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Sports
cars reign in the world of sex appeal. Few things get the
heart pumping so wildly as climbing inside one to take a drive
at breathtaking speeds, throwing the six-speed manual into
gear as it carves around road curves with tenacious grip.
In a field of legendary two-seat performance blasters, our
Sports Car - Most Sex Appeal winner is -- Taa Daa -- the Chevrolet
Corvette. With 400 mighty horses under the hood pumped by
a new 6-liter, LS2 V-8, this winner thrives on a limited thirst,
despite its astronomical 186 miles per hour top speed. It
strides in small car territory at 18 to 28 miles per gallon,
so good in fact there's no gas guzzler tax for the penalty
of enjoying the good life behind the wheel.
Restyled
inside and out, it's the sixth generation ("C6")
of the mighty, all-American sport car, in both hard top
and convertible versions with a load of amenities. Long,
subtle body crease lines hint at speed in motion and highlight
the new 'Vette's more classic look, tapered for minimal
wind resistance and authoritative stance. Trimmed by five
inches in length and an inch narrower in width, it abandons
its traditional, wind-grabbing pop-up headlamps. High intensity
Xenon ones now are molded into the sleek hoodline and don't
hide when they're off. The coupe's top panel is removable
on sunny days. Performance is boosted by tech advances as
well, as it gobbles up roadway on 18-inch (front) and 19-inch
(rear) wheels, and three different suspension settings,
with available four-speed automatic.
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Ford
Mustang
The latest generation of Ford's famed pony car dips
deep into its legendary heritage for inspiration,
accompanied by haunting memories of Steve McQueen
as Inspector Bullitt and his fabled San Francisco
car chase. Longer, stronger with two engine flavors
hitting 300 hp at top, it rear-drives its way to new
legend status.
Chrysler Crossfire
With rear drive punching it forward like a fist unleashing
power, the long-nosed Crossfire inherits its genes
from the Mercedes-Benz SLK. For '05, it rides on a
hand-built, supercharged, super performing V-6 engine
that belts out 330 hp, with rear spoiler grounding
it at speed for added grunt. In newly topless roadster
trim, it combines sultry with freewheeling abandon.
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