Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Jonathan Gitlin)

NEW YORK—The New York International Auto Show opened its doors to the public on Friday morning. In recent years, it has found its place as the most important of the American auto shows—Los Angeles and Detroit have been cannibalized by CES and preempted by foreign shows, all to the Big Apple’s benefit. This year’s event didn’t disappoint, as we discovered during the press preview days held earlier this week. There will be plenty more NYIAS content from us in the next few days, but let’s kick things off with our Best Of awards.

Outstanding in the Automotive Technology Field: Nissan VC-Turbo engine

Since this is a technology publication, I’ll begin with our award for the coolest technology on display. I was tempted to give the honor to Waymo, which has just partnered with Jaguar to build tens of thousands of self-driving electric SUVs. Waymo is light years ahead of the competition for driverless technology, but these robo-taxis won’t actually be deployed for another two years, so we’ll save that one for a later date.

Another strong contender is Cadillac’s all-new V8, which will appear in a V-Sport version of the CT6 luxury sedan. It’s a 4.2L V8 putting out 550hp (410kW) and 627ft-lbs (850Nm), courtesy of twin turbochargers. These nestle on top of the engine, between the cylinders—a so-called “hot V,” as found in current Formula 1 engines. The engine will be unique to Cadillac, although it’s rumored a version with a more conventional turbocharger arrangement (with the intakes on the outside of the V) will appear in the mid-engined Corvette that’s still not confirmed but which everyone knows is on its way.