7 Overlooked Legends Of The 90s JDM Scene

The Nissan Silvia and Mazda RX7 have been hogging the JDM limelight for far too long, so we thought it was about time somebody shone a light on the other Japanese car heroes spawned from the 90s
7 Overlooked Legends Of The 90s JDM Scene

1. Autozam AZ-1 (1992 - 1995)

By Akinori YAMADA from Tokorozawa, CC BY 2.0
By Akinori YAMADA from Tokorozawa, CC BY 2.0

Let’s start with the kei car ABC; first up, it’s the Autozam AZ-1, which has a mildly confusing family tree. It was built by Suzuki, but sold by Mazda through its Autozam brand. It’s got a 657cc turbocharged Suzuki engine that sits in the middle of the chassis making a giddy 63bhp.

You can’t help but fall for the miniature sports car styling, with its bonnet intake and rear wheel arch vents, but most exciting of all is the gullwing doors. A few sporty Mazdaspeed parts were made available, including a rear wing and a redesigned bonnet, as you can see in the picture above.

Unfortunately, the AZ-1 was a sales failure due to the fact it was deemed too expensive compared to rivals, and therefore they’re a bit rarer than other sought-after kei cars, adding to the allure.

2. Honda Beat (1991 - 1996)

7 Overlooked Legends Of The 90s JDM Scene

Next up, in the B corner, it’s the Honda Beat. As we all know, rear-wheel drive and mid-engined make the perfect sports car recipe, and the Beat proves that’s the case. It also holds great significance as the last car approved by Soichiro Honda before he died, and its design came from Pininfarina.

The Beat’s 656cc engine made 63bhp at a screaming 8100rpm, and featured individual throttle bodies for each of the engine’s three cylinders.

3. Suzuki Cappuccino (1991 - 1997)

7 Overlooked Legends Of The 90s JDM Scene

And finally, representing C, it’s the Suzuki Cappuccino. Boasting the biggest engine size of these three cars thanks to its whopping turbocharged 657cc dual-overhead cam, inline-three cylinder engine (kei car rules state the engine must be below 660cc), it also made that magic 63bhp.

The Cappuccino has a claimed 50/50 front-rear weight distribution, which helped it gain appeal with car enthusiasts as a small sports car alternative. It was even homologated for sale in Europe, and won “best car of the show” at the 1992 British International Motor Show.

4. Toyota Cresta (1996 - 2001)

7 Overlooked Legends Of The 90s JDM Scene

While the Toyota Chaser gets a lot of the limelight for being a big ol’ drift barge, the Cresta is its oft-overlooked sister car. Identical in every way - apart from body shape - the Cresta would make just as viable a drift weapon as any Chaser.

In Super Lucent trim, the Cresta was available with the 2.5-litre twin-turbocharged inline-six 1JZ engine that has absolutely bucketloads of tuning potential. You could also get it with the non-turbo’d 2JZ, but that’s not quite so exciting. A limited-slip differential was an option, and although the 1JZ Crestas were almost exclusively sold with a four-speed automatic. You’d be hard pushed to find one that hasn’t been manual swapped by now.

5. Nissan 300ZX (1989 - 2000)

By User RedBeauty84ZX. Originally from en.wikipedia; desCC BY-SA 3.0
By User RedBeauty84ZX. Originally from en.wikipedia; desCC BY-SA 3.0

Known as the Fairlady Z in Japan, the 300ZX is unfairly glossed over time and time again despite being an absolute riot to drive - it made Car and Driver’s ‘Ten Best’ list seven years in a row. The Z32 generation was on sale throughout the 90s, and although its design looks incredibly dated now, it’s a gorgeous slice of 80s wedge action.

Power came from a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 making 300bhp, and it featured Nissan’s then-new ‘Super HICAS’ four-wheel steering setup that also featured on the Skyline GT-R.

6. Toyota Starlet Glanza (1996 - 1999)

7 Overlooked Legends Of The 90s JDM Scene

Here in the UK we’ve grown a huge affinity to the hot hatch. Bunging a big engine in a small car seems to appeal to our sense of humour and hooligan nature. So it’s no surprise the Glanza has been a hit over here thanks to the import market.

In the Glanza V, the 1.3-litre engine was turbocharged making it good for 131bhp, a solid number for such a tiny, lightweight car. The great thing about the 4E-FTE engine is that by simply swapping the standard turbo for a Subaru-sourced TD04 unit, you’ll unlock a safe 220bhp.

7. Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 (1990 - 2001)

7 Overlooked Legends Of The 90s JDM Scene

Thanks to its all-wheel drive system, the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 is an absolute beast off the line. The 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 makes an impressive 320bhp and 315lb ft of torque, making it one of the more powerful cars in its segment.

Power was routed to the wheels via a Getrag manual transmission, and active aerodynamics were used to keep everything stable at high speeds, something that’s only just being mastered by supercar manufacturers today.

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Comments

Dat Incredible Chadkake

The 300ZX is plenty popular here on CT

02/04/2016 - 19:15 |
282 | 0

And the 3000GT

02/04/2016 - 19:38 |
96 | 2

Yeah, and I would definitely not call it dated.

02/04/2016 - 21:37 |
12 | 0

Incredibly dated my ass lol it looks the most modern out of most of them and still is winning design awards and won awards for being one of the most beautiful cars ever made

02/05/2016 - 10:18 |
2 | 0
LeweMan

The 3000GT is such a wonderful and also rare car, it deserves more love!

02/04/2016 - 19:15 |
30 | 0
Jerry Kosloski

In reply to by LeweMan

I couldn’t agree more! For a car that was mainly produced in the 1990’s they had highly advanced technology, ranging from the climate control to the active aero and the four wheel steering. The styling of the cars hasn’t aged a bit. They’re truly incredible cars.

02/04/2016 - 19:32 |
6 | 0
Geraldo Portillo

Auto za a.k.a the cracked out Ferrari F40

02/04/2016 - 19:17 |
10 | 2
Anthony F

What about the Mazda 323 GTR? It was an absolute pocket rocket, built as a rally homologation special. It featured a 1.8 litre turbocharged engine producing 210 hp, along with a 4 wheel drive system.

02/04/2016 - 19:21 |
144 | 0

I thought its 323GTX also the engine is same one asin the Miata but turbo’d

02/04/2016 - 19:35 |
0 | 0

I have a fair amount of respect for the 323 GTR, mainly because this car, the Ford Laser TX3 shares the same platform, engine, gearbox and drive line as the 323 GT-X. It’s awesome!

02/04/2016 - 20:49 |
6 | 0

if the successor would be like the mazda 3 but 3 door and awd with skyactiv turbo

06/08/2016 - 15:03 |
0 | 0
Nissan 420sx

The 3 first cars don’t look that good…

02/04/2016 - 19:22 |
4 | 8

You don’t like Kei?

02/04/2016 - 20:01 |
0 | 0
John Paul Tapp

This list got me thinking about Gran Turismo 4. Those where the days…….

02/04/2016 - 19:25 |
8 | 0

I played it today for not sure how much, but it was long enough for batteries in controller to die.

02/04/2016 - 23:14 |
0 | 0
Brandon Herrera

I’m gonna help my friend work on his 3000GT this weekend, wish me luck.

02/04/2016 - 19:27 |
2 | 0
everts

I pass a 300ZX on my school route daily, it’s nice to see a JDM car in the middle of nowhere

02/04/2016 - 19:31 |
2 | 2
Anonymous

None of them are overlooked because they are JDM… Yo…

02/04/2016 - 19:37 |
4 | 4
92_Z71

MR2+NSX=

02/04/2016 - 19:51 |
60 | 0
DragzMR2

In reply to by 92_Z71

Hahaha good one

02/04/2016 - 21:58 |
0 | 0

With a dash of F40

02/04/2016 - 23:16 |
26 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by 92_Z71

i was thinking more ford rs200

02/04/2016 - 23:32 |
14 | 0