Muscle Cars, Hot Hatches, Hot Sedans, Coupes and Tuners
Exciting, practical cars that are fun to drive
And here is this week's hot muscle car - others are below
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| HSV GTS: Road Test of the latest 6.2 litre V-8 from Holden. Hottest E2 sedan gets an extra boost - and track features and styling to suit. . . |
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Muscle cars like the Firebird Trans Am WS61 and Chrysler 300C SRT-8
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Hot hatches like the Ford Focus ST and Volkswagen Golf GTI
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Hot sedans and coupes like the Jaguar XF and BMW 650i
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Top tuners like BMW M Center, Hamann and Lingenfelter
Also, you will find advice on buying a muscle car, and how to get the funds you need – how to raise your income to the next level.
The great thing about these muscle cars is that they can look just like the car of the guy next door, or they can look outrageous. But they have a turn of speed that puts them above others.
Or, you can have a really small car that keeps up with the big boys. Even if you rely on the car maker to tune the engine, you can get some really hot hatches and sedans these days - real muscle cars.
These muscle cars can look rather ordinary - some people like to slip through the traffic unseen. They don't have the handling of a supercar, but they can be a lot of fun.
Hot hatches just don't have the performance or price to put them in the supercar league, and most lack that precision of handling you find in a supercar. These hot hatches are usually enormous fun to drive because you can actually use most if not all of their power quite often. But few make it as true muscle cars.
Ford Focus ST (XR5) and Volkswagen Golf GTI are good hot hatches
Good examples of hot hatches are the Ford Focus ST and Volkswagen Golf GTI. Both these hot hatches handle well.
A sedan or coupe can be a muscle car, and there are plenty about. Typical performance? Well, this varies a lot, but 130-150 mph with 0-60 in 5-7 seconds is what we expect.
In Europe, hot hatches, such as the Focus ST, Golf GTI and Honda Civic Type-R are very popular. Mazda's 3 MPS (Mazdaspeed)also packs real punch, well above its weight.
The downside with most hot hatches is front-wheel drive – the exception being the BMW 130i hot hatch, also available as a smart coupe. This could be turned into a real cracker of a muscle car.
Muscle cars take you to 130-150 mph
The traditional rear-drive sedans make better muscle cars because massive amounts of power can be put onto the road through the fat tires you can get – not the case with front-wheel drive, where 250 bhp is about the maximum. With that amount of power the traction control works so often – reducing the power transmitted – that the object of having the power is defeated. Not so with a true muscle car.
There are as some amazing cars built or modified by the tuners, such as 800 bhp Corvettes and Viper SRT-10s, and the Hamann BMW M3 which is powered by the 500 bhp V-10 from the BMW M5! Amazing performance and individuality.
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Road Test
Ford FPV F6 : HOT turbo six from Ford Performance Vehicles in Australia competes with hot V-8s head on - and it is a winner, outshooting some pretty expensive competitors.. |
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Road Test
Mini Cooper S (2008) : Latest MINI delivers the goods; superb engine and good handling in a tiny 2+2 package.
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 | Road Test
Alfa 159 : New chassis and lively engines make Alfa Romeo's latest sedan an enjoyable drive. |
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Road Test
Honda Accord V-6:Amazing engine that runs on three, four or six cylinders transforms Accord into powerful economical sedan. | |
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Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG: Four-door coupe gets 6.2 liter AMG V-8 for max straight-line performance and upgraded chassis. |
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Infiniti G37 Coupe: Has Nissan got it right this time? More power, sleeker looks and double wishbone suspension should move Infiniti's coupe up a notch
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Road Test
Honda Civic Type R
Advanced style complements super engine and great roadholding.
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Road Test
Ford Fiesta ST/XR4
Ford's smallest hot hatch offers a combination of practical every-day motoring with some oomph
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Road Test
Holden VE Ute SSV
Is it a ute or a sports car? Latest Holden muscle car is both; rip-roaring performance with two-seats and plenty of space aft. |
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Road Test
Ford Mondeo 2.5T
Ford Mondeo 2.5T: Turbo power gives latest Mondeo a turn of speed, while new suspension give the grip. But does this add up to a hard charger? |
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Road Test
Mazda 3 MPS/Mazdaspeed
Hottest of the hot hatches with 260 bhp – but can the chassis handle this power? |
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Subaru WRX STI
New look WRX STI improved all-round with 300 bhp and switchable torque-split four-wheel drive system.
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Ford Shelby GT500
Supercharged V8 pushes transforms Mustang into muscle car territory with the Shelby GT500.
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Hamann Motorsport
New models include Thunder, based on BMW M3, and Lightning version of Lamborghini Gallardo. |
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Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
A major improvement over the excellent Evo IX, with highly advanced four-wheel drive system and sequential six-speed gearbox. |
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Our other Fast Car sites
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