Ever wondered what Formula 1 superstars do between races?

Well if you’re two-time world champ Fernando Alonso, you belt the epic new LaFerrari at Maranello.

This is the second clip of Fernando in Ferrari’s new hybrid hypercar but judging by the Spaniard’s post-hoon grin, it looks like they’ve made some big improvements.

All we know for sure is it looks mind-bendingly quick. Watch to see what we mean…

Let’s face it – most of us, at some point in our lives, have lusted after a sportscar.

Be it a Ferrari, Porsche or something more modest, the combination of jaw-dropping looks and mind-bending performance is intoxicating.

Sadly, though, for many of us, buying a sportscar can seem a little…out of reach.

More often than not you’d have to sell your house to buy one, and then there’s issue of practicality, with anyone needing to move more than two people often putting the sportscar in the ‘too hard’ basket.

But before you give up on your sportscar dream, flick through this gallery.

It features five cars, and three honourable mentions, that aren’t prohibitively expensive (some are positively cheap!) and some that can even ferry four adults.

Which one would you pick?

EIGHTEEN months on from launch, and our 2012 Car Of The Year-winning 86/BRZ twins still provide the definitive affordable sports car experience. Even in an era defined by interesting coupes and piping-hot hatches, the Toybaru remains as much a value juggernaut as a driver’s dream.

That the base price hasn’t budged since June last year when Toyota dropped the 86 GT’s $29,990 bombshell is as remarkable as the car itself. To the company’s credit, only the (unexpectedly effective) GT auto’s RRP has crept up – though the $300 hike now brings the Torsen limited-slip differential previously denied to that particular model.

The 86/BRZ just keeps getting better with age. And its appeal is timeless – a tantalisingly small and lightweight rear-driver with not an ounce of extraneous flab, contained within an unashamedly Japanese old-school cab-backward coupe silhouette of classic proportions.

In the name of weight saving (and cost), a 147kW/205Nm 2.0-litre direct-injection, naturally aspirated flat four set well behind the front axle provides sufficient low-speed tractability and surprisingly effective mid-range punch. Okay, clearly some of you out there would prefer more low-down oomph, but the whole point of the 86/BRZ is its measured balance. Toyota and Subaru’s engineers collaboratively sweated over the driver’s relationship with the telepathically tactile steering, sweet six-speed manual gearbox, progressively weighted clutch, and brutally effective brakes, which all somehow gel together with cohesion not expected this side of a Porsche Cayman.

Even on the basic 86’s eco-rated ‘Prius’ tyres, this car handles with laser-guided precision, acrobatic balance, and outstanding control. Just be prepared to catch that rear with the electronic safety-net removed in the wet. Regardless, though, this is life-affirming stuff. Beyond Blue ought to give ’em away.

Finally, there’s the little coupe’s packaging. Sure, in this premium-obsessed world of soft-touch surfaces and fancy fittings, the 86/BRZ’s cabin looks, feels, and sounds more like a late-80s Celica throwback than, say, an Audi T. But the sense of occasion is certainly present. The driving position is simply perfection, the available space ample for two adults, and the very occasional rear-seat folds forward to provide a boot big enough to take a bicycle.

For sheer sports-car fun, then, there remains no peer. Can you think of a more focused rear-drive coupe under $100K, let alone $40K?

IN 2013, the hot hatch not only reached puberty, it grew biceps the size of Popeye’s and had its nipples pierced. All thanks to the A45 AMG – surely the most unlikely Mercedes-Benz product of all time. And one of its best.

Long gone are the days when you could rely on an AMG to nail the straights, but not necessarily the corners. The A45 can do both. Thanks to a bratty sports exhaust system that is standard on all Aussie cars, and a launch-control function that fulfils every WRC fantasy, the A45 ignites from a standing start in a fashion Subaru STis and Mitsubishi Evos could only dream of. Four-point-four seconds later, you’re doing 100km/h; the 400m mark flashes by in 12.6sec. And here we were thinking a hot-hatch is quick if it can sneak into the 13s…

Equally as thrilling, though, is the A45’s cornering ability. Looking at its on-paper stats, you’d think a best-case torque split of 50/50 wouldn’t be enough to engender excitement, let alone handling poise, yet the A45 strings it all together like finely woven fabric, especially when being thrown from one direction to another, transferring weight onto its outside rear tyre for laughably thrusty corner exits.

Only on a fast racetrack like Phillip Island does the A45’s dynamic repertoire introduce understeer, though if track days are your thing, tick the $1990 sports suspension box. With 20 percent stiffer springs, front-end push is dissolved and the A45’s poise becomes sublime. Don’t know about its country-road ride though… That said, like just about every RS-badged Audi, the A45 often rides better than its lesser brethren. It’s definitely no magic carpet, but compared to an 18-inch-wheeled A-Class on sports suspension, the stock A45 is almost comfortable. Likewise its terrific sports front seats with electric bolsters, its flat-bottomed, Alcantara-clad steering wheel, and that blurting, braaping sound from its exhaust. Downshift and back off simultaneously, or short-shift under a steady throttle load and you can actually play tunes with it.

What the A45 isn’t is an older person’s car. It’s even less attuned towards urban comfort than the C63, yet it’s an entirely liveable superhot-hatch if firmly suspended cars are your thing. And at $74,990, it’s a relative bargain.

Think about that for a minute – a top-spec Evo for $66K or an A45 for $75K? In our opinion, no contest. That’s also the reason why we haven’t compared the A45 against a BMW M135i – the AMG would smash it. All hail the new hot-hatch king.

VOLKSWAGEN’S diminutive, distinctly undersold Up goes beyond being just a scaled-down Golf – though there are striking similarities there, too.

As the first of a line that its maker intends to someday become the brand’s global best-seller, the Up pioneers the same level of groundbreaking flair in its under-$15K sub-light-car segment that the first Golf brought to the Datsun 120Y class way back when.

Let’s begin with the dinky ’Dub’s packaging brilliance. Imagine a Polo with about a Subway Footlong’s worth of overhang chopped from each end, while still retaining the same interior length. VW basically miniaturised the mechanicals. Tiny engine. Smaller ancillaries.

Only the tracks are narrower, but that’s perfect for a city car. So four adults fit in fine, sitting comfortably on firm seats, backed up by a sterling driving position. Whether you’re in the driver’s seat or just in for the ride, no rival can match the Slovakian-built runabout’s disarming refinement. Its quality ambience is certainly no Mirage.

Mind you, all is not perfect inside, with pitiful face-level ventilation, feeble air conditioning on hotter days, and vision-obstructing A-pillars.

The boot is also fairly bijou at 241 litres, although Up’s boxy proportions mean the available 951 litres with rear backrests down is actually very useable. Meanwhile a super-frugal 55kW/95Nm 1.0-litre triple makes light work of hauling the sub-900kg VW around, aided by a slick five-speed manual shifter, a big wad of low-down torque, a revvy disposition, and a rorty exhaust.

Better still – and here’s where the Golf connection tees off big time – is the Up’s class-redefining dynamic capabilities. Crisp electric power steering that feels tight, sharp and reactive around town is one thing, but tenacious high-speed grip and fabulous body control on skinny 165/70R14 rubber is quite another. Throw in subtle traction-intervention tuning, strong brakes and a supple ride, and the invigorating Up makes you feel alive.

What we’re saying, folks, is that the classless Volkswagen Up transcends its now more-affordable $14K driveaway pricing with breathtaking insouciance. Friendly, accessible, safe and fun, it’s the modern VW masterpiece most Aussies inexplicably ignore – perhaps due to the lack of an automatic transmission option. Even then, the manual-only Up is still our automatic baby of choice, hands down.

New Mustang is go! The first official images of Ford’s tenth-generation Mustang have just been released – showing a lower, wider, more muscular design with a proper ‘fastback’ roofline and traditional Mustang design cues integrated into its stunning form.

And come mid-2015, it’ll be on sale in Ford’s Australian showrooms.

The look might be recognisably Mustang, but underneath it resides a brand new platform boasting sophisticated independent rear suspension (a first for Mustang), a new double-ball-joint front end and the availability of a 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

Given the new Mustang’s global focus – it will be built in both left- and right-hand drive, to be sold in Australia and right across Europe – Ford needed a four-cylinder version to sell alongside the V6 and V8 variants .

While previous Mustang fours from the ’70s and ’80s have been about as fondly remembered as the bubonic plague, the all-new Ecoboost four is closely related to the next-generation Focus RS engine and should be an absolute cracker. Expect the 2.3 turbo’s outputs to be in excess of 230kW and 405Nm.

The 3.7-litre V6 and 5.0-litre V8 are carried over from the previous-generation Mustang with several upgrades. Both engines are still relatively new (they debuted in 2011) – the V6 producing “at least 224kW and 366Nm of torque” and the growling V8 punching out “more than 313kW and 528Nm”.

Transmission choices will be an updated six-speed manual or a six-speed ZF automatic with wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

Thing is, it’s likely that Australia won’t get the V6 – not when there’s a lighter, more powerful turbo-four on offer. Given the entry-level Mustang is expected to cost around $45,000 (pricing hasn’t been officially confirmed), the boosted four puts it smack-bang into Golf GTI territory, where four-cylinder engines rule.

The V8-engined Mustang GT is likely to be priced above $50,000 when it hits Aussie showrooms in 18 months’ time, leaving headroom for more-powerful Boss 302 and GT500 versions when they come on stream later in Mustang’s model cycle. A Ford-developed 10-speed automatic is also in the pipeline further down the track.

The home-grown Falcon might have its fate sealed for 2016, but at least this sensational new Mustang gives Ford fans hope for the future. For in-depth engineering coverage of the all-new Mustang, grab the January 2014 issue ofWheels magazine and iPad – on sale Monday December 16.

Here it is: the new mental, baby bull from the baddest, craziest car marker of the all – Lamborghini.

Called the Huracan (not the Cabrera as first thought), Lamborghini has just officially revealed images and details of its new ‘entry level’ model – and they’re ballistic.

Lighter, faster and more powerful, the Huracan churns out 448kW from its mid-mounted 5.2-litre V10, a jump of 43kW over its aging Gallardo predecessor.

Combined that leap in grunt with an 80kg weight saving, and the Huracan should rocket from 0-100km/h in 3.2 seconds – half a second quicker than the Gallardo LP560-4.

But enough words, click through the gallery and soak in the Huracan’s sharp angles and aggressive stance. Hot, right?

What’s hot in 2014?

After a vintage 2013 motoring year, we look ahead to the hottest metal expected on our shores in the coming year. From Italian thoroughbreds to Japanese roadsters, we pick the ten cars we’re most looking forward to piloting in 2014. For more, pick up the Jan 2014 issue of Wheels magazine.

This should be Volkswagen’s greatest-ever hot hatch and in the cold the new Golf R certainly is superb. With all four of its studded-tyre shod wheels spitting ice crumbs, it’s an adept drifter on a deep-frozen lake in northern Sweden. As it’s based on the great Golf VII, the all-wheel-drive R’s basics are sound. But Arvidsjaur on a clear-skied, minus-15 degree morning isn’t the right environment to discover whether this car truly lives up to its promising pedigree.

After Arvidsjaur, we know the Volkswagen’s heater is life-savingly effective and its 2.0-litre turbo four has a nice, big-dog bark, but this icy playground isn’t the place to learn anything about the Golf R’s performance, brakes, handling, comfort or overall refinement.

Like other Golf VII models, the R is lighter – by 45 kg – than the car it replaces. Its engine is a development of Volkswagen’s latest-gen EA888 2.0-litre, with a new cylinder head, pistons, injectors and turbocharger explaining its 52 kW power increase – to 221kW – over the related engine in the Golf GTI Performance. Transmissions are a six-speed manual or six-speed double-clutch transmission, and drive to the rear wheels is handled by the latest, fifth-gen version of Haldex’s familiar coupling clutch.

Exterior modifications are on the subtle side, while the interior has excellent sports seats and blue-needled instruments. While the Golf R is to be produced in three- and five-door forms, only the latter will be exported to Australia. Both transmissions are to be offered. The Golf R’s Australian launch is scheduled for April, and pricing is yet to be fixed, but is likely below $55,000.

The Swedish message is that the Golf R shows promise of being worthy of its price tag. And after driving it on normal tyres on a normal road, we’ll let you know if our suspicions of greatness are confirmed… or not.

Shots of the new Subaru WRX STI have ‘leaked’ online before the car’s official unveil at Detroit next week.

Sporting traditional blue paint, gold wheels and a giant rear wing, sadly we’ll have to wait for official performance and price details.

Expected to be powered by 2.5-litre turbo four – unlike the standard WRX which gets a 2.0-litre unit – power should be around the 225kW mark.

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