In
the 1980’s some of the best rear wheel drive sports cars on the market were
from Japan. The 1980’s was a very good
decade for the Land of the Rising Sun. One
generation after being defeated in World War II, Japan had a booming economy
that the rest of the world was envious of.
Keep in mind this is only forty years after two atomic bombs were
dropped on their country. There are
parts of the Southeast United States still feeling the results of the Civil
War. I am reminded of a scene from one
of my favorite movies, Back to the Future
III. In this particular scene, Doc
Brown from 1955 comments that the reason the time machine is broken is because
it has parts from Japan. Marty tells the
stunned doctor “All the best stuff comes from Japan.” Take a look at some of these cars and you
might agree with Marty.
My Fair Lady: The Nissan
300ZX was quite a bit different than its 240Z predecessor. The car had become somewhat heavier and luxurious. The ‘80’s were of course all about abundance. The
car buying public was not interested in a stripped down purpose built sports
car at the time. The 300 also brought
the first V6 to the Z which is something that has continued to modern Z’s. One feature not found on modern Z’s is a
turbo.
It’s Super: In 1986 Toyota
divorced the Celica from the Supra forever.
The models would be sold for nearly two more decades on their own. While Nissan got rid of the inline six for
the 300ZX and following models, Toyota
kept it in the Supra throughout its lifespan.
The turbo version of this engine produced almost as much power as the V8
in the Corvette. The Supra makes good sense
with its power and seating for four people.
The Rotary: The Mazda RX-7
is one of the more unique cars to ever make it into production. It may be the only true sports car in this
group with its light weight construction.
Part of that lightness is due to its rotary engine. Yes, it is true all three of these cars
mentioned so far were replaced by more powerful, more iconic cars in the 1990’s. However, those cars were more expensive, and
compared to offerings from America and Europe, they weren’t the best stuff
anymore.
AE86: At least the previous
three cars kept their soul after the 1980’s.
The Toyota Corolla of modern day shares nothing with its predecessor
apart from its name. While several car
fans see only a drift car when they see Corollas of the 1980’s, in actuality it
is a bit under powered especially compared to the Supra big brother. Drivers of the classic rear wheel drive
Corolla know its nimbleness is its best quality. Toyota at least gave its newest sports car,
the GT86, a name honoring the AE86 version of the Corolla.
Two Face: Sadly not all rear
wheel Japanese cars lived to see the 1990’s like the cars mentioned above. The Mitsubishi Starion has all the tick marks
that should have made it a classic sports coupe. It had a turbo, cool color options, a wide
body; it even had a starring role in a popular movie. Jackie Chan drove one in a somewhat racist
role in the movie Cannonball 2. Mitsubishi
did continue the making sports coupes into the new millennium with the Eclipse
and the 3000GT. Both were front wheel
drive based cars and in the case of the 3000GT, far too heavy to be a sports
car in the way the Starion was. Some of
readers may recognize the Starion by its other name the, the Conquest which it
was sold by Chrysler. Do not be fooled
by this two faced American badge-engineering.
The Conquest is still a very Japanese sports coupe.
