As Aston Martin celebrates its centennial this year, and the Ford Mustang its 50th anniversary, carmakers have been looking to the future, revving up rollouts of new supercars and iconic designs at the recent Beijing and New York auto shows.
The Ferrari California T, for instance, made its Asian debut at Auto China at the end of April, a turbocharged and more crisply styled version of the young classic (replete with a new “prancing horse” logo modeled on the traditional Chinese imperial seal marking the Lunar year of the horse). On the other side of the world, meanwhile, another stallion, the Mustang, was also looking sleeker in a new iteration displayed on the observation deck of the Empire State Building for the New York International Auto Show.
With China set to potentially replace the United States as the largest premium car market as early as 2016, according to a recent McKinsey report, luxury automakers are focusing more than ever on shiny new supercars and luxury sedans aimed at new customers. In Beijing, where more than a thousand vehicles were showcased from April 21 through 29, these ranged from the (relatively) affordable California T—which received 2014’s “Most Beautiful Automobile Award China” at an event organized by Car and Driver magazine—to the new version of Bugatti’s Veyron Type 18 “Black Bess,” of which only three will be made, and sold for $3.61 million each.
Also in Beijing, BMW unveiled its regal new 9 series Vision Future Luxury concept car, with a view to starting production in 2016 and rivaling Mercedes-Benz’s upcoming, slightly more muscular S600 Maybac. For its part, Mercedes presented the SLS AMG Coupe Black Series, with its iconic gull-wing doors, to be produced in an edition of 10.
In New York, Aston Martin was taking an opposite tack with its Vantage GT, which at $99,900 becomes the lowest priced option in the marque’s lineup, and a potential alternative for Porsche 911 buyers. Featuring a number of cosmetic touches that differentiate it from other Aston models, the Vantage GT will be available in a variety of race track-inspired paint and graphic options, and should begin deliveries in the third quarter of 2014.
Another high-profile debut in New York was Chevy’s supercar, the Corvette Z06 convertible, which aims to bring the experience of driving a race car to the road. Other highlights at the show, held at the Javits Center from April 18-27, included a 1971 Ford Gran Torino customized with 3D printing; a 2015 McLaren 650S Spider with a new vertical, smartphone-like dashboard; the Jaguar F-Type coupe, sporting a more gently sloping, delicate roofline than its roadster cousin; and, of course, the 2015 Mustang GT. Ford will build 1,964 special editions of the car (in honor of its 1964 birthday), and which will be available in white or blue with either manual or automatic transmission.
To see BLOUIN Artinfo’s round-up of highlights at recent auto shows in New York and Beijing, click on the slideshow.
