Peter’s got a point, you know. The 8C Competizione is far and away one of the most gorgeous things you could hope to clap your eyes on.
Still, it’s not the supercar for me. Oh no. The truth, dear CarEnvy.ca readers,is quite simple.
As I mentioned in a comment on Stan’s original entry, I’d never want the responsibility of owning something that I’d be terrified to drive for fear of something happening to it. And with me, I’d never want to own something that I couldn’t (or wouldn’t) drive.
So instead, I’d in all likelihood take whatever money would have gone for the one and only supercar of my dreams and instead spend it amassing a bunch of weird quirkmobiles—mostly minicars. Or maybe a whole stable full of Jeepneys. Decisions, decisions.
OH NO, YOU’VE FOUND OUT MY SECRET IDENTITY! Step away, I’ll make you fun-sized!
Oh, but I suppose that’s all a bit of a cheat, isn’t it? I mean, despite the fact that we’re apparently in for a bit of a resurgence of the full quirkosity (it’s a word, I checked) of the minicar thanks to the alleged rebirth of the BMW Isetta, I fully realize none of these class as supercars. And that I’m a heathen weirdo for even suggesting it. But at the same time, I have to be honest, don’t I? That is, after all, the point of an editorial.
OH, MY EYES, MY EYES! IT BURNS! ACK!
So I suppose there’s a compromise to be had, and it sure isn’t the Mitsuoka Orochi. (Although, on that point, isn’t it a bit redundant that people keep pointing out how ugly it is? “Orochi” is a mythical monster. It’s not like they called it the Mitsuoka Hontou Kireina Deshou Ka? now, is it?) It is, however, made by the same company. And although it’s not truly a “supercar,” it’s a lot closer than anything I’ve mentioned above. Ready? Wait for it…
In complete and total honesty, I’d throw it all away on a Mitsuoka Himiko in a second. Sure, it’s only an MX-5 Miata underneath, but that’s hardly something to sneeze at. And it’s only around $50K—truly a steal for such a fine-looking piece of automotive wonder! Why wouldn’t I just choose the Aero-8 instead of this? Because although Mitsuoka clearly has more than a slight case of Anglophilia, it’s their take on the Morgan theme that I find myself so taken with here. While they wear their influences on their sleeve, no one’s ever going to actually think this is a Morgan. And if I found myself dissatisfied with its performance, I could simply take the money I’d saved by buying this instead of a fully-fledged supercar-out-of-the-box and create something of a sleeper for myself—an idea which appeals to me far more than having a very obvious supercar. I am, after all, the kind of person who thinks it would be hilarious to find a Yugo (or body bits of one) to throw a Hayabusa engine into because no one would EVER see that coming.
I know that beyond performance alone, the other half of the point of a supercar is its looks and luxury, but I’d much prefer the stealth approach rather than someone pulling up next to me and knowing exactly what they were getting. People who couldn’t care less about cars would exclaim and excitedly snap shots with their cameraphones to upload to Facebook or Flickr or MySpace whether I was driving a Bugatti Veyron or the aforementioned Yugo monstrosity. Why? Because both, whether you like it or not, could be considered “remarkable.” And I don’t like being obvious. Since I doubt anyone who saw it on the road would quite know what to make of the Himiko, then, I think it’s a fair compromise.
I should also note that despite what the gallery below depicts, I’d definitely go for the manual trans. In my driving life, I learned on and have mostly continued to drive stick, and honestly feel weird when driving an automatic because I’m constantly looking for a clutch. And that’s hardly any fun, is it?
