Pros: Fastest most nimble F/S XC Race bike around. 24Lbs with 4.5 in travel. TracLoc rear shock adjusts on the fly from the cockpit.

Cons: Cost...and rare stateside, but is all over Europe. Pure XC race..gets skittish if the terrain warrants travel and slacker head angles.

Recommendation: I can't say enough about this bike. It's intended purpose is XC racing. The Spark 20 is a $5k discount off of going for the topof the line Limited (yes $10k for a limited) and only 4LBs heavier for the discount..not a hard decision. The TracLoc allows you to lock out the NUDE rear shock or flick between 80 or 110mm travel. The front has a Fox RLC 100. It's stiff and the carbon tubes are thick..and you feel like every ounce of energy you've pressed into the driveline is coming out the rear wheel. On technical tight single track..this can beat a trail runner around a tree and it can climb as well as, if not better than a hardtail of any ilk or pedigree. If you've ridden Scott bikes, whether a roadie a hardtail or FS..you know they don't skimp on the hardware (most hardware is aircraft tolerances)and they do have their "proprietary" shocks which negate any aftermarket edits. If you have the $$ and want the best XC F/S rig...you'd be hard pressed to find a better bike in this space.
Cheers