RideLust

Toyota's GT 86. Image: Toyota of Europe

The official unveiling of Toyota’s much anticipated FT-86 sports coupe happens later this week at the Tokyo Motor Show, but that hasn’t stopped the Japanese automaker from leaking footage of the GT 86 (the car’s actual name, in Europe at least) in advance. We’re not sure if it will land on these shores under a Toyota badge or a Scion badge (since Scion did show a version as the FR-S), but we are sure of this: Toyota pretty much violated the gentleman’s agreement with Subaru to reveal the respective cars at the same time. Read More…

We’re still two weeks away from the official U.S. debut of the Fiat 500 Abarth, but Fiat is dropping plenty of images and videos of the car prior to its Los Angeles Auto Show reveal. We like the first video below and fully embrace it’s concept of “go faster than yesterday,” but the second video leaves us shaking out heads at Fiat’s U.S. marketing. Read More…

The Mazda Takeri concept. Image: Mazda

It’s no secret that the current Mazda6 is overdue for a replacement, and sales of Mazda’s midsize offering have been unimpressive in recent years. That’s a shame, because the Mazda6 was class-leading when the previous generation debuted in 2002. Over the years, Mazda has seemingly lost focus with the Mazda6, to the point where it’s no longer competitive with offerings from Ford, Toyota or even Hyundai. Read More…

Image: Profiles In History

If you’re a fan of the Back to the Future movies and have a sizable bank account, here’s an opportunity you won’t want to pass up. Profiles In History has one of three surviving DeLoreans built for the Back to the Future movies, and it will hit the block at one of the company’s auctions later this year. Read More…

First Vehicle Finalists Revealed

Upcoming Invitational offers action-packed race entertainment with some of the highest performing and most diverse vehicles in the performance automotive aftermarket industry.

September 16, 2011 (MILWAUKEE) – OPTIMA® Batteries, the global leader in high-performance automotive and marine batteries, gears up for the fourth annual OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational, presented by K&N Filters and Wilwood Disc Brakes, by revealing the current list of drivers and vehicles that have qualified for and have been selected to compete in the event.

The current qualifying drivers range from newcomer enthusiasts to seasoned industry veterans, all of which will not disappoint spectators and fans that gather for the highly-anticipated competition. The vehicle selections represent a variety of industry-leading muscle cars, pro-touring cars, hot rods and street trucks, from both import and domestic manufacturers. Initial qualifiers were recruited through a series of events of similar format that tested drivers’ skills and vehicle performance power.
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Formula One stars generally drive fast sedans in their downtime, or so conventional wisdom says. Sebastian Vettel, the boy wonder of F1, bucks that trend by driving an Infiniti FX50 crossover. We can’t tell you why Vettel opted for the FX50 over, say, an AMG Mercedes or a BMW M5. Even if you tie it to Vettel’s contract and the Red Bull team’s Infiniti sponsorship, an M56 sedan seems like a more logical choice for the reigning world champion. Read More…

Ford's Fiesta ST concept. Image: Ford Motor Company

You can’t buy Ken Block’s 600-horsepower, all-wheel-drive Ford Fiesta WRC car. Technically, you could probably buy on just like it if you had the $500,000 price of admission, but it wouldn’t be street legal and it wouldn’t exactly be pleasant as a daily driver. Now Ford is offering up the next best thing, but the jury is still out on whether or not we’ll get it in the United States. Read More…

By 2036, I think that most transportation will involve horses and ox carts, but Mercedes-Benz has a more pleasant and upbeat view of the future. Debuting at this week’s Frankfurt Auto Show is Mercedes’ F 125 Concept, which shows the possible future of motorized transportation, as interpreted by Mercedes Benz. Read More…

Jaguar's C-X16 Concept. Image: Jaguar

I’ll come clean up front: I’m not a hybrid guy. If you’re a long-term reader, you already know this, but if you’re new to RideLust it might be the first time you’ve heard this. I’ve driven plenty of hybrids, but all of them to date have been built with an eye to fuel economy, not performance. In fact, hybrids add weight and complexity, two thing that tend to have a negative impact on acceleration, braking and even long-term reliability. Read More…

The final Mitsubishi Eclipse. Image: Mecum Auctions

The Mitsubishi Eclipse has been around for 22 years and four generations, and in the early part of its life, the car defined “affordable performance.” The first and second generation cars could be had with either front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive, and the AWD cars (and their badge engineered cousins, the Eagle Talons) dominated both club and pro racing for years. Read More…