Author: Richard Heseltine
Photography: Broad Arrow Auctions/Manufacturers/Petersen Automotive Museum
Revolutionary cars from the Far East, from supercars to rally beasts.
Toyota 40-series Land Cruiser
An all-time classic off-roader regardless of nationality, the third-generation Land Cruiser was launched in 1960 and remained on sale to the mid-1980s. Offered in umpteen configurations, and powered by unkillable straight-six units (four-cylinder diesels were also offered in some markets), survivors are now highly-prized. As an aside, a Brazilian variant was offered as late as 2001.
Toyota 2000GT
Given that a mere 351 2000GTs were made, it’s fair to say that it wasn’t a commercial success. Nevertheless, it served its purpose as a calling card. It proved beyond all doubt (or at least reasonable doubt) that Japan’s embryonic motor industry was capable of building a world-class sports car. Aside from it being a pig to get into, there is little to fault here even now.
Honda S800
This characterful sports car picked up from where the previous S600 left off. Manufactured from 1966 to 1970, and offered in open and closed forms, it employed a rev-happy 791cc four-cylinder unit that was more sophisticated than the A-series unit that powered a comparable Austin-Healey Sprite/MG Midget. The S800 remains a joyous little car.
Mazda Cosmo
Work began on what ultimately became the Cosmo as far back as 1961 when Mazda’s engineers began trials of the licensed-built ‘Wankel’ unit. The definitive Cosmo Sport was unveiled at the 1967 Tokyo Motor Show. It was the first production car designed from the outset to take advantage of the Wankel engine’s compactness and power to weight ratio rather than an existing vehicle that was adapted to suit.
Datsun 240Z
The muscular straight-six-powered 240Z caused a furore upon its introduction at the 1969 Tokyo Motor Show. Strictly speaking, though, the 240Z tag is a bit of a misnomer given that there were at least six clearly defined variations of the ‘S30 series’ theme, with countless variations of spec therein. Of the 150,076 cars made to the end of 1973, a whopping 146,000 headed Stateside.
Mazda MX-5
It’s easy to forget that the two-seater roadster market was largely barren for a decade prior to the little Mazda’s arrival at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show. Distilling the best parts of British sports cars of yesteryear, the first-gen model was an instant hit with more than 200,000 cars being sold to 1997.
Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32)
The eighth-generation Skyline was launched in 1989 and entered into legend in an instant. Much of this was due to its on-track prowess, ‘Godzilla’ demolishing the opposition in everything from British ProdSaloons racing to the Bathurst 1000 in Australia. This four-wheel drive GT was offered in a bewildering array of iterations to 1993.
Honda NSX
Having redefined the front-engined two-seater roadster, Mazda followed through and did the same for the supercar. The NSX was first seen in 1989 (it entered production a year later) and it featured an aluminium hull plus a mid-mounted V6. Variations remained on sale to late 2005. It did everything a thoroughbred ‘exotic’ could do, only better for the most part.
Mitsubishi Lancer/Carisma ‘Evo’
Officially, there were ten distinct model designations here, but also various subspecies of this thuggish, four-wheel brute, not to mention market-specific editions. Mitsubishi left its mark on rallying, and never more so that when Tommi Mäkinen was at the helm. The Ralliart Mitsubishi versus Provide Subaru battle was a high point of mid- to late-1990s rallying, with the Finn claiming four drivers’ titles from 1996-99.
Subaru Impreza
This characterful flat-four-engined machine was offered in several distinct configurations, but is perhaps best remembered in its mid-1990s form. Colin McRae and an Impreza in blue ‘555’ warpaint left an indelible impression on motorsport, that’s for sure. The Scot emerged victorious on the 1995 RAC Rally of Great Britain to claim the WRC title. A legend was born.
If you could own any Japanese classic from this list, which would it be? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
