8 Motors That Only The Manliest Of Men Should Buy

It can be tricky in the world of motoring to find a car that isn't an affront to your masculinity. Through myriad cars that make you look like you've given up on life, to behemoths that sneakily suggest you may overcompensating. Here's our pick of the eight best cars you can buy to put those rumours of your wimpiness to bed for good.

1. Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian Black

The best-selling car in the USA - in fact in the world - is a pick-up truck and there's a good reason for it. Pick-ups are driven by men - men who go hunting, who chop down trees with their bare hands and sling their spoils into the open bed to show to the world how manly they are. We're a little short on pick-up choice in the UK, but the massive Mitsubishi L200 is the obvious call and with the Barbarian Black you get a car that sounds like a rugby team or sex toy as a bonus.

2. Subaru Impreza

Styling is a word that completely passed by the Subaru design team when they were dealing with the Impreza, and the result is brutal ugliness. From the giant scoop at the front, to the giant and largely pointless spoiler at the back, the Impreza turns functional vulgarity into an art form. Very little screams "MAN" more than being ugly for a reason - the Impreza truly is the Mickey Rourke of the motoring world.

3. Chevrolet Camaro SS '69

Car Throttle readers recently voted V8 engines as the best in the world. They're right, and the natural home of the V8 is this sixties pony car. The iconic Mustang was always a lady's choice so Ford's out. Fortunately that leaves us with the best of the pack, the Camaro SS. Even looking at a classic Camaro is enough to generate chest hair growth.

4. Kia Sportage

While other, less manly men, are making outrageous car purchases to demonstrate to the world the size of their genitalia, the MPV/Crossover driver makes a simple statement about his: they work. They work so well he's got the trophies to prove it - so many that he needs a car with more seats than your normal, sensible family car. A Kia Sportage isn't just a statement of manliness - it's a declaration of fertility.

5. Ariel Atom

Though it's not often spoken of as a masculine car, the Atom truly is for the male species. For a start, it's built by seven blokes in a shed - how much more manly can you get than building a car in your shed? The supercharged and V8 versions ooze testosterone before you even get to the manliest part. Driving a car that looks like that on semi-slick tyres on public roads in the rain and snow... well, you need a pair the size of watermelons.

6. Aston Martin V12 Vanquish

Few cars say "gentleman" like an Aston Martin - after all, James Bond drives them and he's pretty much the essence of man. The Vanquish was one of the cars responsible for shoving the company into the limelight, but it was a flawed gem - Vanquish was reputedly so unforgiving that 75% of them have since returned to the factory for bodywork following crash damage. A man driving one of these brutes laughs in the face of death.

7. Mazda MX-5

Not the obvious choice, the MX-5 is commonly derided for being a car for the limp-wristed man. But hang on a minute, some guys still drive the thing knowing this. These guys are men's men - they're so secure in their masculinity that not only do they not need to shout about it, they drive one of the finest cars ever made knowing they'll have the "hairdresser's car" quip thrust in their faces at any given opportunity. And they don't care*.

8. Nissan GT-R

You judge a man by the quality of his tools and for the job of driving there simply is no better tool than the Nissan GT-R. Designed and built with laboratory precision, the GT-R is a laser-cut Swiss Army knife of a car amongst a sea of ball-peen hammers. It makes most other cars look clumsy, compromised and awkward. It is, simply, all things to all men and Usain Bolt seems to agree.

*Why yes, I do own one.