10 Cars We Wish Were Sold In America... but Aren't

September 3, 2015
Story By
Andrew Modena

America: the land of the free, home of the brave, baseball, and hot dog eating contests. Unfortunately, America also happens to be the land of strict emissions regulations, safety requirements and various taxes (see Chicken Tax) that require too much retooling to make some cars legal for sale in the US.

Here are 10 cars not available in US that we wish were:

Audi A1 Quattro

a1 quattro 10 cars that should have been sold in america

Only 333 of these 256hp, all-wheel drive hatchbacks were made and not a single one was sold on our side of the Atlantic.

Donkervoort D8 GTO

Goofy name aside, the D8 is all business. Think Caterham Seven on crack AND steroids. Its carbon fiber and aluminum chassis weighs around 1500 lbs. and packs a 380hp turbocharged Audi engine under the hood. Don't look away, 0-60 happens in 2.8 seconds.

Holden UTE

America loves trucks. American trucks are big, hard to park, big, very thirsty and big. In the land down under, car-based trucks called Utes (think modern day El Camino/Ranchero) reign supreme. Utes are anything like their American counterpart, offering the driving characteristics of a car with the utility of a truck. They're as useful as a kangaroo pouch and available from basic workhorse to the creme de la creme 577hp Holden GTS Maloo.

Honda NSX-R

Back when Honda built lightweight fun-to-drive cars, the NSX-R was the most hardcore version of their NSX supercar. With the lighter is better ethos in mind, the NSX-R didn't depend on turbos and tech. The NSX-R differed from the standard NSX with a hand built motor, manual steering, no A/C, plenty of carbon fiber where applicable and even using a mesh shift boot for a total weight reduction of almost 220 lbs. Purity at its finest.

Mercedes Benz G300 CDI Professional

Mercedes-Benz-G-class-Professional-2012-1280x800-002

In America, not many know of the G-wagons' utilitarian and military history. The US gets the $160k G63 commonly seen murdered out on 24 inch wheels. The G300 Professional was exclusive to the South African market and sold as a stripped down truck designed for taking on the roughest terrain in the African continent. Rappers put your gold teef away, this Benz has no carpet, no chrome, no leather, no wood; instead it just has the standards with three locking differentials and a snorkel to feed air into its diesel motor.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Wagon

A Lancer Evolution VIII with the practicality and styling of a 90s Volvo wagon? What's not to love?

Nissan Skyline GT-R R33/R34

The generation of kids that grew up playing Gran Turismo and watching Fast & Furious movies have been very familiar with this GTR for years. Unfortunately, the twin-turbo setup made it difficult and expensive to build a left hand drive version for the US. By the time the US finally got a GTR, it didn't come with the legendary RB26 or a manual transmission.

Peugeot RCZ

Look at it. In the American front-wheel drive coupe market, the RCZ would be the pizza at a Chinese buffet - there's nothing else available but you want it. Available in hybrid, diesel and 266hp turbocharged 4-cylinder, this handsome and critically acclaimed front-wheel drive sports car would look great sitting in traffic or driving along the California coast. Unfortunately, Peugeot bid adieu to the US market in the 80s, leaving Bugatti as the only French marque sold in America.

Toyota Land Cruiser 70 30th Anniversary

The Land Cruiser as we know it has become an $80k marshmallow, but the 70 series Land Cruiser is the complete opposite. Sold throughout Asia, Africa, Australia and South America from 1984-2004, the 70 series Land Cruiser was known around the world for its reliability and capability thanks to its front and rear solid axle suspension and locking differentials. Due to its popularity, Toyota decided to bring it back for sale in 2015 and of course it was for Japan only. The only time you'll see a 70 series in the US is during transcontinental expeditions. I'll take mine with truck bed and diesel please.

Volkswagen Scirocco R

Volkswagen builds this handsome 280hp 2-door hatchback but keeps it away from US shores due to their concern about it stealing sales from the GTI and the dollar and Euro exchange rates making it not worth selling in America. This would be a great addition to their bland looking US line up.