!
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| New Ford GT concept, the next evolution of the GT40 |
The Ford GT was much of the buzz surrounding the run up to the Chicago Auto Show, it had already been shown in Detroit but made an appearance here in silver. It was no disappointment, another truly good looking car, with some pretty extreme curves and angles. Hopefully it can retain many of the same extreme lines and contours in it's final production form.
Perhaps the most interesting detail with the new GT, is that it would be powered by a turbocharged V6 engine, part of Ford's ongoing line of Ecoboost engines. This is notable, as the previous GT's were powered by no less than 8 cylinders and more displacement than a Heineken mini keg. It is another indicator of the sea change occurring in the industry in general, as everyone moves toward making power in smaller, more efficient, cleaner running and often turbocharged engine packages.
The new Mercedes Benz GT-S was quite a good looking car that made it's debut this year. I have just now started seeing these on the street. I've never been a huge fan of Mercedes styling, but this one does it for me. I always felt they did a wonderful job of making cars that look incredibly expensive, but not necessarily the prettiest, this GT-S in my opinion achieves both quite well.
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| Porsche 918 Spyder, suit guys approve. |
The Porsche 918 Spyder is fast, very fast, extremely fast. Or so I am told, this super expensive super exotic is attainable only to small portion of the population. It is a member of the new generation of hyper cars, a group that has perverted the electric hybrid powertrain from something that soothes the earth with green fuel efficiency, to something that rips your face off with vicious acceleration. Such a sinister thing this car; it can launch with such violence, yet wear a smug grin on it's face when coasting around town with the demeanor of a golf cart. Hide your children, this and other cars like it, are not to be trusted. Sadly, it was the only one of this new breed of hybrid hyper cars on display.
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| Aston Marin V12 Vantage, getting a bit long in the tooth, but goodness is it still a great looking car. |
Another perk of media day, is access to the dream car gallery, normally cordoned off from the public during the actual show. Here, we actually get to walk right up, take a picture, sit inside, wipe drool off of...
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| They also brought this brown car. |
Perillo had a couple of new Lamborghini Huracan's on display, a much welcome refresher for the look of the current Lamborghini. The Huracan styling is just different enough, but still has that unmistakable Lamborghini shoutiness to it.
This Ferrari seemed more of an object of torment than anything else at the time. Convertible top down, with the name Ferrari California, I felt it was quite insensitive to the suffering of the city around it, enduring 15 degree temperatures. We'll break here, as there was a ton to see, I'll follow up with more of the attainable and affordable options next post, thanks for reading!
- written by: Robert Sixto
- photos by: Hex Hernandez
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