Coupes under $50k
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- Best coupes under $50k
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
2013 Lotus Exige S Review
If you like it hardcore, you’ll see the light
More shots: VW Golf R
Volkswagen has given us a better look at its new Mk VII Golf R by releasing a host of images before it official Frankfurt Motor Show debut.
2013 Range Rover Sport Review
Find something it can’t do. Go on, try…
Revealed: Toyota’s 300kW Yaris Hybrid-R
Meet the world’s most powerful Toyota city car – the 313kW Hybrid-R concept.
Audi’s 305km/h Sport Quattro concept
Just days before the Frankfurt Motor Show Audi has revealed its headline act – the new 305km/h Sport Quattro concept.
2013 Hyundai i30 SR Review
In Hyundai-speak, it’s the “Local Model Expansion Strategy.” For us, the first result of a more adaptable product-development approach is the i30 SR, a warm hatch that is (for the moment) unique to Australia.
In pics: Mercedes-Benz E500 Cabriolet 2014
Mercedes-Benz has no excuses for not being at the top of the four-seat convertible game.
Guru Bangle says car design is stuck in a rut
In the early noughties he famously caused outraged brand loyalists to picket BMW’s ‘four cylinder building’ in Munich, angry that his controversial design direction was ruining the brand. But now, auto design guru Chris Bangle is calling for more creativity in car design.
Kiwi ‘Can Cars’ rev up recycling
Sandy Sanderson lives in Hamilton, New Zealand and turns aluminium drink cans into amazing automotive works of art.
Jaguar teases SUV concept
Jaguar has issued a teaser image of its C-X17 cross-over concept, confirmed to appear at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show (Sept. 12-22).
Aussie green car innovation fund
Wheels has stumbled across these shots of what is possibly the world’s greenest car.
Rusty wrecks are scale model miracles!
An Australian hobbyist is taking the car modeling world by storm with his incredibly detailed die-cast ‘wrecks.’
Amazing V12 artwork from wood, bone and fossils!
It took Algerian-born artist Eric van Hove nine months to produce ‘V12 Laraki’, an incredibly detailed and decorated reproduction of a Mercedes-Benz V12 engine, using a range of decidedly non-automotive materials including wood, mother of pearl, goat bone, onyx, stone, cow horn, and ammonite fossils.
Volvo’s Coupe Concept stunner
Volvo has issued pre-release images of a stunningly beautiful Coupe Concept it will unveil at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show (Sept. 12-22).
Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG: The new hot-hatch king
Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG. It’s the hottest thing on the block since JLo went viral. If you want one, and haven’t already ordered it, you’re looking at a March 2014 delivery date, but take it from us, it’ll be worth the wait. Introducing the new king of hot-hatches.
Stunning DBC Aston Martin concept
Emerging design superstar, Samir Sadikhov, has created the DBC, an achingly beautiful concept for a mid/rear-engine, rear-wheel drive Aston Martin supercar.
TOP 20: World’s coolest dashboards
Speed, time, pressure, temperature … the dashboard is the window to a car’s vital functions and settings.
Infiniti Q30 Concept Frankfurt-bound
Infiniti has issued a pre-release image of its Q30 Concept hot-hatch, due to be unveiled at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show (Sept. 12-22).
Peugeot’s pumped 308 R Concept
Having slammed the opposition at this year’s Pikes Peak Hill Climb, courtesy of its radical 208 T16 racer (and ace wheel man Sebastien Loeb), Peugeot continues to wind up the performance wick, with a dramatic 308 R Concept set to debut at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show (Sept. 12-22).
Is it a car? Is it a plane? … YES
Seven years after its initial design hit the drawing board, the Terrafugia (terra-foo-gee-ah) Transition, a compact flying car, has made its public debut at the huge AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
TOP 10: World’s coolest car parks
There are plenty of design awards for cool cars, but what about the parking stations that house them?
NO SALE: $10m offer for ‘F1’ plate rejected
British car tuning guru Afzal Kahn claims he has turned down an offer of more than six million pounds ($10.4m) for his ‘F1’ registration plate.
BMW X5 plug-in: guilt-free SUV
SUVs are fuel-guzzling, ozone layer-ripping, earth destroyers, right? Not if buy BMWs latest creation.
Mexican bandit steals the limelight
Mexico … famous for tequila, tacos and Salma Hayek. But lightweight, track-focused sports cars haven’t featured on the list of high-profile Mexican icons … until now.
