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Cadillac has officially opened the ordering process on its hot new ATS-V Coupe and Sedan, both of which will go on sale this spring, expanding the General Motors division’s catalog of high-performance cars. The specs for the new car are indeed awe-inspiring. Under the hood is a twin-turbo V6 engine that produces a whopping 455 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque. According to General Motors data, the ATS-V hits 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds and boasts a top speed of 189 mph. That’s European supercar territory, right there.

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Sure, the Dodge Hellcat twins, Corvette ZR1 and Ford Shelby GT350 are great automobiles, but so is the Volkswagen GTI, Mini John Cooper Works and Subaru WRX, among others. After all, gas isn’t going to stay at $2 a gallon, or less, forever.
And now, there’s a new and very formidable player in the hot hatch category, at least in North America: the Ford Focus RS.

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As expected, Arizona auction week saw spectacular results, with record sales totals and some of the world’s finest cars crossing the blocks. When the dust finally settled on the six big mid-January auctions in the Valley of the Sun – Barrett-Jackson, RM Auctions, Gooding & Co., Bonhams, Russo and Steele, and Silver – the numbers told the story. Total sales were $292.8 million, up 17.8 percent from 2014’s total of 248.6 million, according to www.hagerty.com, which deals in collector-car values and insurance.

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Description

Ford Motor Co. came out of the box with some momentous announcements at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Mich., where the Blue Oval brand stole the early headlines in grand style. The undisputed star of the Detroit Auto Show was the Ford GT, which is mostly made of carbon fiber. However a Shelby GT 350R and a new Raptor SVT pickup truck were nearly as significant and showed that Ford has a lot going on. Where the previous Raptor used a V8, the new model uses as V6 and has an aluminum body.

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Description

What is it with 200-mph cars these days? It seems like everyone has to have to one to sell, even brands with cushy images, such as Cadillac. Although you will never drive it that fast, a car such as the 2016 CTS-V is great for the ego. And for bragging rights. It’s like saying you can bench press 300 pounds. People are in awe even if you never have to whip out a set of bar bells in public to prove it.

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Description

While American muscle cars often dominate the headlines in the annual Arizona collector-car auctions each January, Ferraris continue to define the high end of the market and the rarified air around cars that routinely bring seven- and sometimes eight-figure auction prices. Following are some of the priciest “Prancing Horses” set to sell at auction this month in Phoenix and Scottsdale.

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Description

Where did 2014 go? Sure, things might have seemed a bit hazy, what with the billowing clouds of tire smoke from the onslaught of high-performance cars that impressed us during the 12 months, but our “Top 10 of 2014” also includes a few surprises.
Although most of these vehicles are new for the 2015 model year and are designated as such, their impression on us in 2014 is what got them here. Namely, their awesomeness.

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Description

When Ford rolled out the all-new 2015 Mustang, it was inevitable that the first extreme makeover of the iconic pony car was something of a tease. Sure, the 2015 Mustang is available with a 435-horsepower V8 and what Ford calls the “Performance Package” to optimize handling and braking. But you just knew that Ford wasn’t showing its full hand, and that the ultra-high-performance variants were still to come.

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Description

Tearing up the Web with an 845-horse all-wheel-drive 1965 Mustang and other-world driving skills. What began as a 1965 Mustang sure didn’t end that way. Aside from the drivetrain, the car was significantly widened and set up to be able to drift sideways will all four tires blazing. This all-wheel-drive Mustang isn’t the typical car you’ll see Ken Block driving and that’s what makes Gymkhana SEVEN so cool.

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Description

Real-life imitates the gaming world, with a tip of the hat to a pioneer of aerodynamics.
The Chaparral 2X Vision Grand Turismo pays Homage to the relationship between Chevrolet and racing-car design Jim Hall. If challenged, perhaps Hall would have designed something like this today. The car was designed for a video game and then this real-life version was built as a design study.