In the history of motoring we lived to see many periods referred to as the golden era. For some it will be the dominance of muscle cars, for others the early 1930s. Despite the fact that this assessment is quite arbitrary and subjective, the 1990s are considered the era of Japanese motoring
With the rapid development of technology, automotive corporations around the world fought for clientele. In the case of the Land of the Cherry Blossom, it was cheap city cars and mechanically very advanced sports cars. Some models of Japanese manufacturers were released only on selected markets, so Poland had to get around the taste. No wonder, after all the beginning of the 90s was a period of great changes and economic transformations in our country, which thus translated into negative attractiveness in economic terms
Despite the fact that the vehicles discussed in this article are much cheaper than their European counterparts, they are much more exotic. Often, the only way to “please the eye” was through photos published in the pages of popular automotive newspapers. Japanese classics of the 90s are above all the technological wonders of the time and objects of our dreams. One thing is for sure, these cars did not differ in any respect from European sports cars such as Porsche or Ferrari
Unveiled in 1989, it earned the nickname of the Japanese Ferrari. And not without reason. You could not find a powerful V-twin under the hood, but even this was not an obstacle for the Japanese engineers. It is worth quoting the words of racing driver Hans-Joachim Stuck: “this Honda is the best Ferrari”. The NSX was equipped with a three-liter V6 engine producing around 270 horsepower
In addition to the mechanics, the NSX also featured distinctive details such as lockable headlights and a removable roof. What’s more, the NSX also rivaled Italian supercars in terms of sheer shape and aesthetics.
The first association at the sight of this classic may be the Fast and Furious series, and in particular Dominic Toretto’s character. The Mazda RX-7 was produced from 1992 to 2002, and it is without a doubt one of the most iconic cars made by Mazda. Especially noteworthy is the third, rarest generation of this model, which was produced entirely with Wankel engines.
Unlike the Honda NSX – the RX-7 features much more pleasing to the eye proportions
The best is under the hood. The Mazda RX-7 was equipped with a 1.3-liter twin-turbocharged engine, which was able to crank out as much as 240 horsepower through the use of dual sequential turbocharging. The car reached the 100th place in less than 6 seconds.
The premiere of this model was at the very beginning of 1990s and it can be said that it is a kind of miracle of Japanese engineering thought. 300 GT is equipped with a large supercharged engine with four-wheel drive. The power unit is a 3 liter V6 monster with 320 horsepower. However, its sporting career was hampered by the vehicle’s excessive overall weight, but not only. Although the Japanese did everything they could, they did not manage to solve the problem of understeer.
It is also worth mentioning the movable spoilers, which changed their position when reaching the point of 80 kilometers per hour
Brother of the previously mentioned 300 GT is also a model that deserves to be called a classic of Japanese motoring. As the successor to the Galant, it brought the concern four world rally championship titles
The car impressed and continues to impress four-wheel drive enthusiasts today with its status as a factory sports car. Under the hood of the Lancer Evo was a two-liter turbocharged engine. The car lived to see many generations that brought great fame to Mitsubishi
This is another car that became famous in the consumer consciousness for its appearance in the Fast and Furious series. Due to the lack of competition in Japanese racing, it has gained cult status on a global scale. In theory, it is a sedan transformed into a coupe, additionally equipped with a turbocharged V6 engine with four-wheel drive. Produced in 1989, the R32 also reigned supreme off the race track. The R32 and R33 were equipped with the legendary RB26DETT engine with two turbochargers for a total power generation of 280 horsepower
This is the last item on our list of Japanese classics of the 1990s. Which model in your opinion deserves an additional place in this list?
(Photo: pixabay.com)
