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Introduction
Whether you’re into muscle, import, exotic, or anything in between, chances are you’ve tried to answer the same question; what’s your dream 5 car garage?
I can go on all day about cars I dream about owning, but myself and the rest of The Apex Drag team have decided to limit it to 5. To the rest of the world, 5 cars is a lot, bordering on excessive. Why does anyone need 5 cars? The short answer is we don’t. However, this isn’t what life is about! As a car enthusiast, trying to narrow down my 5 favorite cars is like normal people trying to pick their favorite kid (I think… I don’t have kids.) What’s on my list?
1. Acura/Honda NSX
If you know me at all, you probably know the original NSX is my favorite car of all time. Is it the fastest? No. Is it the quickest 0-60? No. Luxurious? No. So why would I choose a car that’s roughly 30 years old? Easy. My decision is purely based on emotion. The original NSX is a low, mid-engine sports car that didn’t excel at any one thing in particular, but it did excel in perfecting everything as a whole. The whole point of the NSX was to be a sports car you could use every day while still being able to compete with the offerings from Ferrari, Porsche 911, and Lotus. They managed to pack all of this practicality into a beautifully designed car. I personally love the open canopy style derived from the F-16 that showed the world that you can have a mid-engine car and still be able to see what’s behind you. Step into an NSX and you’ll see the slopped center console. Some manufacturers are starting to do something similar to this, but I don’t recall seeing this in any car before the NSX. This adds a lot of character to the inside of the car, which is where I know I’d be spending a lot of time.
2. Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR
These days the term “racecar for the road” gets thrown around a lot. I wouldn’t be surprised if the new Chrysler Town & Country is described as a “racecar for the road,” but in my opinion, the CLK GTR truly is a racecar for the road. Honestly, just throw a few decals on this car and I’m sure you’ll get pulled over because there’s no way in H-E double hockey sticks that the CLK GTR is street legal. If there was ever a car that would make my jaw drop, this would be it. The CLK GTR makes this list because it’s completely mad and nothing like what people think of when they hear Mercedes-Benz. With less than 30 ever produced, it’s not likely that this will happen. I guess this is why this is a “dream” 5 car garage.
3. Lancia 037 Stradale
Group B brought out some of the most insane cars of the 1980s. The competition was so fierce that manufacturers were producing 200 road-going examples of a car just to use that platform to compete. This is where the street-legal version of the 037 got its name. The name “Stradale” is Italian for “road-going”, or “for the road”. While we typically think of rally cars as hatchbacks, or the legendary Evo’s and STI’s, the ’80s was a different story. The 037 was a mid-engine car that was also the last RWD rally car to win the World Rally Championship. Like the CLK GTR, there’s nothing else that really looks like the 037 and that’s what draws me to it. Absolute legend.
4. Mitsubishi Evo IX Wagon
This year was the start of my journey into mountain biking. This is one of the very few hobbies I’ve ever gotten into that’s ever come close to my love of cars. I absolutely love the adrenaline rush it brings. One of the side effects of this hobby is reconsidering what I would want as a daily. My ideal daily would be a vehicle that I could throw a mountain bike in the back of, and also be a blast to drive. While I’d love to spend my days in a new RS 6 Avant, or some AMG wagon, I just can’t bring myself to do it. I despise jumping on bandwagons. If something is popular, it usually pushes me to look elsewhere. So what could I get that’s unique, fun to drive, and has room to throw a mountain bike in the back of? The Evo IX Wagon. Most people have no idea that this exists. Not surprising since only 2,500 were made and were not intended to be exported from Japan.
5. Lamborghini Countach
I went back and forth between this and the Lamborghini Diablo. I decided to pick the Countach because it is the definition of a poster car. There is nothing subtle about the Countach and that’s what drew me to this car as a child. Not only that, but Lamborghini is the brand that I dreamed about as a child. Side note: I still have a Lamborghini book that I checked out so much in middle school that they let me keep it at the end of the year. The Countach has a V12, doors that go up, and in later models, styling that fits the era it was produced perfectly. I think driving a Countach would be one of the most entertaining drives one could have.
Coming up with this list was a challenge. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to think of what I would really want. I always thought the Lexus LFA, McLaren F1, Mazda RX7, Skylines, etc., etc., would make the list but that wasn’t the case. This list has also opened my eyes to the fact that I really enjoy older cars. I think the future of cars is amazing, and I love how much technology has pushed the boundaries of what’s possible, but to me and many car enthusiasts, driving is an emotional experience. I believe the cars I picked would give me the most smiles per gallon than any car could. While most of the cars on this list are completely out of reach, I do believe an NSX and/or an Evo wagon could very easily be in my not so distant future. I guess we will see what happens. Now that my dream 5 car garage is posted, I look forward to seeing what my friends pick…
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