We are looking forward to bringing you coverage on AutoMobility LA. Stay tuned for our detailed reviews on cars like the BMW i7, Mercedes EQS, Audi Q4 Etron Sportback and More.
Tuesday, August 2, 2022
Monday, November 22, 2021
IgnitionSpeed Star Of The Show - Jeep Grand Wagoneer
This year at the LA Auto Show, we continue our tradition of picking a "star of the show" that most impressed us.
After viewing over 100 vehicles, for the 2021 LA Automobility Show we have chosen the Jeep Grand Wagoneer as the most impressive offering by any automaker on site.
The Grand Wagoneer surprised us in many ways, with a 471 HP V8 that delivers that old American growl, 10,000 lb towing capacity, an interior that looks like it belongs in an S class Mercedes, and a starting price at $89,845, it made some of it's - much more expensive - competitors look like they were a step behind.
When stepping into the drivers seat the first thing that stands out are the 4 screens that cover the dashboard and control the many different tech features that are available in this vehicle. The second row was also optioned into a triple screen configuration to make sure the rear passengers aren't missing out on any media either. Lastly, the room in the 3rd row was ample for adults and quite spacious.
It was the little details that stood out to us, from the fine leather seating, to night vision assist, to a cooler in the center console to keep your drinks cold. Overall when testing out other SUVs at the show, it was the Grand Wagoneer that kept calling us back to it, and for that reason, it earns the IgnitionSpeed Star of the Show for 2021.
Check out the Video below for more details on our review of the Grand Wagoneer:
Thursday, August 26, 2021
2021 LA Auto Show Is Back! - Press Days (Coming Soon)
We are excited to announce we will be attending the 2021 LA Auto Show!
We’ll be covering many reveals from companies like BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Ford and More.
We are particularly excited for potential coverage of the new 2023 C8 Corvette Z06.
Stay Tuned!
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Meet the New 2020 Corvette Stingray
Ever since the first spy shot came out of the 2020 mid-engine corvette, the entire auto enthusiast industry has been intrigued. Rumors about a secret Cadillac project, or some new Chevy hyper car began to swirl around the internet until finally...today we meet the 2020 Mid-Engined Corvette.
With stunning proportions never seen on the corvette platform before thanks to the new mid-engine configuration the 2020 Corvette stingray gives off serious Ferrari vibes, and we at IgnitionSpeed are very okay with that. Everything single angle of this car just says "speed".
One of the more impressive numbers revealed today is that the corvette will do 0-60 in less than 3 seconds. That is supercar territory for a non supercar price.
Sunday, November 19, 2017
LA Auto Show - Press Days (Coming Soon)
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Visualizing Nurburgring Lap Times
With this new change-up of the Nurgburgring king, we decided it would be interesting to map out the entire known history of lap times and the relative prices of the cars that claim them.
As expected, we see a strong correlation with a higher price corresponding to faster lap times.
On the left of the chart you can see the Porsche 911 GT2 RS, followed by the Performante, followed by the much more expensive hyerpercar Porsche 918. Looking at the data as a whole we found some interesting trends:
American Cars give the best bang for your buck in regards to price vs performance
With recent track monsters like the Corvette Z06, Camaro ZL1 1LE and GT350R, American companies are able to seriously compete with some of the best on the track. And when it comes to price vs performance, no one can do it better.
There are some relatively cheap cars that are faster around the track than cars an order of magnitude more expensive
There is a wide swing in price between cars that have the same lap time. A good example of this is looking at the new Civic Type-R which recorded a stunning lap time of 7:43. To put that in perspective, that is faster than a V10 Audi R8, Mercedes SLS AMG, and Lamborghini Gallardo.
Germany has the most lap times by far at 43 cars officially tested on the 'ring
It makes sense that Germany would have the most cars officially timed around the track. Porsche in particular has the most times out of all of the car makers. This all makes sense as it is their home turf, and you would expect anyone with a 7 mile racetrack in their backyard to take advantage of it.

The Nurburgring is known for it's challenge, allure, and history. It has been used to benchmark performance cars against each other for many years. Visualizing the data yields some interesting revelations and we can't wait to see what the future holds and what other records will be broken.
Best Performance per $ based on Nurburgring lap times:
Honda Civic Type-R - 7:43 , $34,775
Chevy Camaro ZL1 1LE - 7:16 , $71,295
Chevy Corvette Z06 - 7:13 , $78,995
Worst Performance per $ based on Nurburgring lap times:
Lamborghini Murcielago - 7:42 , $354,000
Mercedes SLR McLaren - 7:52 , $346,000
Lamborghini Diablo SV - 8:04 , $300,000
Buggati Veyron - 7:40 , $1,500,000
Monday, August 8, 2016
We will see 1000 horsepower cars at the dealer within 5 years
Now before you call me crazy, hear me out. First off, when I say 1000 hp cars I'm not talking about Honda, Volkswagen, Toyota...I'm not even talking Audi, BMW, Mercedes, I'm talking about Chevy, Ford, and Dodge. Over the past 10 years these companies have taken their halo cars and made them batshit crazy. The candidates I think have a possibility of hitting those magic 4 figures are the Camaro ZL1, Mustang GT500, and Challenger SRT Hellcat.
Since I am not one for making bold predictions without backing it up with some data, let's take a moment to step back from being car enthusiasts for a few minutes and look at some raw numbers.

If we plot out american muscle over time we can clearly see the major jumps in horsepower that have taken place in the past 10 years. From the early 425 hp charger produced by SRT in 2006 to the 580 hp ZL1 transformer released in 2012, to the blazing 200 mph+ 662 hp Mustang GT500 released in 2013, to the more recent Challenger Hellcat released in 2015 who's hp number has a previously unimaginable 7-- in front of it, we can see the tug of war the companies have had with horsepower gains for many years.
More recently we have seen the information release of the 2017 Camaro by Chevy which boasts 650 HP.
Taking it ever further we have heard from an inside source the 2018 GT500 is coming with 810 hp.
It turns out that if you plot out the horsepower trends into the future you can see that in 2022, within 5 years we should see Mustang release a 1000 horsepower car, with Chevy and SRT close behind. That's our future, and it will be here sooner than you think.
With this data I had a realization. The realization that the automotive market is going to split into two directions. I believe we will have the majority of the market that goes the self driving route where they can relax and let their car drive them to wherever they want to go, and there will be those like us with our 1000 hp cars blowing by the rest of the world at speeds unseen.
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Audi S5 KickDown Explanation/Demonstration
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Sub 30k Sports Car Showdown - GenesisCoupe3.8 vs WRX vs BRZ
The first car I was handed the keys to was a Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 which was by far the most powerful car of the bunch with 348 peak horsepower. However, before we talk about power the first thing you notice about this car was the extremely tight steering. It might not be such a bad thing considering you are getting a bicep workout every time you drive the car but it almost felt a little awkward with how tight it was. The second thing I noticed was how heavy the car felt; it doesn't look it but this car weights 3,400 lbs. While it did remain flat and had a firm suspension every corner clearly felt like I was throwing around a lot of weight.
As a naturally aspirate car the torque was weak down low, almost comically so when you are flooring the pedal and getting very little acceleration. Peak torque doesn't arrive until 5300 rpm but from there the power comes on very linearly as we would expect from an NA engine until the redline of 6,700 rpm where the peak hp of 348 does put you in the back of your seat. The linear acceleration can cause one to perceive the car isn't pulling as hard as it actually is. Overall the Genesis seems to be getting you a lot for you money, if you can find me another car with 348 hp for 27k please point me to it.
In the end these are all great cars for your money that come with nice acceleration and handling as long as you remember what you are paying for them.