By Tadhg Leonard
Sure, we all admire a real bad boy. Someone that leads an unashamedly excessive lifestyle, is vulgarity personified, has bags of attitude and a blatant disregard for authority. These are people that we, sometimes secretly, aspire to be. In movie terms they are the John McLeans, Tyler Durdens and Dirty Harrys of this world.
It is their unshakable self confidence, their ability to talk the talk and back that up with the force of an atom bomb that commands our respect. Every bad boy has an inherent ability not to give a damn what others think and act accordingly. Like most individuals, they are suited to particular types of car; real mean machines with only one purpose to their existence – speed. These are cars that have ‘bad boy’ written all over them, and the three motors we’ve highlighted here are our pick of the bunch.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X (main picture) is a serious machine. A worthy successor to the long standing Evo IX Mitisubishi’s latest incarnation is powered by a 2 litre turbo. This in line, four cylinder powerhouse produces an epic 400bhp (FQ 400), hits 100kph in 3.8 seconds and is electronically limited to 249kph – pretenders and show boats beware!
The Evo X’s styling will have boy racers wetting their pants with its carbon fibre spoiler, splitters, diffusers and bonnet as standard. Aggressive styling is accentuated by an overhanging front end and flared air intakes that it has inherited from previous models. The Lancer Evolution X is a real contender for the heavyweight crown – a machine not to be messed with.
Vauxhall VXR8
It’s not every day we take a second look any of the models in the Opel/Vauxhall range. Usually bland in style and performance or thought of as a car your sister would drive, it has been a long time since Opel/Vauxhall has been the object of desire for any man. Let’s face it, Opels have never been the pin-ups of choice on a teenagers’ bedroom walls.
Thanks to a great British tradition of claiming foreign achievements as their own, the Vauxhall VXR8 Bathurst S has made its way to the UK market. Pilfered straight form an Australian subsidiary company (Holden) and named after a famous Australian race meet, the Bathurst boasts mindblowing performance figures. A 6.2 litre supercharged V8 puts 560bhp on the tarmac through the rear wheels, reaching 100kph in 4.8 seconds and limited to a top end speed of 249kph.
An M5 mile eater at a fraction of the price of most supercars, the Bathurst is more at home in front of a gangster’s council house than the leafy suburbs of Killiney where its ostentatious style would no doubt offend the locals. Style wise it is something that a pubescent teenager would scribble in the back of his copy book but that doesn’t stop the petrolheads at JOE wanting one.
Mercedes CLK 63 AMG Black
The Mercedes CLK 63 AMG Black is the king of all bad boys (and as the picture below shows, it’s Black by name not necessarily by nature). Initially designed as a competitive racer before being used as the official F1 safety car from 2006 to the 2008/9 season (when it was replaced by the arguably inferior SL63 for a season), the Black’s pedigree is unquestionable. Powered by a colossal 6.1 litre normally-aspirated V8, AMG have managed to squeeze 500bhp out of their standard block.
Achieving 0-100kph times of 4.1 seconds and electronically limited to 299Kph this Merc is a rival to any supercar. AMG designers have engineered the Mercedes Black to be the ultimate street racer. Totally focused on speed and performance with AMG’s emphasis on maximum performance regardless of cost. Mercedes have limited the production run of the Black to maintain exclusivity and it will no doubt become a modern classic that will yield significant premiums on the second hand market.
The Black’s racing credentials, style and performance ensure its place in the pantheon of all time greats and its unashamed brutishness propels this to the top of JOE’s bad boy listings.
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