While we mused that Honda’s Open Study Model was a dry run for the next incarnation of the beloved S2000, it looks as if the Japanese automaker was penning the first lines of the next generation Civic. Talk about sharp. The Civic has always been the forerunner of new styling for the company, and the newest renderings of the 2010 model show a design that blends all there is to love about the lunging fascia of the OSM and the current Civic Euro hatch. Though the company has long held down the economical fuel-sipping segment, new-comers like Chevrolet’s Cruze, Ford’s Festiva and others have upped the ante. We’re glad to see that Honda has seen their bet and raised the bar—again. Autospies is claiming more than a passing resemblance to VW’s Scirrocco, but that ain’t necessarily a bad thing in our eyes. As for us, we see more current S2k than Vee-Dub. What about you? Click over for a look at the next Civic. [Autospies]

That’s what Levy said to me after 5 minutes looking at this site. But actually, if you’ll assume the price of a Ferrari GTO is around $10 million, then the eleven ultimate prancing horses pictured bring the kitty up to $1.1 billion. And that’s before we even take into account the Shelby Daytona Coupe, which is worth at least 5 mil a pop. At least. The stie’s a nice summary of the 1964 Spa race and the insane machinery that made it happen. I stumbled across this site when looking for photos of today’s POTD, the Aston Martin DP214. You could say I hit the motherload, couldn’t you? Anyhow, enjoy. [SPA Legends]

Ah. More wagon glory. Audi’s RS6 has shown its tuning potential thanks to B&B and MTM’s variants on the company’s flying family hauler, and Kicherer has joined the elite crowd as of late. The German tuner has upped the stakes thanks to a flashier two-tone paint scheme and mega-huge rollers. Just like the B&B and MTM variants, the Kicherer model should pull 700 horses and 575 lb-ft of twisting fury out of the V10 under the hood. A new stainless exhaust burbles the siren song of German power and lowering springs put ze wagen closer to the ground. Kicherer decided to ditch the sleeper look in favor of ungodly 22-inch rims and a rear spoiler. To each his own. It’s still a bad-ass wagon. [WCF]

I was reading 0-60mag.com the other day when i stumbled across this picture. I was floored. I quickly began harrasing editor Brian Scotto, “What is that? What is that?” At first he thought it was an Aston Martin DB4 Zagato. I said him no way, as those are stouter and more bulbous. I then told him it had to be some sort of weird Ferrari 275 GTB LWB with a rear quarter window and scoops instead of gills. Then he reminded me that he was actually there, looking at it,  and it clearly said “Aston.” Judging by the shape and Kammback, I knew it was early 60s and I knew it liked Le Mans. Turns out it’s the only surviving DP214. Two were initially made. Pretty neat, huh? Above is the DP214 in action in 2007 at Silverstone with it’s Tadek Marek designed heart spinning merrily away.

Remember the 806 horse Koenigsegg CCX? The Swedish company with the stones to take on supercar mainstays like Lamborghini and McLaren by making the Murcielago slaughtering and F1 besting CCX. Well sir, they got a four-door coming and it’s going to be a reality by 2011. Koenigsegg plans to unveil a prototype at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, complete with a 700 horsepower V8. The mill won’t be the same that powers the CCX, but the car will be built out of carbon fiber, just like the coupe. With all the light-weight goodness, the sedan should be the lightest of its kind, helping it attain the projected 217 mph top speed. Lining up next to Aston Martin’s Rapide and Porsches Panamera, the unnamed Sweedmobile should more than a contender. [Car Middle East]

If you’ve been following Godzilla’s swath of destruction through the automotive landscape as closely as we have, you may have noticed something fishy. It’s no secret that the car weighs a ton (damn near two tons), but despite its girth and advertised 480 crank-horsepower, the GT-R has managed to decimate the Corvette Z06’s numbers to 60 mph and through the quarter mile repeatedly. How the hell is that possible? Car & Driver, the folks with the resources to answer a question like that, managed to wrangle a handful of the Japanese monstrosities for a jaunt on the dyno. What’d they find out? Exactly what everybody suspected — the GT-R isn’t putting out Mothra-like 480 crank ponies. No, it’s definitely crankin’ around 520 Godzilla like horses. One car laid down 420 horsepower at the wheels, and once you factor in the near 20 percent loss of power via the drivetrain, that bumps the actual crank power to over 520. Damn. That only makes the $70,000 for the all-wheel drive gorilla/whale all the sweeter. [C&D]

Hot on the heels of the RS5 shots comes this little number. Don’t worry, Audi isn’t teaming up with Mitsubishi. It’s a special one-off by the Quattro folks themselves, Audi. Branded the S5 Evo, the car comes with a 420 horse version of the 4.2-liter FSI V8 found in both the RS4 and R8. The company says they built the S5 Evo to gauge public reaction, and even though the car should carry the same suspension as the base S5, it has 30 less horses than the bad-boy RS5 (supposedly). We dig the idea of more power coming from the sexy coupe’s nose, but will Audi build it? Who knows? They could tell us their production plans for the next 100 years and we couldn’t understand them. We don’t speak German. But we sure as hell drive it. [Motor Authority]

Take a look at the first generation Audi RS5. Audi’s uber-coupe should rock a 450 horse 4.2-liter FSI V8 (that’s 30 ponies more than an R8!) coupled to the company’s S-Tronic double-clutch transmission, as well as a standard manual transmission(!), though at this stage in the game no one can say for certain. If you believe the rumors flying ‘round the Web, the car may find itself propelled by a delicious V10, but with Euro greenhouse gas standards tightening daily, we doubt it. With Audi’s Quattro launching all four wheels, the RS5 should be a real M coupe killer. We can’t wait. The next gen car has been spotted darting around Death Valley for testing, and by the time it hits show rooms should have more aggressive styling than what we see here. And as the old RS4 is one of our favorite all time rides, we’re dying to drive this baby.

That’s right, Pardubice. You know, in Eastern Bohemia? In the Czech Republic. Still never heard of it? That’s OK. But now you may be asking why a 1968 Ford Galaxie is parked in from of the Road Café. That’s a good question. Well sir, remember these guys? You know, the insane Czechs that are completely obsessed with old school American metal? Serious — there motto seems to be, “The bigger the better.” And hey, good for them. It’s no secret that I dig Czech style. I only wish it were easier to import Tatras. This particular Galaxie belongs to my pal “Bob.” He’s an automotive journalist as well, hence he’s pretty handy with the camera. Update: Only he didn’t take the pics — his friend did! And here’s some pics of an American car meet up in front of the same “American Stylish” restaurant. Enjoy!

In a teaser campaign sure to sucker us bloggers in catch the car web on fire, Peugeot released some dark, shady images of a hybridal concept it plans on “debuting” this october in Paris. What are these pics then, a pre-debut? Anhow, the car is called, “RC…” Oooh, more ploy. Get it? They’re not even going to tell us the name of the car we’re looking at. Those tricky French! As you can tell by looking, this is a “4-door Coupe,” a phrase that’s still meaningless all these years later. Though in Peugeot’s defense they’re calling it a GT coupe. Which also makes no sense. It does however have an electric engine that Peugeot’s claiming can make 300 hp all by its lonesome. And when it’s running in sync with the petrol mill, carbon emissions should be quite low (109 g/km — but we don’t know what that means). One nice thing… despite Peugeot’s best (and darkest) efforts, I have to say that the idiotically named “RC…” is a damn fine looking car. Almost like an Audi R8 blended with an Aston Martin Rapide, then stirred by HR Giger.