Poke Me In The Eye

Once a week the Crawford and I (Moe) are going to pose a question to one another, alternating who asks each week. We encourage our readers to participate as well, so feel free to answer the question yourself.

The first question is: If you could have any five cars with no worries of having to pay for them, pay for the maintenance, insurance, etc. what would they be?

Moe’s picks:

This is a question I have fantasized about pretty much anytime that I have played the lottery. I would want a rather broad spectrum of cars, one for every type of occasion so while I could easily fill this list with the best of the best super cars in the world I won’t. Using a Bugatti Veyron to run to the grocery store just wouldn’t be very practical. Anyway, on to the cars. My answers are not listed in any particular order.

In my opinion the McLaren F1 represents the finest sports car ever made. The car was engineered in every way to be the ultimate sports car. The car seats three with the driver seated in the middle, the car is made out of extremely lightweight materials such as carbon composites and aluminum. McLaren even went so far as to have Kenwood make a special lightweight CD player for the car. Designer Gordon Murray followed what I consider one of the most important aspects to designing a sports car, keep the weight as low as possible. He succeeded, the McLaren weighs a mere 2,500 pounds, just a bit more than a Miata. The engine, built buy BMW, is a 6.1 liter naturally aspirated V12 which generates 620 horsepower at 7400 rpm. To show just how much attention to detail was given to every aspect of this car, in order to insulate the heat generated from the engine, the McLarens engine bay is lined with gold. I could go on all day about this car but if I had the means it would be the first car I would buy. Unfortunately for me I am not made of money and the Mclaren is really rare, only 65 of the road version were ever made and they sold for a price of over one million dollars USD.

I am a sports car kind of guy but every now and then you need to transport more than one person at a time. When it comes to luxury not many car manufacturers can surpass Bentley. The Bentley Continental Flying Spur is just about the ultimate luxury car. Sporting a twin turbocharged W12 engine that puts out 552 horsepower to all four wheels the Flying Spur is capable of going 195 miles an hour and accelerates from 0 to 60 in just 4.9 seconds. The Bentley has a base price of $169,990. I was lucky enough to see a few of these driving around on my recent trip to japan.

You can’t have a collection of cars without having some American muscle and in my mind the 427 Cobra is the ultimate American muscle car. I have always lusted after the Cobra and if I ever have the means I intended to make a Cobra replica at some point in my life.

You just gotta have a Ferrari if you are putting together the ultimate car collection. I know my choice may be a bit controversial. I am sure some people are wondering why I didn’t pick the Enzo or one of the classic Ferraris. In my eyes the 360 Spider is one of the most beautiful cars ever made. I absolutely love the lines and I think it is just drop dead sexy. The Spider has a mid engine, 3.6 liter V8 which produces 400 horsepower that propels it from zero to sixty in 3.9 seconds. Like all Ferrari’s the Spider wasn’t cheap with a MSRP of $164,000.00 and you just couldn’t find one for that price, not to mention a several year waiting list. If ever come into money this will probably be the first car I buy if I can’t afford or find a McLaren.

I have to say right off the bat that I absolutely detest the H2 Hummer, I think it’s an abortion of a car and I wish it could be eradicated off the face of the earth. With that out of the way I am going to need a car that I can bring up to mountains and I need something that I can do some offroading in. The Hummer H1 is an absolute beast offroad and can just about anywhere. A stock H1 is capable going through 30″ of standing water, climb a 22″ step (think about that a second, a curb is probably 5 or 6 inches) and you can adjust the tire pressure on the fly from inside the cabin of the vehicle. It is ugly as sin but that is part of its charm.

Those are my five picks. If you ask me this same question in a couple months you may get a couple of different answers but I am pretty happy with this list.

Some of the other cars I considered for the list were:

Dodge Viper GTS
Lamborghini Countach (an old time childhood favorite)
BMW M5
1932 Model T Hot Rod (black with flames)
Lotus Exige
Ariel Atom

Crawford’s Picks:

I will always be a Subaru fan and this car is, in my mind, the most amazing and classic version of this beast. It’s a rare one, only 555 were initially built and although a modern STi would probably beat up on it the classic “old school” Japanese ricer look and insane performance for it’s time will always make it a timeless classic. Even with winning lotto it would be a tough one to aquire as they are so very rare

The most amazing car to have ever come out of an American auto manufacturer (in my mind), the Ford GT40. It’s hard to get sexier than this! This race machine was purpose built to beat Ferrari at its own game…and did. And amazingly enough there are road going versions! Sadly this one would be another example of a machine that would be very tough to aquire as they were built…well…over 40 years ago.

Now we are talking modern amazement. This tiny little beast is fairly simple…4 cylinder (now available supercharged), extremely lightweight, no fancy air conditioning or radio or…well…anything. And there is practically nothing else on the road that could touch it. It’s tiny, fast, nimble and pretty damn expensive. If I could I’d buy 5 of them.

Perhaps it’s the James Bond in me, or the love of classic British monsters…but this car would be the perfect boulevard cruiser. Not only does it accelerate like no other it is extremely well apointed and comfortable. It could be the ultimate GT machine…and looks DAMN good too.

And of course there would have to be a 4 door in the stable. But it can’t be slow…it’s gotta be fast, REAL fast. And with 507 horsepower on tap this one is a rocket. Plus it has all the gadgetry to make any James Bond wannabe proud.

Note: This was extremely dificult! I realize I chose 4 2-seaters and no SUV or truck…which is something I’d definitely want/need at some point. But these are my “super fun” choices…my dream cars. I’m tempted to axe the M5 and go for pure personal pleasure.