A fast look at 14 sizzling new speed machines.

2011 Lexus LFA

It's a little hard to believe that one of the most hotly anticipated sports cars of the last 10 years will wear a Lexus badge. However, since Lexus showed off the LF-A concept at the 2005 Detroit auto show, the world's breath has been baited. The six-year wait, with numerous revisions and death threats throughout, resulted in a car every bit as exciting as anticipated. It offers up a 552-hp 4.8-liter V10 engine mounted behind the front axle, routing all that power to a six-speed sequential transaxle located in the rear. The sound of the engine is truly exotic, and for once manufacturer claims of a Formula 1 exhaust note in a production car are backed up with reality. The cost is $375,000, and Lexus will produce only 500 examples, so you lottery-winning Lexus fans had better get in line.