Awesome Cars

Based on the 134 hp Elise S, the Elise Club Racer is lightweight track car with grippy Yokohama AD07 LTS tires and aluminum wheels; it’ll come in four classic 1960s Lotus colors.

We’ve seen creative tuning, but Heffner Performance takes the cake for shock value: they’ve boosted a Lamborghini Murcielago’s 570 hp V12 to an asphalt-melting 1,100 hp.

Largely unchanged from the 200EX concept, the 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost is official: it tops out with a 6.6L turbo V12 with 563 bhp and 575 lb ft of torque, good for a 0-60 of 4.7s.

Ken Block racing Rob Dyrdek is special enough, but Gymkhana 2.1 is a must-watch with a Subaru WRX STI taking on a replica miniature shifter car; even better: synchronized drifting.

Easily one of the most beautifully tuned Ferraris, Novitec Rosso’s 599 GTB gets a 40 hp bump, pushing its 6.0L V12 to 660 hp; also: a retuned ECU, and quad-pipe sport exhaust.

Extensive exterior changes trumpet Porsche’s Europe-only 911 Sport Classic, limited to just 250 cars; it also gets a boost to 403 hp, carbon ceramic brakes and 19″ Fuchs-style wheels.

We wouldn’t mind BMW’s Vision EfficientDynamics concept in our garage; a 3-cylinder turbodiesel and two electric motors churn out 356 hp / 590 lb-ft of torque while getting 62.6 mpg.

All show and all go, ABT’s Audi R8 5.2 FSI sports an all-black paint job and a 75 hp boost to 600 hp good for a 0-60 of 3.8s, thanks to a 4-pipe exhaust system and engine tweaks.

Based for the first time on the 911 GT3 RS, Porsche’s 911 GT3 Cup gets wider, lower, and ups the downforce to the rear axle while adding 30 bhp thanks to a larger 3.8L flat six.

Celebrating the 50th birthday of the original MINI, the MINI Coupe Concept is a hot little two-seater; it packs a 211 hp, turbocharged 1.6L and an Overboost mode good for 206 lb-ft.

We’re not going to pretend playing kickball with a 4Runner or an S2000 is safe, but Big Ball vs Cars is ridiculously awesome fun; next time, pick an empty lot away from kids and breakables.

Think of it as Where’s Waldo for the V8 crowd: Where’s Stig is a collaboration between the BBC’s Top Gear and illustrator Rod Hunt, best known for his quirky isometric vector art.

Do want: these street legal bumper cars pack 500-750cc engines that are capable of not-so-legal speeds of up to 160 mph; they can be found prowling the streets of San Diego.

Their first four-seater convertible, Maserati’s GranCabrio is an open-top version of the GranTurismo; it’s powered by a 440 bhp 4.7L V8, and features a canvas roof and long wheelbase.

The Tesla Model S was revealed earlier this year, but this new batch of pics gives us what we really want: action shots of the green sport sedan tearing up the asphalt.

Porsche improves its bred-for-the-track 911 GT3 RS on all fronts for 2010 with a larger 3.8L flat six (+15 hp to 450 hp), improved handling via a PASM suspension, and wider body.

British-based Noble’s M600 is now official: it packs a twin-turbocharged 4.4L V8, carbon fiber body panels and a svelte curb weight of 2180 lbs, all good for a 0-60 of 3.0s.

Straight from the Paris, Peugeot’s RCZ coupe is official: the 2+2 sports car has a bit of Audi TT in her, but packs up to 1.6L turbo high-pressure engine good for 200 bhp/255 Nm of torque.

Spyker’s C8 Aileron goes topless with the Spyder (available 1H 2010), which sports a semi-automatic canvas soft-top; the Audi 4.2L 400bhp engine otherwise stays the same.

Love or hate its grinning, jewel-like fascia, but Bentley’s Mulsanne is their new flagship; it’s 11″ longer than the Flying Spur, will use a 6.75L V8 and will go on sale mid 2010.

While the real and virtual worlds are easy to discern in this Rally Reality trailer for DiRT 2, it’s still amazing just how amped up the graphics are; the game hits all major platforms 9/8/09.

Formerly only seen in renderings, the 2010 Devon GTX recently made its debut at Pebble Beach; it’s an American-born supercar with a 650 hp 8.4L V10 and carbon fiber body.

Infiniti’s 2011 M is official:it’s at an evolutionary redesign of the outgoing model inspired by the Essence Concept and will come in two flavors: the 400 hp V8 M56 and V6 M37.