Favorite Japanese sports car

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I am a big fan of cars, and well pretty much anything that moves. I always loved me a good old fashion japanese sports car. I thought their low cost, high potential, and clean simply looks, made them special in my mind. I actually own a Nissan 350Z, but my i have many favorites. Vote on your favorite car and post why you like it. Feel free to post any favorites I did not list.

Many of the cars you mentioned (eg. the Honda Civic) aren't sports cars. With that being said, my favourite is the Toyota Supra A70 (mk. III). I like the Porsche 944-ish styling and the fact that the car really is bang for the bucks. It's as heavy as a mini van though, which is something I don't like about it.



I don't like the last generation of the Toyota Supras, though. The styling is very 90-ish and plastic fantastic, with an engine sound that reminds me of a vuvuzela. To make matters worse, the custom parts and neon lights many owners equip them with, make them look like a rolling christmas tree and not a car.

I would say that if you could consider something as big and heavy as the GTR a sports car, you could call something as lightweight and sport tuned as a civic type r a sport cars. I mean they actually are consider FF sports cars.

You forgot mitsubishi lancer evolution.

Weight isn't the only factor that needs to be taken into consideration, nor is speed or acceleration. A sports cars either has a two seat or 2+2 seat configuration, no more than two doors, a low roof and a wedge shaped or streamlined silhouette with either a coupe or convertible layout. Lastly, it has to make as few compromises as possible; a Honda Civic sacrifices a lot in favour of rear seat space and a large luggage compartment.

An Audi RS4 is not a sports car (I'm not saying that it's inferior to a sports car, but it's a tuned sedan or estate car), nor is a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, a Ford Mustang or for that matter a Honda Civic. If weight/power ratio was the only thing that mattered, a mid-range hatchback (eg. the VW Golf 1.4 TSI) would be just as much of a sports car as the 1. gen Porsche 911.

http://www.topgear.com/uk/jeremy-clarks ... 2003-01-06

Get a MKII and you solve the problems of the MKIII Supra. MKII Supra's curb weight is like 3000lbs even. Very nice luxurious cars.

I think it looks better than the MKIII, and it's faster than a MKIII with the same power behind it. A really popular swap is to put the 7MGTE in this car, as it basically will bolt up with no new mounts/bellhousing/etc. You can even put just the 7MGTE turbo manifold and stuff on the stock motor and it'll work, but the only problem is engine management is hard on the 5MGE because it's got a very primitive computer and electronics (uses an airflow meter with a flapper, not even a MAF sensor.) That and unlike Nissan, nobody really hacked up the Toyota ROM chips.

The only real problem with is about zero aftermarket support. The MKIII came stock with a turbo and overshadowed it. That and it's old, first ones came out in 1981, last in 1986. If you lived in Japan you could probably find some original aftermarket parts, but nowadays there's like nothing and you have to hack up various parts for other cars to fit or buy very expensive one off parts (ie, one off intake made in America for that car is like $200.) So it gets tough in that regard.

I gotta get mine running again.

I like the MK. II as well (it'll kick the ass of most 80's cars in the same price range), but it's not available with the 3.0 turbocharged engine... and it's rare here in Norway.

damn windows 8 sorry just had to vent but I love the nsx wish they would not have discontinued it for as long as they have from what I read though in 2015 they will be making a new mid engine hybrid and that will be my new favorite when it comes out love mid engine cars

Yes, but just go find a junkyard MKIII turbo, and then you have a MKII 3.0L turbo. Or even better nowadays (as the 7Ms all pretty much need to be rebuilt since they're old as dirt now) get a 2JZ from a Japanese Toyota Aristo (Lexus GS) and the bell housing and mounts (mine's an auto, so it's tempting/likely I'll just keep it auto and put on a newer auto trans from the Aristo) and you got a dangerously fast car. I've heard of a 1JZ (2.5L) on stock turbos in a MKII putting it to 170-180mph on the highway.

How are car import laws in Norway? Terrible? USA you can't import anything under 25 years old due to NHTSA, if it's not NHTSA approved. Even if the car is approved, it still needs US DOT approved lights and crap like that. But plenty of people on Celicasupra.com would be willing to sell their cars to Norway. Also, Japanese sellers can probably ship you the Japanese equivalent, the Celica XX.
http://www.celicasupra.com/forums/showt ... ome-others

An interesting note, the Celica XX was actually the first Japanese car to break the 300km/h barrier. HKS M300. 500hp 5MGE, and because engine management was so primitive at that time, twin turbos with blow through side draft carbs.

Personally I LOVE 80s Japanese cars. Love love love them. I love the S30Z-Z31 Nissan Z-Cars.

If you love old Japanese cars, too, definitely check out the Shuto Kousoku Trial movies. Old street racing movies. The first one went to theaters in 1986, main character drove an R30 Skyline. Speaking of which, R30 and R31 Skylines look totally sick.
[img][800:600]http://car.scorelook.com/img/r30/100266/1210612154.jpg[/img]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUEa7ZoLEno[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnO_OV8omSY[/youtube]

Cars like that are rarely scrapped in Norway, as it has a market value of around 15 000 dollars here. Despite this, car parts aren't expensive here, so anyone who owns a 3.0 Turbo has everything to gain by restoring it. Another problem arises when tuning a car here, because you need to pay taxes to the Norwegian government for every horsepower the car gains.



The Norwegian law on car imports is full of loop holes. If a car younger than 30 years of age with no government approval (pretty much any car not sold here when it was brand new) is to be used here, it first needs to be checked in a different EU country before it's eligible for Norwegian roads.

Any car under 30 years is also heavily taxed when imported. Having said that, importing cars older than 30 years is child's play; a 700 dollar one-time fee (regardless of whether it's a Fiat 500 or a monstrously tuned Porsche 930) to the government and pretty much any classic car can be legally driven here with no road tax whatsoever... and as such, a mid 70's exotic car is typically half the price of a mid 80's exotic, with extremely rare cars being an exception.

Importing a car from the US leeds to a couple of issues, though. Because of the harsh climate and the long coastal line, imported cars typically needs a brand new protection against rust. Furthermore, several parts from the running gear needs to be swapped to prevent the car from being destroyed on narrow and bumpy Norwegian roads.



I agree with you here. I also like the Z32, but even though it was introduced in 1989, it had more of a 1990's design to it.

Check out the Toyota 2000GT. It's not an 80's car, but it's elusive, it has a sleek design and it could match the 1960's Porsche 911 and the Alfa Romeo GTA on performance.

Well, just get a pre-1983 Celica XX or Celica Supra and you're set to go!

What I meant by big and heavy is the compromise the GTR makes for the road. It is meant as a car that is as driveable on the track as off. I feel a car like the civic type r has the same mentality, Clarkson even ends with, "I wouldn't buy one, but I liked it. Because it's a sports car. Whatever that may be. ". He's pretty much saying that it's subjective.

I think Kurgan's basic point is by "class" the CTR isn't a sports car. As in, Honda did not consider it a sports car when they made it, as they did with the S2000 and NSX. Mind you the GTR the line is blurred, but "Big and heavy" isn't the reason. Bugatti Veyrons are big and heavy, yet they're sports cars. The reason the GTR the line is sorta blurred is because the Skyline is available as a family sedan and in non GTR trims (ie, RWD with and without turbo, 2L motor AWD, etc) hell, the Skyline is even available as a family sedan and a station wagon called the Nissan Stagea. The new GTR is certainly a sports car, though, as there's no lower trim level versions of it as you could get with previous Skylines. It's completely separated from the V35/37 Skylines/Infiniti G35/37 here in USA. Whereas the Supra on the other hand, for example, was never anything but a sports car for it's whole existance, same with the 300zx, etc. I mean it's a pointless argument to have, as I guess anything intended by the manufacturer to be fast and used in racing is a sports car, but by class, only a few cars are sports cars, as in purpose built specifically to be a sports car. I know, Aspie semantics.

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