There were a whole bunch of reasons on paper, why the project should be a success. It was the first production mid-engine car made in the US. It was a two seater. It has non-load bearing body panels and a number of touches to make the car lighter. In some ways it seemed to be an American answer to newer, smaller, post-Oil Crisis European sports cars like the Lotus Esprit. The problem was, on this car everything was cheap. The engine was a heavy-for-its-size 95 hp unit nicknamed the Iron Duke because of its weight. The suspension and handling were terrible, thanks largely to the car’s initial design as a commuter car. The styling was fine for the time and so the car sold well, but, in the end, the design failed when the engine compartment started bursting into flames because the initial design lacked sufficient oil capacity and the materials were so poor that even the tiny oil tank leaked. After four years and a huge number of sold cars initially, the project ended in 1988. Only a few years later Toyota would pick up the mantel correctly and release the absolutely beloved mid-90s MR2. This looks great but performs poorly vehicle was one I have lampooned on this site more than once. It was, of course, the Pontiac Fiero. And it is not the only Pontiac to fall victim to the looks good performs poorly problem. See also the Pontiac Solstice and the 1970 LeMan GT. This problem of style without substance seemed to be a chronic and fatal one for Pontiac.
By now I am sure you can guess where this intro is going. The Mantra 4 is the Pontiac Fiero of knives. In fact, it is probably the most Fiero knife Spyderco has ever made. The Mantra has always been Spyderco’s attempt at designing a flipper and many of them have been Spyderco-ish—unusual looking but elite performers. They had titanium and good steel with the initial run coming in one of my favorite steels—M4. The flipping action was good and the cutting performance was quite nice. But they were all a bit stretched in their appearance. They were Spydercos in materials and performance so I didn’t really care.
Sculimbrene is a straight shooter. If he says a knife is missing the mark, it likely is. His justifications for said opinion are solid.
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