Campagna Cars Canada

Back on track

The T-Rex has been through a lot since our last encounter with it, which was back in the fall of 2007. The manufacturer, called T-Rex Vehicles, went bankrupt a few months later and closed its doors. But today that's all changed.

Get one. Now.

If you're a speed freak, here's tangible proof that you don't need a pricey exotic supercar to tattoo a smile on your face and draw attention. You see, the T-Rex is powered by a 1,352-cc, 16-valve Kawasaki inline-4. The engine gets air shoved down its throat by a roof-mounted air scoop, and develops 200 horsepower. Your initial reaction might be to say that it's not enough for hunting down Corvettes and 911s, but one important number needs to be known: the T-Rex weighs only 1,000 pounds, or 455 kg.

It's 7 a.m. on a chilly Saturday morning, as me and my work buddies arrive at John Scotti's Exotic Cars dealership in Montreal. This purveyor of supercars set up a lap day on the Sanair Raceway for their customers, and since they now sell the T-Rex, current owners of this featherweight beast were also invited. A dozen of them showed up, as well as owners of Lambos, Porsches and Lotus' that we drooled over.