(Hyundai)

More than six months have passed since Hyundai began selling its Genesis Coupe in the US, yet no one has taken a serious crack at modifying this Korean "ponycar" to the hilt.

But with the Specialty Equipment Market Association show less than two weeks away, there's now a sufficiently outrageous example from drift racer Rhys Millen.

The RMR R460, developed by Millen's aftermarket tuning company Rhys Millen Racing, scraps Hyundai's balanced rear-wheel drive layout and dumps a higher-compression version of the Genesis sedan's 4.6 liter V-8 in the hatch. This is a legitimate mid-engine configuration that, without turbochargers, produces a stout 500 horsepower.

New Zealand-born Millen, the nephew of IMSA driver Steve Millen, competes in the nascent Formula Drift series and did wheelman duty for car movies like "The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift" and "The Dukes of Hazzard" remake. He's logged plenty of hours in the Red Bull Racing Genesis Coupe drift car, including a record 12 minute, 9 second time at this year's Pikes Peak Hill Climb.

Along with a lowered body, 20-inch wheels, covered grill, and three huge air intakes is a sequential 5-speed manual built to withstand the hefty burnouts Millen requires on the job.

StopTech brakes replace the factory Brembos, and a custom carbon-fiber hatch and minor suspension reworking complete the details. Hyundai says this super Genesis is good for 182 miles per hour.

"Millen was drawn to the design similarities between the Genesis Coupe and the new Ferrari 599XX, which influenced the vehicle’s classic low profile and race-inspired look," according to a press release from Hyundai.

We're not sold on that description, but this mid-engined Hyundai &mdash whether it's for sale or not — should do plenty for the company's blossoming ego.

(All photos: Local Motors)

Wareham-based Local Motors, the start-up Massachusetts automaker behind the Rally Fighter dune racer, has revealed an all-electric hatchback concept that will be begin production in San Francisco within the next two to three years, the company said today.

The four-seat Ethylik, penned by 21-year-old French design student Ugo Spagnolo, is a hyper-aggressive styling exercise on the European hot hatch theme, to which the Ford Focus RS and mid-engined Renault Clio V-6 have become worthy legends.

Specifications are, at this point, speculations. Will there be an electric motor at every wheel to match the car's wild looks, like on the insane Mini QED concept? Or a tamer lithium-ion pack supported by a gas engine, like the Chevrolet Volt?

"We haven't set our hearts on one yet," said lead engineer Mike Pisani, noting that "battery technology could change dramatically" by the time the Ethylik debuts.

(Tesla Motors)

Tesla took the cover off its curvaceous Model S sedan Thursday, the second phase of the Silicon Valley automaker's lofty plan to sell electric cars for the masses.

If the $109,000 carbon fiber Roadster signified the new company's cocksure stardom against Porsche and the Italians - after all, celebrities and rich enthusiasts are on minimum one-year waiting lists - consider the Model S a detente with Tesla's exotic rivals.

The production version of the electric sedan, absent a $350 million loan from the Department of Energy and a manufacturing plant, will be tamer in performance but no less striking in its respective segment when it arrives in late 2011. Hours after embargoed studio photos of the concept car, above, were posted to a Flickr account, Tesla revealed the specifications at the official California launch: a 300-mile range, 45-minute charging, and zero to 60 miles per hour in 5.6 seconds.

Seven people can cram into the Model S - five adults and two children in a rear-facing seat under the hatch. The entire center console is one massive 17-inch touchscreen LCD, which wasn't demonstrated at the launch. Tesla's bold 300-mile claim, however, will only be met by its longest-range battery (two others will offer 160 and 230 miles). It's likely the 160-mile battery will be standard, and the others will be very pricey options that will see the car soar past the $57,400 base price.

That puts the Model S in the range of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5 Series, Jaguar XF, and other premium sedans. But Tesla buyers can now claim a $7,500 federal tax credit for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, which President Obama announced last week in addition to $2.4 billion in federal grants for electric car and battery manufacturers.

Tesla's grand plan to produce an electric car under $30,000 is no secret, but little more than a dream that's at least four years away, if that early. With the promised 100-mile-per-gallon Chevrolet Volt next year and Ford's 2012 roll out of plug-in hybrids, Tesla will have to compete with a slew of moderately priced EVs (and the 2013 Toyota Prius, which surely will have no less than a big fat "80" on its EPA window sticker).

According to CEO Elon Musk, Tesla is on its way to becoming profitable by mid-year after gathering $40 million in additional financing in December. That bodes well for the young automaker, but as old-timers General Motors and Chrysler can attest, a lot can go wrong in a short span of time. Hopefully nothing does until after April, when the Globe takes the Roadster for an exclusive, exhaustive three-day test in California. Check Boston Overdrive in the coming weeks for more details.

(Fioravanti)

As automakers cut costs, perhaps they should become blatantly, honestly cheap and follow the Fioravanti Tris.

The Tris, which uses the same bumpers, lights, and doors on all sides of the car, first debuted nine years ago and is showing again at the Geneva Auto Show. While not much has changed since, the Tris is still a robust lesson in trimming manufacturing costs through the use of minimalist, modular design. Provided, of course, that style and embarrassment doesn't matter to the driver.

If a car like the Tris ever came to production, traffic cops would constantly ticket it for parking in the opposite direction of the street. Perhaps Fioravanti could install a steering wheel in the back to clear that up.

(Rinspeed)

An array of automotive-themed iPhone applications – accelerometers, parking reminders, racing games – are little more than cute amusements for waiting in the dentist's office. But the most innovative and useful auto app isn't available for download - it controls a concept car made by Rinspeed, the wild Swiss company responsible for last year's submersible Lotus Elise.

Open the fighter jet canopy of the Rinspeed iChange, climb into the center driver's seat, and plug in your iPhone. A green starter button graphic appears; press it, and the electric sports car is ready to go. Another button closes the canopy, while another raises it several inches to accommodate two rear seat passengers (hence the word "Change"). Need to double-park and grab a quick sandwich? No problem, the hazard indicator switch is there, too, as well as the headlight controls.

It's official, iPhone fanatics: song recognition and 3-D topographic maps are officially lame.

(BMW)

So this, a lowered BMW X6, is Chris Bangle's latest, greatest, and final creation. Where is the media firestorm this time?

Bangle, the company's now-departed design chief, has been responsible for the most controversial cars in BMW's history, and despite the criticism, his work has helped sell more BMWs than ever.

His signature "surface flames" and infamous "Bangle butts" have turned every BMW product launch since the 2002 7 Series into a group session of electroshock therapy. Aside from Infiniti's wild FX, mainstream production cars haven't gotten much livelier than a new BMW.

But Bangle's 5 Series Gran Turismo concept looks very tame - and dare we say it - unoriginal, if only because the Z4, 6 Series, 5 Series, and X6 have completely desensitized the auto show crowd. We've seen the big nostrils before, and the body creases and flat, puffy rear ends.

The only bit of surprise comes from the marketing department, which never fails at adding new entries to the dictionary of useless automotive acronyms. Instead of admitting what the 5 Series Gran Turismo really is - a crossover, inflated station wagon, or Chrysler Pacifica clone - BMW has proclaimed it the world's first "Progressive Activity Sedan." According to the press release, that means it "combines the looks and appearance of a sporty BMW Sedan, a modern Sports Activity Vehicle, and a classic Gran Turismo."

Buyers still call the "Sport Activity Vehicle" X5 a plain-old sporty SUV, and still are figuring out what the "Sport Activity Coupe" X6 actually is. When the 5 Series PAS debuts in Geneva next month, Chris won't be there to explain.

(Steve Haines/Globe Staff)

Lots of car companies claim to build dream cars. Nearly every luxury and exotic car manufacturer has a department for special orders, and there's no shortage of tuners that turn these cars inside-out, but aside from Louis Vuitton seats and stainless steel hoods, there's not much original thought involved. Chinese brand BYD has the lofty phrase "Build Your Dreams" in its name, but its creations are nightmares. Even Tesla Motors can't climb its way out of a Lotus Elise.

Local Motors of Wareham, Mass., is building bespoke automobiles the old-fashioned way: take a sketch, bring the buyer into the shop at every step, and churn out a car that resembles no other set of wheels on earth. The company's website even invites designers to compete and submit drawings for potential production.

Globe reporter Emily Sweeney and photographer Steve Haines got a tour of the factory and its handsome Rally Fighter, above, which is an upscale Baja buggy that will cost $50,000 when it enters production this spring. Local Motors also has selected a wild design for a three-passenger electric vehicle, dubbed the "Boston Bullet".

It's certainly courageous of CEO John B. Rogers, Jr. - a retired Marine and Harvard Business School grad - to gather millions of dollars and pay 10 employees in these times. Give this man a nice federal loan - he'd deserve it.

• Read the full story here
• See more photos of LM's shop in the full entry