Rifling through some of the photos that sadly didn’t make it into their respective posts, we couldn’t help but get a bit wistful.

Recently we said goodbye to our beloved Toyota Yaris. Seems like only yesterday – alongside the Nissan Juke – we were welcoming the nippy hatchback to the crankandpiston fold. We wanted to make sure the Yaris went out with a bang, much much as the BMW 550i did and how we wanted Project 4 to enter.

We rubbed our hands with glee when we got our hands on the Ferrari FF, much as we did when crankandpiston first buckled up in the 458 Spider. But this wasn’t the first time that the Scuderia’s controversial 4WD model had crossed our paths. You may remember we stumbled across a lone example in Portugal during our time with the Mini Coupe Roadster and the BMW HybridActive5.

There’s less than two weeks to go before the Le Mans 24 Hrs and the competitive debut of the Nissan DeltaWing. If it’s anything like the previous endurance events at Daytona, Dubai, Dakar or Sebring, then we’re in for a treat. And let’s not forget how excited we were when Aston Martin and Toyota announced their line-up for the recent Nurburgring 24hrs.

The last remaining elements of the 2011/2012 Middle East motorsport season are drawing to a close, with the Drift UAE finale a recent example. But if the reaction to Tim Steven’s guest blog, the UAE Touring Cars, the Gulf 12hrs, and the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge are anything to go by, then next season will be well worth the wait.

So thrilled were we with the original Management Fleet Volkswagen Scirocco that we tooled ourselves pretty quickly with an R model. And it’s not the first time a model has got us hot under the collar. Take the Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster, the Aston Martin One-77, the Porsche 911 Carrera S, the Bentley Mulsanne, and the Audi A7 as prime examples, and I’m sure none of us will forget the Land Rover DC100 Sport in a hurry.

We’re not always saints at crankandpiston – hard to believe I know – as our time with the Shelby GT500 proved. We certainly wouldn’t dream of pulling such a stunt with the Jaguar C-X16, the RAUH-Welt Begriff 996, the Ferrari F12berlinetta or any of the examples at Hooligan Customz. Still, after our time with the Chevrolet Camaro Convertible, we were sorely tempted!