Motown’s greatest hits

Detroit’s Motor Show always gets the motoring year off to a great start. NAT BARNES picks his highlights

Honda Insight Price: est from £27,000 On sale: tba

HONDA’S original 1999 Insight was unquestionably a car ahead of its time and this third-generation of the Japanese firm’s hybrid hatchback looks just as appealing. With a 1.5-litre petrol engine allied to an electric motor, the Insight will spend most of its time on electric power only with the engine acting as a generator for the battery pack (in a fashion not dissimilar to BMW’s i3).

With the NSX supercar currently the only hybrid-powered model that Honda offers in British showrooms, this Insight would be a welcome addition, especially with the company intending for two-thirds of its global sales by 2030 to have some form of electric power. The bad news is that while there are no immediate plans for this to come to the UK, Honda won’t completely rule it out, especially as right-hand drive models are available in Japan.

Lexus LF-1 Limitless concept Price: tba On sale: From 2021

IT doesn’t take much imagination to join the dots with this Lexus LF-1 Limitless concept. Toyota’s luxury brand is one of the biggest premium car brands in the US, where big 4x4s rule. Lexus has a big-selling SUV in the form of the smaller RX and the luxury 4x4 market has never been more popular.

Although Lexus has a big 4x4 above the existing RX in some markets, it has always been a rebadged Toyota Landcruiser which leaves a gap in the Lexus showroom that the likes of this gorgeous LF-1 could neatly fit into.

Designed to fit numerous different power sources and with the new oversized hourglass-shaped front grille, we think it would be a great addition to a fast-expanding class.

Infiniti Q Inspiration concept Price: tba On sale: From 2019?

NISSAN’S Infiniti might be only a minor player in terms of its British sales but all the signs are that it’s heading in the right direction. UK sales were up by 22 per cent in 2017, while globally it recorded its eighth consecutive year of record sales. With the QX50 crossover due by the end of this year, things are looking positive for 2018, too.

Unfortunately there’s no chance of this gorgeous Q Inspiration concept saloon appearing in any Infiniti showrooms anytime soon but dismiss it at your peril.

Don’t be surprised to see similar sleeker shapes and softer shoulder lines on future Infinitis from next year onwards, along with the sharper lights and bold grille of this concept.