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Detroit Auto Show: Sleek and sexy autos set to debut

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They are the Dodger Dogs with all the trimmings, the triple cheeseburger with extra bacon, the filet mignon topped with melted butter.

At next week’s Detroit auto show, half a dozen automakers will be rolling out low-volume, high-performance or specialty vehicles meant to generate buzz for their brands.

A Corvette Stingray not fast enough? The Corvette Z06 is on the way, likely with ludicrous levels of horsepower and torque.

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DETROIT AUTO SHOW: Big trucks, fast cars and more

Subaru’s WRX wannabe rally racer still too bland? The WRX STI adds a boy-racer body and a retuned chassis to match its already prodigious power.

BMW, Cadillac, Lexus and Porsche will be rolling out their own high-end versions of existing models. Such specialty cars bring an aura of sex appeal and excitement to their makers in a way mass-marketed vehicles can’t.

“Nobody gets excited about cookie-cutter cars,” said Dave Sullivan, an analyst at AutoPacific. “It’s the ‘limited edition’ something that gets people talking.”

PHOTOS: Highlights from the 2014 Detroit Auto Show

The Detroit gathering — officially the North American International Auto Show — is the perfect place to start conversations.

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This is one of the largest auto shows in the world, and automakers are keen to take advantage of the global audience. Because these brands often focus their attention on green cars at November’s Los Angeles Auto Show, it leaves a bumper crop of go-fast models for January.

And an improving economy means that more consumers are willing to spend on something to raise their pulse and draw attention, Sullivan said.

These cars still make up only a fraction of overall sales for their makers. Previously, the high-performance Z06 and ZR1 editions of the Corvette accounted for about 10% of the sports car’s total sales, Chevy said. Subaru’s STI sold just under 4,500 copies in 2013, compared with about 60,000 for the base Impreza and 13,500 for the WRX

But the attention that top-end models attract makes them worth the effort for automakers.

Few Detroit debuts are as highly anticipated as the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z06. The car is an asphalt-warping version of the already expeditious seventh-generation Corvette Stingray, which Chevy unveiled at its hometown show last year.

Final details on the car’s powertrain will be released during the Corvette news conference Monday. But Chevy unquestionably has been more aggressive in raising the bar for this new generation of its iconic sports car.

“We’re always trying to make performance more accessible,” said Tadge Juechter, Chevy’s chief engineer on the Corvette.

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The base model ‘Vette — with 455 horsepower — packs as much punch as previous limited-edition models. The new Z06 could move into a realm previously occupied by the Corvette ZR1. That car, built from 2009 to 2013, was the fastest production model GM ever built. It used a 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 that produced 638 horsepower and 604 pound-feet of torque.

The ZR1 also pushed the Corvette marque past the $100,000 point for the first time. Yet even if the new Z06 steps into ZR1 performance territory, don’t expect the price to do the same. Chevy was keen on offering a wide range of Corvettes in the previous generation, and the Z06’s positionwon’t change.

Also on the debut docket is Subaru’s next-generation WRX STI. The STI picks up where the slightly more pedestrian WRX leaves off (that model was unveiled at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show in November). Both versions are turbocharged sedans loosely based on Subaru’s compact Impreza sedan and hatchback.

For the next-generation all-wheel-drive STI model, expect power to remain close to its predecessor’s numbers. That car squeezes 305 horsepower and 290 pound-feet of torque from a 2.5-liter, turbocharged boxer engine.

Although the all-new WRX adds a continuously variable transmission to the lineup for the first time in 2015 to broaden the car’s appeal, don’t expect Subaru to do the same with the 2015 STI. This is a performance-oriented car that sells about a fifth of the volume of the WRX, so buyerswill need to know their way around a manual gearbox.

Key improvements on the STI will probably be the car’s handling, an area where the new WRX made notable upgrades. That model benefits from a markedly stiffer chassis, a revised suspension and steering system, and improved torque vectoring. Expect much of the same on the new STI — and some other electronic goodies — when it’s announced Tuesday and goes on sale in the spring.

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Another Japanese model making its world debut on U.S. soil will be the Lexus RC F coupe. If the RC coupe doesn’t ring a bell, that’s because the more humble base model was introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show in November, and isn’t on sale yet.

Based on the mid-size GS platform, the RC coupe will straddle the space in Lexus’ lineup between that car and the more compact IS sedan. The normal RC coupe will come with either a V-6 or a hybrid powertrain. Rear-wheel drive is standard, all-wheel-drive is optional.

Meanwhile, the RC F coupe steps up a V-8 engine that the automaker says makes this new version “the most powerful V-8 performance car ever developed by Lexus.” This means it will have more than the 416 horsepower that the outgoing 2014 IS F wrings out of a 5.0-liter V-8.

When the RC F coupe hits Lexus showrooms later in 2014, it will be aimed directly at another performance model meeting the world for the first time in Detroit. But this one has a much deeper history.

Though BMW has already released details on the next generation of its venerated M3 sedan and M4 coupe, Detroit will be the first chance the public gets to see them in the flesh.

Though the M4 is a new name for BMW, mechanically it’s identical to the M3. The German automaker is in the process of switching the names ofall its two-door models to even numbers and positioning them, by price and features, slightly above the sedan versions.

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Both models will offer a turbocharged inline six-cylinder to replace the naturally aspirated V-8 in the outgoing M3 lineup. Horsepower increases slightly to 425 total, while torque is up considerably to 406 pound-feet. A six-speed manual transmission will be standard; a seven-speed automated dual-clutch setup will be optional.

Also headed to Detroit will be Cadillac’s ATS Coupe. Though not explicitly a performance-oriented model (that will be the ATS-V), the two-door version of Cadillac’s popular compact sedan will be a smaller-volume play aimed at a younger audience.

The ATS coupe will come with either the 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinder or the 3.6-liter V-6 engines that are available on the sedan. Rear-wheel-drive will continue to be standard, while all-wheel-drive will be an option.

Porsche too will have a new style of sheet metal draped over an existing car. The automaker plans to unveil the 911 Targa in Detroit. With a movable roof portion that splits the difference between a coupe and a convertible, the Targa has often been the odd step-sibling in the lineup.

The new design headed to Detroit promises to hearken back to the original 911 Targa from 1965.Instead of just the giant-sunroof setup of the previous model, the entire center roof portion of the 2015 911 Targa is a power-folding hardtop piece. The one-piece rear window now wraps around the back of the cockpit, and the silver basket handle “Targa bar,” in the image of the original model, sits directly behind the driver and passenger.

Expect the Porsche Targa to be among the priciest choices in this buffet of riotously fast American, German and Japanese performance models.

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