BY ALISA PRIDDLE

Does Nissan need a Miata fighter?

Nissan is trying to figure out if there is room in the market for an entry-level sports car that is smaller, more lightweight, and more affordable than the 350Z.

The Japanese automaker is interested in a front-wheel-drive sports car that could compete with the Mazda MX-5 Miata, Pontiac Solstice, and Saturn Sky, Nissan North America vice-president in charge of product planning and strategy Larry Dominique tells Car and Driver in an interview. (more…)

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BY MARK GILLIES

In case the F430 wasn’t fast (or good) enough.

The great thing about the 430 Scuderia”a faster, lighter, and even more compelling version of the F430”is that Ferrari didn’t have to make it. Automakers create new versions of their existing models to stimulate sales, but with North American waiting lists at two years for the F430, Ferrari didn’t need to drum up showroom traffic.

Ferrari people say the primary reason for building the Scuderia is that it showcases the company’s racing technology in a street car. Another reason is that, historically, Ferrari has built more extreme versions of its entry-level sports car, going back to the F355 Challenge in 1995. And Lamborghini, its northern-Italian rival, has just introduced the Gallardo Superleggera, while Porsche, its perennial competitor, is continually making go-faster versions of the 911. (more…)

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BY AARON ROBINSON

The graying roadster attacks the track.

Warning! Auto racing is spectacular and exciting, but can be dangerous! The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course posts this caution next to the drivers bathrooms, so it’s probably worth repeating in this introduction to the Honda S2000 CR. For the CR”the initials stand for Club Racer”is about rubber-chunking, brake-burning, wall-fanning track work. You wouldn’t really want the shale-stiff CR for anything else, which is perhaps why Honda plans to sell only 1400 copies of the circa-$38,000 CR in 2008. (more…)

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BY ERIK JOHNSON, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JORDAN BROWN AND THE MANUFACTURER

The difference between paper and pavement is staggering.

Sixty mph in 4.8 seconds. A quarter-mile time of 13.6 seconds at 102 mph. Braking from 70 mph to a stop in 162 feet. On paper, it looks like this test subject is a mildly interesting performance car with an above-average ability to go and a somewhat ordinary ability to stop.

On pavement? Oh, on pavement the whole script flips. It isn’t until you whirl the wheel of the car to which those numbers are attached that you realize what an incredible machine you’re piloting. It amazes like a Dwyane Wade drive to the hole; nothing should be able to move the way it does. It is, in short, breathtaking. (more…)

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Torrid sounds too tame.

If you’re a 911 cultist concerned that the iconic Porsche may be marginalized as the company seeks to broaden its market with SUVs and” gasp!”sedans, fear not: Stuttgart’s rear-engined rocket is far from finished. (more…)

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BY JORDAN BROWN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY HEINRICH HLSER AND JEFFREY G. RUSSELL

An exotic sports car with a diesel? Sounds like peanut butter with jelly to us.

Those familiar with VW/Audi’s naming conventions know TDI is the acronym for Turbocharged Direct Injection, the German automaker’s revolutionary diesel power plant that made its debut back in 1990 in the form of an inline five-cylinder powering the Audi 100 Wagon. So the next question is, An R8 with a diesel?! In short, yes. (more…)

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The 2007 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class is a 2-door, 2-passenger convertible sports car, available in 3 trims, ranging from the SLK280 Roadster to the SLK55 AMG Roadster. (more…)

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The 2007 Mazda RX-8 is a 4-door, 4-passenger sports car, available in 3 trims, ranging from the Sport to the Grand Touring.

Upon introduction, both trims are equipped with a standard 1.3-liter, R2 , 232-horsepower engine that achieves 18-mpg in the city and 24-mpg on the highway. A 6-speed manual transmission with overdrive is standard. (more…)

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The 2007 Honda S2000 is a 2-door, 2-passenger convertible sports car, available in one trim only, the 6-Spd MT.

Upon introduction, the S2000 is equipped with a standard 2.2-liter, I4, 237-horsepower engine that achieves 20-mpg in the city and 26-mpg on the highway. A 6-speed manual transmission with overdrive is standard. (more…)

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The 2007 Chevrolet Corvette is a 2-door, 2-passenger sports car, or convertible sports car, available in 7 trims, ranging from the Coupe LT1 to the Z06 LZ2. (more…)

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