2014 10Best: 10 We Wish Existed – Feature

Audi R8 Target Edition Install the 333-hp supercharged V-6, lose the four-wheel-drive system, and swap out costly MagneRide for old-fashioned shocks. Then drop the base price to $79,995.

BMW M550d xDrive Touring BMW sells a diesel M Performance sedan in Europe with a triple-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six. We’ll take ours as a four-wheel-drive wagon with a six-speed manual. Why? Because we’re Car and Driver.

Chevrolet Impala SS Put the powerful, 410-hp twin-turbo 3.6-liter V-6 and four-wheel-drive system from the Cadillac XTS Vsport into the Impala, which has better-sorted steering and suspension. Should be as simple as rearranging Legos since both cars are built on GM’s Epsilon platform.

Chrysler 300C convertible Yes, this idea is nearing its 10-year anniversary, and chopping the top off this tired platform would likely result in cars twisting themselves into pretzels. But they would be pretzels with real road presence.

Honda CR-Z Si Dump all the electric crap and stick the 201-hp Civic Si engine under the hood. The CR-X lives again in this sub-2500-pound hot hatch.

Kia Forte Elan Edition Drop the 274-hp, 2.0-liter turbo from the Optima SX into the hatchback Forte. Then send it off to Lotus to tune the suspension. It would’t be the first time Kia has partied with Lotus.

Mazdaspeed Miata Mazda needs to make the next generation of its budget sports car faster, and not just as an end-of-production special. How does 250 horsepower sound?

Mercedes-Benz ELK350 Replacing the E-class wagon’s cargo area with a pickup bed would make a nice modern El Kamino. And yes, we’d insist on keeping this “Brat”-wurst’s rear-facing third-row seats.

Porsche 912 There’s already a precedent—and a name—for an affordable 911. Power it with the Cayman’s 275-hp, 2.7-liter six because the performance range of the Cayman already overlaps the 911, and we don’t care if it does some more.

Toyota GT-86 sedan Take this one away from Scion and kick it upstairs to the parents. We’re imagining something with the looks and refinement of a miniature Lexus IS that drives like a modern-day BMW 2002. A light, fun, and affordable rear-drive sedan ought to be an inalienable right.