As I’m watching our Twitter feed from NAIAS, I’m seeing reveals of coupe after coupe after coupe. I’m not complaining at all, but I’m curious – what’s with all the sporty coupes all of a sudden?
Some of them are to be expected. There’s a new Porsche 911 Turbo, and the BMW M2 has been eagerly anticipated for some time by people who want an M235i cranked up to 11. But there’s also the Infiniti Q60, which looks rather promising. So does the Lexus LC500.
New @lexus#LC500 sports coupe. 467HP naias #RFDwashere#RFDnaias2016pic.twitter.com/HJNGRlTiTg
— Right Foot Down (@RightFootDownUS) January 11, 2016
Even Buick, of all companies, has gotten into the act with the Avista concept. And these are no luxobarges – the Q60 and Avista each boast 400hp, and the LC500 tops them with 467hp. In a world crazy about crossovers and SUVs, how do we explain the boom of sporty coupes at NAIAS?
Maybe it’s whiplash from so much time spent on cookie cutter crossovers. Sedans are fading away, so maybe manufacturers want to do something completely different by bringing us all these swoopy coupes. With the exception of the Avista, all of these are production cars, not concepts. It also shows how well the Avista would fit in if brought to production, and break into a market that Buick isn’t currently tapping.
Or maybe, after years of driving minivans, crossovers, and SUVs, the drivers of these boremobiles have finally sent the kids off to college and are looking for something fun for themselves, instead of taking one for the team and driving a family car. That’s certainly how I felt when I sold the minivan I’d been using for courier work. I replaced it with an AW11 MR2.
Like I said, I’m not complaining. Even if I won’t be in the market for one of these anytime soon, I welcome a resurgence of sporty coupes on the market. Could this be the beginning of a new luxo-coupe war? I hope so. Competition inspires innovation, and no matter who makes the best coupe at any given moment, we all benefit from the end result.
Bring it on.