Number 6
Lamborghini Countach
1974-1990
Few manly cars have a silhouette you’d recognize immediately. Of those few, there’s arguably none more unique than the Countach. If a poster of this manly car wasn’t on your bedroom wall when you were younger, something had to be amiss. If this manly car didn’t stir the testosterone pot, you were probably devoid of a pulse. To this day, the Countach is an uncompromising, temperamental brute with a “screw you” attitude. You’d better do everything just right when you’re stuffed behind the wheel, or things could get very ugly very quickly. Somewhere along the way, you realize the bull in the emblem is apt, and you’re just the matador with a fine line of uncertain control.
Number 5
Chevrolet Corvette
1953-Present
No other manly car on this top 10 list has been in production as long as the Corvette, and few ‘Vettes have a hard time living up to the manly car specs. The 1953-’54 cars are excused from this discussion, and some odd color options on the C4 of ’84-’96 dilute the manliness. The manliest is the C2 Sting Ray of ’63-’67. Some see a Sting Ray and think “phallic symbol on four wheels.” Others attribute the manliness to its road manner, which doesn’t suffer fools. Whatever it is, things weren’t quite the same when the Sting Ray designation took a year off for the ’68 redesign and returned as "Stingray" in ’69.
Number 4
Ferrari GTO
1962-1964
With six decades of Ferraris to consider and remarkably few undesirables in the mix, it’s unthinkable to leave Maranello out of this discussion but challenging to select the quintessential car. Think back to some of the guys who’ve driven them: Steve McQueen had a Lusso; Clint Eastwood had a 365 GT4 BB. Edging those and all other models is the original GTO. It was built to win races, so the design was the result of wind tunnel and test-track refinement, not an attempt to appeal to customers. Nevertheless, the manly V12 dominated the track and has become a legend. To this day, it’s just your average streetable race car -- if you dare to attempt it after finding a willing seller and parting with many, many millions.
Number 3
Hummer H1
1992-2006
Just like the original Jeep became popular as a civilian model after World War II, the Humvee for public consumption was an instant manly car success after Operation Desert Storm. Arnold Schwarzenegger is credited with pumping up AM General to dress it in civvies, and this is no girlie-man’s car. The look is unmistakable and intimidating. The toughness and off-road prowess is incredible. It may have generated more publicity than sales during its run of public availability, but it will always be one of the manliest rides ever.
Number 2
Dodge Viper
1992-Present
Some cars have had their lean years when they weren’t very manly at all. In other cases, it takes a special option package to beef up the works. That comes standard on the Dodge Viper, wholly a man’s car since it was launched as a 1992 model. It has always had a V10, and that’s always been tied to a manual transmission -- no paddle shifters here. What’s more, there isn’t much to save your bacon if you get too crazy; no coddling electronic aids are going to make it all better. You either get it right or face the consequences -- truly the sign of a manly car.