Lebanon has a wide variety of cars from a wide variety of manufacturers. However – and just like plenty of other countries – there are other cars that aren’t available for sale, and it’s a real shame because some of these cars, especially the ones I listed below, are superb machinery. Anyway, here they are, in no specific order (Don’t hesitate to add a car of your choice):
Ford Fiesta ST
If there’s one little car I prefer to the Volkswagen Golf GTI, it’s the Ford Fiesta ST. I personally think it’s the best hot hatch available, except that it’s not available, at least not in Lebanon. The Fiesta ST’s price is very close to the Focus ST’s, which makes it kind of useless as people would definitely opt for the latter.
HSV Gen-F GTS
The HSV Gen-F GTS is a great value-for-money sports car. It is powered by a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 engine that produces 580 horsepower, so it’s on par with the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG in terms of performance but at only half price. However, it is sold exclusively in Australia.
Tesla Model S
The Model S is one of the most successful high-performance electric cars currently on sale. Equipped with the 85 kW h battery pack (power output ranging between 360hp and 691hp), it can travel up to 500 km on a single charge. Not only that, but it comes loaded with brilliant tech features. Unfortunately, we cannot buy the Model S here because it’s electric and we do not have the necessary infrastructure for cars of its caliber.
BMW i8
It’s perhaps one the best-looking vehicles to ever come out of Bavaria and it’s without a doubt the most revolutionary. However, its plug-in hybrid system, featuring a 1.5L three-cylinder petrol engine and a 98 kW electric motor (delivering a combined output of 357 horsepower), makes it far too advanced for our country.
Any McLaren
Unlike Lamborghini and Ferrari, McLaren doesn’t have an official distributor in the country, so we don’t get to see these British supercars in a showroom. Nonetheless, if you have McLaren money, you can definitely import one, with servicing and maintenance possible at McLaren’s official representative in Lebanon, Saad & Trad SAL.