Power to the people: Detroit debuts sexy sports cars

Austerity is over. With a megafast track-ready Corvette, a muscular new Mustang, and a tougher WRX, the auto industry put on its best display of speed and power in years at its annual Detroit show. Around a dozen high performance production cars and concepts were introduced this week, with mixes of raw power, agility and styling to give even the most mild-mannered drivers itchy fingers. It was another sign of confidence that at least the giant US market is fully back to health and ready to enjoy the thrill of driving faster and more furiously. Headlining were two new versions of the Corvette Stingray. One was Chevrolet's official new endurance racer, the CR.7, which it will put to the test at the end of this month in the Rolex 24 hour race in Daytona, and possibly later this year at Le Mans. The second was the street-legal version of that car, the 625 horsepower Z06, dubbed the "American Supercar." It is built on the same aluminum frame and with much of the same speed features as the CR.7 that make it the fastest 'Vette ever. It will be on the market in 2015. "Racing motor sports and winning is a part of who we are,"  said Mark Reuss, General Motors' head of global product development, citing the previous Corvette's many victories on US tracks. As much a head-turner was Toyota's almost over-the-top FT-1 concept, a racer that started in a fantasy video game but could one day become a successor to the company's long-missing Supra. With stealthy angles and more vents than a heating system, it garnered raves and pleas to bring it to production. Kia shed its humble reputation with the aggressive GT4 Stinger concept, a pocket rocket wearing lines like a Porsche or a Maserati and carrying a turbocharged 315 horsepower, 2.0 liter engine. Subaru meanwhile showed up with a new version of the WRX, the rally driver favorite.