The 90's Was The Last, Great Decade For JDM Super Cars

12 Mind-Blowing Cars That Prove The 90s Were JDM’s Golden Era

The 1990s was a great time for cars, with the last of the truly mechanical performance vehicles rolling off the production line before the electric revolution began. It also happened to be the time when Japan was really into making enthusiast cars . . . . .

Mazda RX7 (1991-2002)

It’s not often a car’s styling stands the test of time quite as well as the RX7’s has. Just imagine how it must have felt to first lay eyes upon this gorgeous, curvaceous machine in the early 90s. More than 25 years after it was first revealed, it still looks fantastic, and not in a ‘because retro is, like, so in right now’ kind of way, either.

But it’s not just a pretty silhouette that the Mazda RX7 is famed for. The 1.3-litre twin-rotor engine is a unique little thing, and has won many fans for the way it revs to the stratosphere and sounds like nothing else. Couple that engine to a car that has 50/50 front/rear weight balance, a low centre of gravity, and a lightweight construction, and it’s no surprise it’s won plaudits for being one of the best driver’s cars ever made.

Honda NSX (1990 - 2005)

When you think of Japanese performance cars, you tend to think of fairly low budget cars, but the Honda NSX is the glittering exception to that rule. It was designed to show the likes of Ferrari that you could have supercar performance and great looks at a lower price point and with actual reliability. It succeeded, and went down as a legend.

When we drove one last year, we instantly fell in love with that engine; 276bhp might not sound like a lot these days, but the way it howls its way to the red line after VTEC kicks in is addictive. Its handling dynamics may give away its age, but it’s still great fun to throw around your favourite road, and makes you realise the horsepower war is really rather pointless.

Toyota Supra (1992-2002)

For the A80 model, the Toyota Supra was completely redesigned. Gone was the old boxy styling from the 80s, and in was in-yer-face curvaceous styling and a massive rear wing. It was with the twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre 2JZ engine that this car really made its name, offering 276bhp from the factory but coming with a ridiculous appetite for being tuned. It quickly became the darling of the aftermarket scene, and in 2016, not a lot has changed in that regard.

Nissan Skyline GT-R (1989 - 2002)

Three generations of GT-R actually spanned this decade, with the R32 running between 1989 and 1994, and the R33 seeing production between 1995 and 1998, at which point the R34 took over the GT-R reigns.

Like so many of the greatest road cars ever built, the GT-R’s resurrection in 1989 was down to Nissan’s desire to dominate motorsport. The R32 was designed to win Group A racing, and the now-iconic 2.6-litre RB26DETT was a result of its determination to use regulations of the time to its advantage. The R33 then came along, updating the styling and improving on a few areas of the previous generation, such as the all-wheel drive system.

With the R34, the styling changed much more radically, and became the symbol of the PlayStation generation thanks to its in-depth on-board analysis systems. As the culmination of a decade’s worth of motor racing knowledge, it was the ultimate incarnation of Nissan’s racing project, moving the game on significantly from the R33 and cementing its place in history.

Complete list (CarThrottle.com)