8 Performance Cars That Were A Glorious Return To Form

1. Ferrari F355

Some cars are tough acts to follow. Not so the Ferrari 348. In fact, some regard it to be the worst car that Maranello ever built. But, it evolved into the stunning F355, packing 375bhp from a 3.5-litre V8. The chassis and bodywork were extensively overhauled to create a far better car than the 348 ever was. A car so good, in fact, that it turned around Ferrari’s fortunes and effectively saved the company.

2. Peugeot 208 GTI

After production of the 306 GTI-6 wound up, it seemed like Peugeot was incapable of producing another decent fast car. Or any sort of good motor, for that matter. But then the 208 GTI came along with its peppy engine, good looks and fine chassis, and all was forgiven. While it wasn’t quite sharp enough to take on the Ford Fiesta ST (the 30th Anniversary edition has since closed the gap), it’s a damn good step in the right direction, and the RCZ-R plus the eventual hot 308 prove that Peugeot at last has its mojo back.

3. Jaguar F-Type

After years of fairly naff cars with some rather unsuccessful retro-inspired styling (we’re looking at you, X and S-Type), Jaguar had already started to turn things around by 2013 with the XF and new XJ. But something was missing: a sports car. The ageing XK was more of a GT after all, but fortunately, Jag had just the car it needed in the F-Type. With an all-aluminium chassis and the option of a fire-breathing 542bhp V8, this is just what the doctor ordered.

4. VW Golf MkV GTI

The MkIV represented something of a low-point for the illustrious Golf GTI name. Those three letters were affixed to several variants, including one with a naturally-aspirated 2.0-litre engine. The power output of that version? 115bhp. That meant a 0-62mph time of over 10 seconds. Fortunately, VW made up for the affront of that steaming pile of turd with the brilliant MkV GTI, a car with great handling and punchy performance from a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-pot. I like them so much, I bought one myself.

5. Mazda MX-5 (fourth-gen)

It must be said, we did rather like the third-generation Mazda MX-5. It was still great fun to drive and pared back compared to most other sports cars, but had moved away from the basic, ultra-low weight ethos of the original car. After all, it was even available with an electric folding hard top.

However, the fourth-gen car is a very different beast. It’s considerably smaller (in fact, it’s 30cm shorter than the first MX-5), and thanks to an anal approach to weight saving, it’s around 100kg lighter, giving it a kerb weight of around 1000kg. It’s simpler, too. It sports a fabric roof (there’s no hard top option) that’s operated manually. Much more like it.

6. Toyota GT86

Toyota used to make some great sports cars. Who can forget the Supra, Celica GT-Four, MR2 or Corolla AE86? These cars are all gone, of course, leaving Toyota without any products that could possibly interest us hardcore petrolheads. At least, that was the case until 2012, when the Japanese car giant teamed up with Subaru to come up with the GT86. Sure, it gets some stick for not having enough power, but the GT86 is a brilliant slice of affordable RWD fun that proves Toyota still has what it takes to build performance cars. More like this please.

7. Ford Mustang (fifth-generation)

The world’s attention might be focused on the new sixth-generation ‘Stang - which represents a dramatic step forward for the famous pony car - but let’s not forget what the fifth-gen did for the Mustang name. Its styling was a brilliant modern take on the very early Mustang fastbacks; a welcome thing after several generations which arguably missed the mark on the looks front.

8. Honda Civic Type-R

OK, we’re jumping the gun a bit here as no one has actually driven a production version of the new Civic Type-R just yet, but whatever the car is like, its very existence shows that Honda is thinking about fast cars again. Like pre-GT86 Toyota, if you look through the company’s current line-up, you won’t find anything of interest to performance car enthusiasts, which is a shame given the brilliant hot Hondas we’ve had in the past. The 302bhp Type-R puts fast Hondas firmly back on the agenda, and it has backup coming in the form of the new NSX.

Any others you can think of? Let us know in the comments!