We love Fast cars. We love Utes. Why not both?
What you see above is the overactive imagination of X-Tomi Design, not a production model. Or even close to one. The marriage of ute and sportscar has never been a particuarly happy one, even if there’s been favourites like HSV’s Maloo:
There have been other mockups and one-offs too. In 2011, BMW released this as a joke:
An M3 ute. Never close to production, although there have been aftermarket M-car conversions. Then again from X-Tomi there’s this:
leaving me, at least, wondering “why”. And this:
which leaves me thinking “please don’t”, but this:
is more on the money. A sweet V8, rear-drive…yes, I can see that. But enough fantasy.
One sporty ute that made it into production, albeit it briefly, was Toyota’s TRD Hilux:
But it didn’t handle, and didn’t sell.
So why haven’t sporty utes ever really taken off? Perhaps because they’re an intrinsic compromise; the stiff suspension and tough chassis needed for load lugging is never going to work as a sportscar, so you never get the best of both worlds. But even if you put that aside and accept the tray is more for show than load, maybe it’s the looks. Could it be that a sports ute doesn’t appeal to women, who buy a lot of sportscars? Who knows. It’s shame, as done right the sports ute looks good and has lots of space for gear if not bulk-load capability.
So, Australia and the world. Why aren’t you buying these cars?
