Top 10 Japanese Sports Cars

Mazda Miata - whats this doing on the list? Love it or hate it the Mazda Miata has done wonders for the culture. How ever underpowered it may be, when you add lightweight, rear wheel drive, great handling and an awesome aftermarket you get a very fun car! Which is why we see it at autocross events all over the country and why its number 10 on our list!

(ps: convertibles rule right?)

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Im sure you have all seen the hit Anime series Initial D. Well even if you haven't im sure you still know what the Toyota Corolla is! The following for the Hachi-Roku (japanese for eight-six) is HUGE. The rear wheel drive and the combo of the 4AGE(n/a) or the 4AGZE(supercharged) motors resulted in an instant hit with japanese tuners such as HKS, etc. Its a popular platform in the Drift scene and car collectors alike put the AE86 at number 9.

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Built in limited numbers, the rare Toyota 2000GT was Toyota's sports car what changed how the world viewed Japans sports cars. The Toyota 2000GT was built from 1967 to 1970. The 2000GT showed Europe and the rest of the world it could compete with anybody. It paved the way for future Toyota sports cars such as the Celica and Supra.

Today the Toyota 2000GT is a ever sought after car by collectors and enthusiasts, seen as the first real Japanese Supercar worth collecting, and these are sold for a high value.

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The rotary powered Mazda RX-7 is without a doubt one of the most sought after Japanese sports cars, even after its production time! The high reving sequential twin turbo rotary engine was outright made to perform with no compromises. Seen in many movies, tv shows, etc its popularity is huge. Ive even seen a few at the Barrett-Jackson auctions got for $50k+. This would no doubt rank higher on our list though if it wasnt for the un-reliable rotary engine as many people just swap it out for a 2JZ or an American made V8.

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The history, race and rally heritage of the Subaru Impreza WRX STi goes back over 15+ years. The all wheel drive turbocharged flat4 boxer style engine is simply an AMAZING car to drive. Subaru has battled it out for years competing with arch rival Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. There is a huge following of Subaru lovers and an even bigger aftermarket support! We can only hope Subaru keeps on producing the STi in the US for years to come.

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Is it any surprise that the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is ranked side-by-side with the Subaru Impreza WRX STi? We really didnt know how to rank these two, but somone had to have a better rank because no one likes ties.. Its the technological advantage what the EVO holds over the STi which was our deciding factor. Mitsubishi put a little more effort into there development of there car which shows on the track tests.

Click here to see more about the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and pictures too!

Looking at the Honda NSX for the first time, there isnt much else you can say but WOW. Under the super sleek super car styling the NSX is a engineering marvel for its time. The powerful V6 in the back of the car make it an absolute blast to drive! The NSX is a very sought after car and sits in many collectors garages all over the world. The only real reason why it doesnt rank higher is because of the lack of aftermarket products, support and following of the car.

A new NSX is in the works and we all cant wait to see it!

The legendary Toyota Supra is perhaps the one Japanese sports car what everyone wants to own. The power you can obtain with the 2JZ-GTE is incredible, which in our opinion is THE greatest engine ever produced in Japan - bottom line. The 3.0 inline 6 Twin Turbo engine puts out a baseline of 320HP, but with little mods you can obtain 500 to the wheels with ease. There are several private owned Supras who have reached over the 1500HP mark. The following and aftermarket support is probably the biggest out of all of the cars on this list. This high powered rear wheel drive SUPERCAR (yes we said it) could have easily made it to the number one spot on our countdown.

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Until recently, the Nissan Skyline GT-R was just another hope and dream to any tuner and car enthusiast. In fact it probably wouldnt have made our list if it wasnt for the re-release of the Nissan GT-R in north America. Though its still way out of the average guys price range, the dream is still alive and the hopes of owning one are higher than ever. The Nissan Skyline made its name by offering a high powered all wheel drive car powered by a twin turbo inline 6. The RB series. There have been many debates on whats better - Toyota Supra or the Nissan Skyline? Most belive that the Supra overpowers the Skyline, but its the technilogical advantage in the Skylines all wheel drive system which gives a distinct advantage on the track. The Nissan Skyline falls into number two on our list.

Click here to see more about the Nissan Skyline GT-R and pictures too!

Here it is The number one Japanese Sports Car of all time! (in our opinion!). The Datsun 240Z.

The S30 Nissan/Datsun 240Z (known in Japan as the Fairlady Z and later in other markets as the 260Z and 280Z) are sports cars produced by Nissan Motors, Ltd. of Japan in the 1970s. HLS30 was the designation of the left-hand drive model and HS30 for the right-hand drive model. The 240Z was introduced in 1969 with a 2.4 liter straight-6 engine, rear wheel drive, and a stylish coupe body. The engine, based on the Datsun 510's 4-cylinder produced 150 hp (112 kW) and came with a 5-speed manual transmission (USA model received a 4 speed manual). A 4 wheel independent suspension consisted of MacPherson struts in front (borrowed from the Nissan 1800) and Chapman struts in back. Front disc brakes & rear drums were standard.

Production began in 1969, the 1970 240Z was introduced to the American market by Yutaka Katayama, president of Nissan Motors USA operations, widely known as 'Mr. K'. The early 1970 model 240Z had a chrome "240" badge on the B-pillar quarter panel. Two vents were included in the rear hatch below the glass molding. In mid-1971 the B-pillar side badges were restyled with the letter Z in white, and the vents were eliminated from the hatch. Design changes for the US model occurred throughout production and are described Design and Manufacturing Changes to the U.S. Spec

The 240Z and 260Z used twin one-barrel carburetors. The carburetors were changed for model year 1973 to comply with emissions regulations, and the earlier carburetors were far superior for performance. Fuel injection (L-Jetronic electronic fuel injection, designed by Bosch) was added for the 280Z in 1975. This was primarily in order to cope with the difficulty faced in getting enough power using carburetors while still meeting US emissions regulations.

Due to its relatively low price compared to other foreign sports cars of the time (Jaguar and Porsche), it became hugely popular in the U.S. and was the first major success for the Nissan Motor Corporation, which at the time sold cars in North America under the name Datsun. The 240Z also broadened the image of Japanese car-makers beyond their econobox success. The Z was very successful in racing in the 1970's (Bob Bondurant and his BRE racing team, with John Morton driving car number 46, was particularly successful). The Z is also credited as a catalyst for the current import performance parts industry.

The Nissan Z still lives on in the all new Nissan 370Z.

We hope you enjoyed our Top 10 Japanese Sports Cars. If you enjoyed it, please check out our website www.JDMCars.info. We have specs, info, huge image and video galleries of most Japanese cars!