Simon West will direct Dust And Glory

Simon West has been lined up to direct car-racing flick Dust And Glory .

The Con Air and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider director will helm the romantic adventure, with filming hopefully kicking off next summer.

Though it sounds like it could be an Expendables threequel, Dust And Glory is based on a novel by former rally driver Evan Green. The story takes place in the '50s during the Redex racing trials which covered 10,000 miles of the roughest racing terrain in Australia.

The rivalry between two competitors, an American up-and-comer and an Australian master, is the focal point of the story, though there's said to be some romance in there: The Hollywood Reporter describes it as "a cross between Mad Max and Jewel Of The Nile ".

Casting for the movie is expected to be announced before the end of this year, but seeing as how West's two most recent movies ( The Expendables 2 , The Mechanic ) have starred Jason Statham, we reckon his name'll probably make it onto the shortlist.

Simon West is currently directing The Expendables 2 , which opens on 17 August 2012.