Coupes under $50k
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Whether you’re just starting to drive or heading into a mid-life crisis, coupes appeal to all of us. Luckily, these days you don’t need to spend big money to enjoy the thrills of the swept-back driving experience.
While you are able to buy a Subaru BRZ or Toyota 86 for less than $40,000, choices start to expand once you’re shopping under the $50,000 so let’s start there.

Toyota 86
It is getting a little long in the tooth, but the Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ combo still offers sports car thrills for an affordable price. Available in manual or automatic with a choice of specification levels, the Toyota 86 has stood the test of time despite external pressure to fill it with extra power.

Mazda MX-5
With the nameplate just celebrating its 30th birthday, there’s small wonder why so many flock to the Mazda MX-5 for an engaging top-down drive. Even if you’re more of a hard-top fan, Mazda now offers the RF version which includes a folding metal roof.

Hyundai i30 Fastback N
A relatively new player to the coupe game, Hyundai’s i30 N was transformed into a four-door coupe following the success of the hatchback. Sleeker styling marries with everything that made Hyundai’s first true hot hatch great

Whincup back on top of V8 pile
All year Jamie Whincup has been desperately trying to regain the No.1 sticker he had to relinquish at the end of last year’s V8 Supercar championship.

Expensive pile-up: Eight Ferraris in Japanese car crash
A Ferrari driver lost control on a wet road in Japan, causing a chain reaction that wrecked 14 vehicles, including seven other Ferraris, two Mercedes-Benz and a Lamborghini.

We drive the four-cylinder Falcon
In next month’s Wheels we answer the year’s worst-kept secret and deliver the verdict on the first-ever four-cylinder Falcon.

Webber confident of building on Brazil win
Mark Webber is confident he can take the momentum of his Brazilian Grand Prix victory into 2012 when he tries again to knock team-mate Sebastian Vettel from his perch.

Territory outsells Falcon for the first time
For the first time ever, the Ford Territory SUV outsold its Falcon sedan sibling. The difference between the pair was almost 300 units – 1776 sales versus 1483.

Mercedes unveils ultra-luxe roadster
Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the fifth generation of its oldest continuously-running model, the SL-Class.

V8 star Jason Richards remembered
Jason Richards never won Bathurst, nor a V8 Supercar championship. But those closest to the New Zealand motor racing driver, who died in Melbourne on Thursday night after a 14-month battle with cancer, say the record books didn’t do him justice.

Subaru BRZ confirmed for Oz
It’s been fifteen years since Subaru last sold a two-wheel-drive product in Australia, but the rear-drive BRZ coupe has now been officially confirmed for our local market next year.

Pensioner turns mobility scooter into Thunderbirds’ Rolls-Royce
74-year-old grandfather, Barry Vann, has turned his mobility aid into Lady Penelope’s Roller from the hit 1960s TV series, Thunderbirds.

WHEELS MAGAZINE: Christmas (car) hampers
As Christmas draws near, it’s pens down in the Wheels office, and time to grab the keys to our favourite festive-season rides. (At least for a few days. We haven’t finished our Car of the Year Finals issue yet!)

Ford Australia announces new investment plan
Ford Australia has announced that Falcon and Territory will receive an investment package of $103 million to keep the cars alive until at least the end of 2016.

Loeb aiming for ninth world rally title
Sebastien Loeb will be aiming for an unprecedented ninth World Rally Championship title when the 2012 season begins with the return of the Monte Carlo event.

Peterhansel, Despres win Dakar Rally
Frenchmen Stephane Peterhansel and Cyril Despres won the Dakar Rally on Sunday, completing the final stage two weeks after the race began in Argentina.

Wheels magazine: Honda Civic
Your 40th birthday is often a time of deep self-examination and significant change, but obviously the Honda Civic sedan is pretty satisfied with itself.

Volvo releases pedestrian air bags
Bless Volvo. Beyond bubble-wrapping passengers, they’re now cushioning pedestrians too.

2012 Volkswagen Golf GTI Cabriolet
Volkswagen has unveiled the world’s first-ever Golf GTI Cabriolet. The new model produces 154kW, making it the most powerful Golf Cabriolet ever. It will be revealed in full at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show next week.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta – Ferrari’s new 599
Ferrari has announced the replacement to the 599 GTB Fiorano. It is called the F12 berlinetta and employs a new V12 engine to make it the fastest Ferrari road car ever.

2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in promises 1.8L/100km
Toyota has announced the official EU emissions and economy figures for its new 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid. Prepare to be impressed.

MTM builds 347kW VW T5 van
A number of things stand out in the press release we’ve just received about the MTM T 500, but a good place to start would seem to be the point where MTM says this bonkers machine is something “an unsuspecting observer might mistake at first glance for a VW T5.”

Audi brings AWD back to the racetrack with R18 e-tron Quattro
Audi will be bringing its Quattro AWD technology to Le Mans with its new hybrid LMP1 racer, the R18 e-tron Quattro.

Magna Steyr reveals quirky MILA Coupic
Obscure Austrian manufacturer Magna Steyr has revealed the MILA Coupic: a bizarre convertible/coupe/ute that it will debut at the Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday.

Mansory tuned 493kW McLaren MP4-12C for Geneva 2012
Mansory is a German tuner that generally sends shivers down the spine – and not always for the best of reasons. It usually has something spectacular to unveil at the Geneva Motor Show, and for 2012 it’s turned its attention to the McLaren MP4-12C.

Four new VW Up! concepts coming to Geneva
Volkswagen has teased four new designs of its Up! city car ahead of their debut at the Geneva Motor Show this week. The concepts will be known as the Swiss Up!, Winter Up!, X Up! and Cargo Up!

2012 Hyundai i20 revealed
Hyundai has released pictures of the revamped i20 which will be fully revealed at the Geneva Motor Show on Wednesday.