{"id":23316,"date":"2019-01-17T13:26:10","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T17:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=23316"},"modified":"2019-01-17T13:26:10","modified_gmt":"2019-01-17T17:26:10","slug":"detroit-auto-show-consumer-guide-sports-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2019\/01\/detroit-auto-show-consumer-guide-sports-cars","title":{"rendered":"Detroit auto show consumer guide: Sports cars"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">America is experiencing a second golden age of sports cars (the 1960s was the first). With gas prices low, the economy revvin&#8217;\u00a0and track events galore, there have\u00a0never been more reasons for enthusiasts to push the performance\u00a0envelope.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">And what an envelope. The Detroit auto show will feature everything from a $25,000 Subaru BRZ to the $500,000 Ford GT supercar. The absence of Europe&#8217;s luxury brands on the Cobo floor\u00a0will mean less eye-candy this year, but there are still plenty of roller skates to get your heart racing. Modern electronics are enabling hybridized cyborgs from the future\u00a0\u2014\u00a0but are also allowing drivers to safely manage unheard-of\u00a0700-horsepower from old-fashioned V-8s.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-RfamyK1e0jU\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/01\/15\/PDTN\/b25706bf-1dd2-4779-be59-213bfbdda320-2019-0114-dm-naias-features0256.jpg?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Ford Executive Jim Farley introduces the Mustang GT500 at the North American International Auto Show media preview day at Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan on January 14, 2019. Ford Motor Company's Executive Vice President and president, Global Markets   (Image by Daniel Mears \/ The Detroit News) \n<\/div>\n\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/01\/15\/PDTN\/b25706bf-1dd2-4779-be59-213bfbdda320-2019-0114-dm-naias-features0256.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/01\/15\/PDTN\/b25706bf-1dd2-4779-be59-213bfbdda320-2019-0114-dm-naias-features0256.jpg?width=500&amp;height=321\" \/>Ford Executive Jim Farley introduces the Mustang GT500 at the North American International Auto Show media preview day at Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan on January 14, 2019. Ford Motor Company&#8217;s Executive Vice President and president, Global Markets (Image by Daniel Mears \/ The Detroit News)\u00a0\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Daniel Mears, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ford Mustang GT500<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>What it is:\u00a0<\/strong>This is the\u00a0most powerful\u00a0Mustang ever. Although Ford has yet to finalize the numbers, the GT500&#8217;s horsepower will eclipse 700 thanks to a supercharged\u00a05.2-liter V-8 nicknamed the Predator. But there&#8217;s more here than just predatory acceleration numbers. The wicked-looking pony comes with a Track Pack option that adds aero bits \u2014 including a huge rear wing \u2014 to 12-inch gummy tires and 16.5-inch brakes to help this thing carve up apexes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Payne\u2019s take:\u00a0<\/strong>The Ford Mustang is the best-selling sports car in the world, and Ford is determined to keep the hits coming.\u00a0For the first time in 50 years, a powerful GT500 will be in showrooms alongside its legendary\u00a0track-rat little brother, the GT350. But this time the GT500 is the total\u00a0package as Ford takes aim squarely at crosstown rival Chevrolet&#8217;s 650-horse Camaro ZL1 1LE.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-RfamyK0DT54\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/01\/15\/PDTN\/89b33952-2bbe-46d7-952b-531d9247cd07-2019-0114-dm-naias-toyota0998.jpg?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The 2020 Toyota Supra\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/01\/15\/PDTN\/89b33952-2bbe-46d7-952b-531d9247cd07-2019-0114-dm-naias-toyota0998.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/01\/15\/PDTN\/89b33952-2bbe-46d7-952b-531d9247cd07-2019-0114-dm-naias-toyota0998.jpg?width=500&amp;height=308\" \/>The 2020 Toyota Supra\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Daniel Mears, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><strong>Toyota Supra<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>What it is:\u00a0<\/strong>First seen at the 2014 Detroit show as the dazzling FT-1 Concept, the Supra is a dramatically styled two-seat, rear-wheel drive sports car. Sharing a chassis with the BMW Z4, the Supra brings super handling with weight distributed 50-50 front-to-rear. Under the sculpted hood is a 335-horse inline V-6\u00a0mated to an eight-speed automatic. Four-pot, fast-stop Brembo brakes are standard. The interior is driver-centric with bolstered seats, a rotary-button infotainment controller and available heads-up display.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Payne\u2019s take:\u00a0<\/strong>The Supra slots in above the Toyota 86 as a premium sports car (see that BMW-developed engine, Nurburgring-tested portfolio) in the Toyota lineup. It\u00a0re-establishes\u00a0Toyota&#8217;s sports chops among Japanese rivals like the Acura NSX and Nissan GTR. The purposeful styling is unique, drawing on Toyota&#8217;s LeMans prototype for inspiration with narrow nose, big hips\u00a0and aerodynamic\u00a0trunk. A composite\u00a0hatchback adds welcome cargo functionality.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\n<div id=\"module-position-RfamyK1jJmc\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/01\/15\/PDTN\/9ae14dc5-1b5d-4945-b4a8-57359ff834fa-2019-0114-mo-autoshow2935.JPG?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The Lexus RC F Track Edition\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/01\/15\/PDTN\/9ae14dc5-1b5d-4945-b4a8-57359ff834fa-2019-0114-mo-autoshow2935.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/01\/15\/PDTN\/9ae14dc5-1b5d-4945-b4a8-57359ff834fa-2019-0114-mo-autoshow2935.JPG?width=500&amp;height=333\" \/><span class=\"mycapture-btn-wrap\"><span class=\"mycapture-non-priority-horizontal-image mycapture-btn-with-text js-mycapture-btn js-mycapture-photo-asset\">Buy Photo<\/span><\/span>The Lexus RC F Track Edition\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Max Ortiz, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><strong>Lexus RC F and RC F Track Edition<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>What it is:\u00a0<\/strong>Lexus coupe\u2019s F performance trim gets a mid-cycle upgrade with subtle design changes, light-weighting and an apex-carving track edition. Design upgrades include stacked front LED lights and more-chiseled tail lights. Launch control will boost standing-start zero-60 times to 4.2 seconds. That number drops below 4 seconds with the Track Edition, which is draped in lightweight carbon fiber from\u00a0hood to roof to big rear wing. To go with all the cool black stuff outside, the Track Edition adds an all-red interior.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Payne\u2019s take:<\/strong>\u00a0The RC F is Japan\u2019s version of the Detroit muscle car with a honkin\u2019, stonkin\u2019 472-horse, 5.0-liter V-8 to wake up the neighbors. It goes like stink in a straight line, but its weight has been a liability \u2014 an issue the new Fs address with more aluminum, and in the case of the Track Edition,\u00a0carbon fiber. Did you ever think ol\u2019 vanilla Lexus would have a Track Edition? It\u2019s not vanilla anymore.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-RfamyK0sHho\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/01\/15\/PDTN\/92c0c83c-e479-49d6-9cd0-08e73ef411f4-011419_FLJJ_naias_25.jpg?crop=5013,2712,x483,y0&amp;width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The Subaru STI S209\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/01\/15\/PDTN\/92c0c83c-e479-49d6-9cd0-08e73ef411f4-011419_FLJJ_naias_25.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/01\/15\/PDTN\/92c0c83c-e479-49d6-9cd0-08e73ef411f4-011419_FLJJ_naias_25.jpg?width=500&amp;height=333\" \/>The Subaru STI S209\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Jose Juarez, Special to Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><strong>Subaru Impreza WRX STI S209\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"article-body-p-last\" class=\"p-text p-text-last\"><strong>What it is:<\/strong>\u00a0The S209 is special-edition track version of the superb, if aging, Subie WRX STI. The S209 is\u00a0strapped down with multiple suspension tweaks and body braces to the STI\u2019s already rally-tested bod \u2014 and brings a whopping 31 more horsepower to the Subie&#8217;s standard, 310-horse, 2.5-liter turbo-four. You\u2019ll know it by the strut-mounted rear wing, which replaces the standard, curvy aerofoil.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Payne\u2019s take:<\/strong>\u00a0As Subie fan boys wait impatiently for the all-new STi, based on the superb, stiffened bones of the current Impreza, Subie is slaking their thirst with special models like the S209. The S follows last year\u2019s RA-Type, which jacked up the horsepower to 325, but was generally panned as not being \u201cmore\u201d enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>America is experiencing a second golden age of sports cars (the 1960s was the first). With gas prices low, the economy revvin&#8217;\u00a0and track events galore, there have\u00a0never been more reasons for enthusiasts to push the performance\u00a0envelope. And what an envelope. The Detroit auto show will feature everything from a $25,000 Subaru BRZ to the $500,000 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23316"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23316\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}