#SpyderF3

In case you don’t follow NASCAR, Can-Am/BRP will be one of the series’ official sponsors in 2016. Leading up to the 58th Annual Daytona 500 on Feb. 21, 2016, Can-Am will be the title sponsor of the Can-Am Duels at Daytona Feb. 18th-19th which consist of two 150-mile qualifying races that finalize the starting lineup for the Daytona 500. With an opportunity to be seen by so many eyeballs at once, Can-Am decided to put together a special NASCAR-themed Spyder concept vehicle to showcase its performance potential.

Technically, and by that I mean according to the way in which the vehicles here are registered through the DMV (except Texas, but more on that later), each of these three-wheelers qualifies as a motorcycle. In California, at least, a motorcycle endorsement on your driver’s license to legally operate them is not required, and the two with seatbelts eschew the state’s helmet law. Still, without a more explicit category available and the law being what it is, “motorcycle” becomes the default label for this trio.

My first drag down the airport runway aboard Can-Am’s new 2015 Spyder F3 was accompanied by the unmistakable sound of tire squeal and the smell of torched rubber. This was not, however, the result of dumping the clutch at high RPMs on the base model’s six-speed manual transmission. This was the up-spec F3-S with the SE6 semi-automatic transmission. Nothing but horsepower, baby! Intrigued?