QOTD: Parts-bin Hero or Excessive Future Crapwagon?

News on Tuesday that Jeep could be building a Renegade Trackhawk was equal parts infuriating and fantastic. I never turn down horsepower, and more often than not, bigger engines solve all of life’s problems.

But I’m growing older, and turning into an asshole.

After writing about cars for years, I know enough to know that business cases come first; enthusiasm comes second. Which is why when automakers announce “hot” versions of their cars, it’s usually because a bloated market can usually be struck once or twice more before John Q. Carbuyer says, “OK, that’s enough. I won’t buy that.” Those “hot” cars rarely move the needle on anything, and become interesting automotive historical footnotes for Murilee Martin to write about later.

I don’t mean to take aim on the current Mercedes-AMG GLA45 — but I will.

Mercedes-AMG’s soft-roader may not make the automotive hall-of-fame tomorrow, but it makes sense (and dollars) today. The lasting legacy for that car may be that its small four cylinder was boosted to epic proportions — and did or didn’t survive — but the same mill powers the more conventional CLA45 and that car doesn’t look like a juiced-up bee. (P.S. All is forgiven if Mercedes turns it into a WRC car.)

I find myself wondering “Should they?” aloud more and more rather than “Could they?”

Jeep could build the Renegade Trackhawk tomorrow, I’m guessing. There are enough parts laying around FCA factories to piece together a sub-compact off-roader with more than 300 horsepower and sell to the public for $35,000, which would probably eagerly buy it. There’s probably a relatively sane business case for it as well. The Grand Cherokee SRT8 is the best-selling SRT vehicle, and increased production for their uber-powered Hellcats means buyers have money to burn — literally and figuratively.

But part of me wants special edition cars to feel special again. The Juke R comes to mind, an insane car for a small subset of buyers crazy enough to tempt fate and burn through ridiculous amounts of money. The Porsche 959 was a homologation special that’ll live forever on my bedroom wall. And even less extreme: The new Subaru WRX STI Launch Edition was a car they could have made all year, but limited its run just to piss me off. I kind of like that.

I guess that’s why value and cost sometimes isn’t the same thing. But I could be wrong.

What do you think B&B? Are hi-po special editions over saturated? Or am I just missing the point?