The most significant automotive news of this century seems to have slipped under the radar. A ratty, busted-to-hell Citroën completed the 24 Hours of LeMons this weekend. Complex hydraulic system and all. As the venerable Murilee Martin said, “It is impossible to overstate the magnitude of this achievement.”

Team Air Prance Schitroën essentially dug the ‘72 ID out of the trash. It had been sitting for 20 years and wasn’t running until the Friday before the race. They literally revived it hours before they hit the track. And it finished without exploding into a cloud of unobtainable French parts or spraying the track with Citroën hydraulic fluid. The feat is on par with firing up the Large Hadron Collider. Somebody should make this day a holiday.

Ferrari 599 Hybrid? No. Novitec Rosso 848 RACE. Allcaps necessary.

Built by famed tuners Novitech Rosso, the 848 RACE has TWO superchargers and two intercoolers and is good for 848 horsepower at 7,900 rpm and 621 pound-feet of torque at 6,300 rpm. It’ll hit 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and charge all the way up to a top speed of 214 mph. It’s also the sexiest 599 I’ve ever seen.

The 848 RACE will debut at Geneva this year. Hit the jump for more photos and the press release.

Source: Autoblog

Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4. Reading that is like being caught in an avalanche of awesome, each word piling it on until you’re completely buried. And just look at that photo. Vantage in race livery? Yes. And more yes. Aston Martin is creating a heavenly race series consisting entirely of sleek Vantage sports cars. Called the British GT4 Challenge, the spectacle of swirling, howling mechanical beauty will likely spark a rash of spontaneous combustion throughout the U.K. Just look at that car. Look at it.

Source: Autoblog

Here’s a pretty picture to start your day off right. The 2011 Jaguar XKR is heart-stoppingly gorgeous and it’ll hit 60 miles per hour in 4.6 seconds and reach 174 mph in a straight line, thanks to upgraded transmission and engine programming. Motive force is provided by Jaguar’s venerable 5.0-liter supercharged V8, good for 510 horsepower. And with a base price of only $96,000, even your run-of-the-mill plastic surgeon can afford one.

Source: Exhaust Note, Jaguar

Aston Martin recently released tons of photos of the Rapide, definitively showing everybody how to make a beautiful four-door sports car. Check out the mega-gallery at Carscoop.

The car has the muscle to back up its looks, too. A 6.0-liter V12 with 477 horsepower and 443 pound feet of torque lurks under that long hood, propelling the big sedan to 60 miles per hour in just 5.1 seconds. Top speed is 188 mph. Stateside pricing starts at $199,900 and change.

Would you pay $98 grand for a Ford 302? I certainly would, considering it’s wrapped in gorgeous Italian steel. This 1970 De Tomaso Mangusta is one of only about 120 left in the world and it’s flawless with only 9,000-odd miles on the odometer. It’s for sale at Fantasy Junction, one of the best exotic car dealers on the West Coast. Hit the jump for more photos and info about this ’70s super car.

Decorated rally racer and DC Shoe co-founder Ken Block, one of Subaru’s most valuable assets in catapulting them to the height of their popularity, is now working for Ford. Famous for his stunning X-Games performances and Gymkhana viral videos (featured after the jump), Block’s legacy within the motorsports circuit is well known by even the most casual of fans and Ford has essentially landed themselves the golden marketing ticket.

Beyond the scores of devout broskies that worship in his wake, Block will also bring to Ford the street cred of a second-generation fanboy. “I am stoked to be rallying in a Ford. They are an impressive force in the sport,” said Ken Block. “From the days of the 1970s Escorts to the Group B RS200 to the modern-day Focus and now the Fiesta, Ford just does an excellent job at rally and I couldn’t be happier to now be part of this amazing heritage. Not to mention my dad would be proud. He was a dedicated Ford guy.”

Confirming the suspicions harbored by many automotive journalists that the vast majority of the car-buying public has zero interest in vehicles that are actually fun to drive, the Toyota Camry has earned the top spot as the best selling car of December 2009. As if that fact itself were not discouraging enough to end the year on, the even less impressive Toyota Corolla managed to snag the Number 2 spot, followed closely by the Honda Accord (3rd), Honda Civic (4th), and finally, the Chevy Malibu (5th). The singular reason for this, at least by our good friend Timothy Cain’s analysis, appears to be that many consumers value basic functions over frivolous things such as “performance” and “aesthetics.” This would explain the quasi-success of the PT Cruiser.

If you’re like most consumers in the market for a used car, your needs are probably best served by eBay, AutoTrader, or your local Craigslist. If you are like 99% of automotive enthusiasts, however, your pursuit for that perfect diamond in the rough exists in perpetuity. You can easily squander 5+ hours at work tirelessly refreshing your browser in the vain hope that the pristine Volvo 850R you’ve spent the better part of your adult life pursuing will magically appear for thousands less than its Blue Book value. If such is the case, then the chances are good that you’ve also experienced significant frustration at the hands of Craigslist’s rather limiting search parameters. Although you probably could if you neglected your job, family, and personal hygiene for days on end, it’s realistically impossible to search every Craigslist in every state in every city in the continental U.S. (though you’ve certainly tried). Fortunately, I’ve found a way: searchtempest.com. Not only will SearchTempest.com allow you to expand your search radius to include any location within your current zip code, it also throws in all the relevant eBay listings as a bonus.

On the whole, RideLust’s (read: my) first foray into the glamorous world of open bars and company-sponsored parties was extremely successful, save for the excruciatingly boring reveals. Fortunately, since unlike most automotive journalists my trip was financed completely out of pocket, I’m not obligated to paint any particular company in a flattering light and thus able to provide an accurate, far more entertaining analysis. Well, entertaining for me at least, I’m sure the scores of dissenting douchenozzles commenters will have much to say otherwise.

Topping my list of favorite new reveals are some interesting selections that seem at odds with RideLust’s traditionally Macho Man Savage taste in automobiles and include the Honda P-Nut (Personal-Neo Urban Transport), Audi e-Tron, 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe, Mazda2, and the vehicle destined to be perpetually overshadowed by the Mazda2 – the Ford Fiesta (among many, many others).