For this week's Thursday Twister, it is time to name your favorite special edition of a mass market car. My choice is the SVT Lightning version of the Ford F-Series, which started off as a minor performance package in 1993 and ended up with as a supercharged street menace before being replaced by the Raptor.
Find this 2000 Ford F-150 Lightning here on eBay offered for $7,500 with 5 days to go, located in Greencastle, PA. With a 5.4 liter V8 that is supercharged to make 360 horsepower, the Lightning had more power than the most wicked Mustang when new. Now they are cheap, cheap, cheap and very special.
What is your favorite special edition?
I'm going to nominate the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO simply for being the widest gap between the normal version and the special edition. They took a car that was otherwise only available as a totally boring penalty box, then stuffed a much larger turbo motor and an AWD drivetrain under it, and there wasn't any sort of in-between option whatsoever for a long time.
ReplyDeleteLeast favorite: Levis Edition Gremlin
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ReplyDelete911 RS American
e36m3 lightweight
And
not that special but I really like the Bullitt Mustangs, both generations.
R 53 Mini Cooper Works GP. Numbered special edition, no sound deadening, no back seat, granite-hard suspension, and a rabid squirrel of an engine. They took a perfectly fun little runabout, and made it as raw as a scraped knee.
ReplyDelete1987 Buick Grand National GNX
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This one's easy......the Mecury Villager Nautica Edition.
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LOL, take THAT Brabus!
DeleteIt always bugged me that the Nautica didn't have a hitch to pull a boat.
DeleteSomeone get me a Scotch
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Those motors have like 2-3 threads holding in the sparkplugs they blow out and are hard to fix and harder to work on no elbow space there are a couple of kits to fix it but not cheap so hopefully you don't run into that something to look out for.
ReplyDeleteJeep does some attractive special editions of the Wrangler Unlimited such as this Big Bear Edition featured in a What Am I a while back on this very site:
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And back in 2008 Volkswagen sold a one-year-only special edition of the GTI called the Fahrenheit Edition which brings a smile to my face the couple of times I see one on the road each year:
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Hey man, at least they were trying which is more than you can say for a lot of car makers.
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ReplyDelete1978 Scirocco Champagne Edition. The seats were incredible (albeit a little tough to get in and out of with their huge side bolsters). The chin spoiler would just clear a standard concrete bumper stop, unless there was a little stub of rebar holding it in place, which would accommodate the spoiler going into the parking space, but remove it from the car when exiting the space. Miss the car, but not the woman I shared it with.
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This was my first car in '86. Great ride!
DeleteMy first "real" car also! Bought a 2-year old one in 1980 after starting my first professional job. Loved it, still miss it. Thanks for the photo.
DeleteYep Sean hit is right on the head..
ReplyDelete#1 Renault R5 Turbo (1 or 2) Possibly the greatest special edition (outside of course the Mclaren F1 Longtail) ever made.
To that I would also nominate in no particular order...
GMC Syclone/Typhoon
Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 (a.k.a. Evo Zero)
Mazda 323 GTX
1983 California Edition VW Scirocco (Yep, this was an actual model... http://website.lineone.net/~dr.dub/california_edition.htm)
... and who could forget the wacky Dodge Omni GLHS?
Funny you should bring up the California Scirocco
DeleteCA Scirocco
Abikepeddler, are you a roadie, MTB, or other?
Sean
ReplyDeleteSo strange you linked to that CA Scirocco. My buddy had one back when new and when I mentioned the car yesterday here on DT I thought to myself... "Self, you ever find one you should buy is as a gift for him". That Santa Barbara CA Scirocco's price is right but the work needed is more time then I have. Fun to see one for sale however.
Currently riding Fat bikes but as a bicycle retailer by trade my interest spans all makes, models and disciplines.
Thanks for the link!
Bicycles and Sciroccos (I've owned 3 'rocs). It's like we are all living parallel lives.
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