AOL Autos Editor-in-Chief David Kiley highlights the latest cars and concepts at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. This year’s show features plenty of exciting new models like Ford’s Transit Connect Wagon, BMW’s i3 Coupe, Mazda’s clean diesel 6 and Volkswagen’s Beetle Convertible.
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The 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show was an eventful one, with almost 50 vehicles making their North American or Global debuts.
From souped up sports rides to EVs and hybrids, the show gave us a taste of every aspect of the industry right now, with some automakers, such as Hyundai, throwing in a few curveballs for good measure as well.
While we certainly recommend attending the show in person, if you can’t make it we have you covered. Included in this gallery are the top 10 cars as chosen by our editors.
Check out the best of the LA Auto Show by clicking on through!
Yowza.
There is only going to be 100 of these beauties available, but wouldn’t it be something to be counted as one of the owners of the 2014 Jaguar XFS-R.
Featuring a 550 horsepower 5-liter supercharged V8, the XFS-R is simply the most powerful sedan Jaguar has every built.
Jaguar XFR-S Photos
Jaguar XFR-S Info
To make this car a little more fuel efficient, Jaguar added an eight-speed automatic transmission and even a start/stop system, which helped this car avoid a gas guzzler tax but still go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds.
Of course, that kind of power means Jaguar needed to match it with it’s stereo, so the XFS-R arrives with a 825-watt, 18-speaker stereo system.
Pricing begins at $99,000 .
Jaguar XFR-S Photos
Jaguar XFR-S Info
The popular Toyota people hauler takes on a new look in Los Angeles, as the model makeover drops all pretenses and adds some new sheetmetal. Toyota will forego offering any V6 in the new RAV4, the company announced at the LA Auto Show.
But using Toyota’s 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine will help it achieve 24 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway (for the front wheel drive model) and 22 mpg city and 29 mpg on the highway (all-wheel drive model).
Toyota RAV4 Photos
Toyota RAV4 Info
The RAV4 will also dump its side hinged rear door and instead use a liftgate.
The makeover gives the RAV4 some additional edges, but nothing you’ll cut your finger on.
Toyota RAV4 Photos
Toyota RAV4 Info
Ford Motor Co.’s smallest car in its lineup now has some power behind it.
The performance oriented Fiesta ST features Ford’s 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine that creates 197 horsepower and 214 pound-feet of torque.
Ford Fiesta ST Photos
Ford Fiesta ST Info
It has a new front fascia to make it look more like a jet plane than an eco-cruiser, which the regular Fiesta grabs. (Though Ford says that it will still get 34 mpg on the highway.)
Of course, that might require less aggressive driving, which, we think won’t happen when you get behind the wheel.
Ford Fiesta ST Photos
Ford Fiesta ST Info
Hyundai unveiled an interesting take on the Veloster Turbo at the auto show this year called the Veloster C3 Roll Top.
This take on the Korean automaker’s 4-door hatchback features a sliding roof that can be moved forward or back to make room for cargo in the rear or let more light/breeze into the cabin.
Hyundai Veloster C3 Roll Top Photos
Hyundai Veloster C3 Roll Top Info
Featuring a turbocharged 1.6-liter direct-injection four-cylinder engine, the C3 Concept makes 201 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque.
Hyundai designers said the concept was produced with a focus on low-cost modification, which is why the hatch uses mismatched wheels.
Hyundai Veloster C3 Roll Top Photos
Hyundai Veloster C3 Roll Top Info
Drop your top and call it Abarth (pronounced Ah-Bart).
The next rendition of the popular 500c Abarth will include Fiat’s slider top that it calls a convertible. The performance version of the Fiat 500 sold out in less than two months and this model could go nearly as quickly.
Fiat 500c Abarth Photos
Fiat 500c Abarth Info
Under its tiny hood is a 1.4-liter MultiAir turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which can pound out 160 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque.
Since the Abarth is the performance model of the 500, it only comes with a five-speed manual transmission.
Fiat 500c Abarth Photos
Fiat 500c Abarth Info
It’s electric.
The BMW i3 Concept Coupe buzzed out onto the stage at the LA Auto Show touting a 100-mile range and 170 battery-powered horses under its carbon fiber hood.
The futuristic coupe uses extensive amounts of carbon fiber to showcase lightweight construction that is still safe.
BMW i3 Concept Photos
BMW i3 Concept Info
The interior is built with sustainable and renewable materials and includes a number of cool features, such as the dual screen displays and a new level of connectivity.
While still in concept form, a glimpse into the future the i3 Concept Coupe provides is a nice one.
BMW i3 Concept Photos
BMW i3 Concept Info
As if the SLS AMG wasn’t awesome enough already, Mercedes-Benz decided to go ahead and make it even more amazing with the new Black Series it displayed at the show.
The car employs 622 total horsepower, a top speed of 196 miles per hour, a 0-60 sprint in 3.5 seconds and has lost 154 pounds when compared with the”base” SLS AMG.
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series Photos
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series
Mercedes decked out the SLS with loads of carbon fiber in order to reduce the overall weight and has improved the handling of the car with new brakes, an adjustable coil over suspension, electronically controlled rear differential and a track that has been widened by almost an inch.
The car is slated to go on sale in the summer of 2013.
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series Photos
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series
The third-generation Cayman arrives as the fastest Cayman yet.
Powered by a 2.7-liter flat-six boxer engine, the new Cayman will create 275 horsepower.
Porsche Cayman Photos
Porsche Cayman Info
Porsche says this Cayman is lower and longer, lighter and faster– something we hope to find out for ourselves soon. It arrives with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard and a seven-speed PDK automatic is optional.
Pricing begins at $52,600.
Porsche Cayman Photos
Porsche Cayman Info
The gnarly Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force concept was built as an entrant for this year’s LA Design Challenge. With some styling cues from the current G-Class SUV, this rugged concept visualizes what an off-roader might look like in the future.
Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force Photos
Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force Info
The Ener-G-Force utilizes a”hydro-tech converter” to convert water into hydrogen for its fuel cell power, thus emitting nothing but water vapor from its exhaust.
Sadly, the Ener-G-Force doesn’t actually work, as it is just a design study, but we still think it’s pretty cool nonetheless.
Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force Photos
Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force Info
While we already saw the Mazda6 a while back, the Japanese automaker gave the car its North American debut along with some big news at the LA Auto Show.
The news is that for 2014, the midsize sedan will come with a 2.2-liter clean-diesel engine under its hood in North America.
Mazda6 Photos
Mazda6 Info
This makes Mazda the only Japanese automaker to offer a diesel engine in the U.S. and the first one ever to offer the option in the mid-size sedan segment. The only other automaker doing so right now is Volkswagen with its Passat.
The engine, called the SkyActiv-D, should make the Mazda6 quite fuel efficient, though we don’t know the MPG numbers right now. The sedan will also benefit from the manufacturer’s brake energy regeneration system, i-Eloop.
Mazda6 Photos
Mazda6 Info