When asked what the best car that is not available in Canada was, my mind immediately went to a couple places. The VW Scirocco and the Ford Focus RS were my first thoughts, being a man who loves a nice hot hatch, but then I started thinking of slightly more obscure machines, and eventually ended up very, very far away from hot-hatchery. Find out how after the jump.
I love the Scirocco. If it was available in North America (As shown above in San Francisco) I’d commit all sorts of atrocities so that I could afford one. It’s got a healthy 200 horses kicking around under the hood, 207 foot-pounds of torque, great suspension, direct steering, a hatch for practicality, and more than two seats, in case I get the strange urge to put someone other than my fiancé back there. The GTI offers all of these things, you say? What is doesn’t offer is the Scirocco’s gorgeous bod, the wider track, and the lower roof in the rear, so that people are less likely to ask me for a ride. All in all, it sounds to be the perfect car for a person like me. However, we already have the GTI, which is very similar, and we can probably make do with that. Even though my love of Volkswagen borders on fetish, I’ll have to discount the Scirocco.
Next up is the Ford Focus RS which, given that the 200 horse power GTI is considered to be a hot hatch, must be some sort of fiery hatch. 300 horses is ridiculous, especially going through the front wheels. Yes I know that Ford says the car has a little wizard living in the suspension and cancelling out all of the torque steer or something, but that much power in a front wheel drive car is a bit ludicrous. Basically, I like it; ludicrous is my style. However, once again, we do have hot hatches, and if you really want a 300 horsepower front wheel drive hatch-back you can (not necessarily should) put some Audi parts in your rabbit. I think I should be looking at something completely off the wall, and not in a Progressive Activity Sedan kind of way.
How about a Morgan? They make some cars that are nothing if not off the wall. The Aeromax’s retro styling with a BMW engine sounds fantastic to me. It’s the natural design evolution of the 1940′s train of thought, and I love cars from the 40′s. Luckily, thanks to the previously mentioned BMW V8, one doesn’t have to drive at 1940′s speeds. You could get in this car and get wherever you are going on time. Hell, with a top speed of 270 kph, you’ll certainly be able to arrive early. I’d say Tim’s pick was a pretty good one. However, I’m not going to say he’s wrong just because I’m disagreeable. I’m going to do it because I’m looking for the best car not available in Canada. This needs to be a supercar, it needs to perform well beyond what can be had elsewhere. But we already have the Ferrari F430 Scuderia, the Lamboughini Murcielago LP 670-4 Superveloce, and other similar mid-engined crazies.
But we don’t have this:
Sure, it’s not as fast around the Nurburgring as the Fezza or the Lambo, but I’m willing to bet you can’t find me a car that would make it faster through the center of the Nurburgring than the Bowler Nemesis. Not only is it quite possibly going to prove itself to be the best off-road racer on the planet, but it will have turn-signals, and other things that will allow you to drive it to the grocery store, by whatever route you would like, if need be. Yes, it costs what, as of this moment, is equal to $218,000, but that’s the running rate for supercars. However, this is a world class racing vehicle. I challenge you to go out and buy an F1 car for the same price. You certainly aren’t getting turn signals or going over speed bumps any time soon with a Brawn GP racer. The Bowler does these menial day-to-day tasks and so, so much more. The Bowler Nemesis is the best car not available in Canada.