The Next Jap Sports/Super Car To Gain Legendary Status Ala Nissan's GTR

**RED XIII** · July 2nd, 2007 07:46 PM

We all know that the Nissan GTR's aka Godzilla's records and feats set it apart from any other Japanese sports / super cars.. even euro exotics or am muscle for that matter, thus making it a legendary iconic car worldwide. Actually being called by BBCs Top Gear as the only true Japanese supercar ever built.

With all that being said- What do u guys think would be the next Japanese sports or super car to have a GTR like stature.. Is it the..

Nissan Fairlady Z- The best selling mass production sports car of all time. One of the few cars to win a GT500 and GT300 championship. A 2006 tuner car of the year winner. An iconic car since its release in the late 70s, known as the datsun Z that time. Very popular car in the west. And one of the "it" cars in Japan and in the west as shown in the movie FnF Tokyo Drift.

Nissan Silvia / 240SX- A dominator and champion in the JGTC GT300 and in the sport of drifting. The current "it" car especially by tuners in Japan, U.K and U.S. It is also now competing in time attacks wherein its pitted head to head against porsches and doing well with it. Its engine the SR20DET is one of the most sought after engine behind GTRs RB26DETT in the tuner scene, its even used as an engine swap to Toyota's AE86 in Japan, U.K and U.S.

Honda NSX- although honda is said to discontinue production of these cars, its one of the few Jap sportscar to be called exotic for its resemblance to Euro supercars. Has its championship rings in JGTC as well alongside the GTR in GT500 and in the GT300 class also. A poor drift car though.

Toyota Supra- the 1st of its kind aka mark1 was built primarily to compete w/ the popular Nissan (formerly Datsun) Z car. One of the GTRs toughest competitor in the GT500. e.g. castrol supra vs. pennzoil gtr in JGTC 1999 where in a nose to nose final race was shown by both cars, the GTR exploited a gap in the last minute and claimed the championship that year. One of the legendary battles in JGTC. A drag strip monster and a GT500 champ as well. Shares w/ the NSX as 1 of the poor drift cars.

Mitsubishi EVOs- A rally champ and dominator. This iconic 4 wheel drive car was initially intended for the Japanese market only. Once called a poor man's porsche by westerns, it became 1 of the favorites in the sports sedan market world wide. Has its share of official time attack records.

Subaru Impreza WRX- A rally champ and dominator as well. A rival of the evo ever since its release in 1993. A popular choice in the sports sedan market especially the current STi-- even more powerful than the evo in terms of hp.

Mazda RX series- has numerous race championships outside its homeland of Japan! the only rotary engine in its class sets it apart from its Japanese rivals. Was also made to compete with the Nissan (formerly Datsun) Z. Had its 1st JGTC GT300 championship ring last year.

Well, thats some of the choices I can think of. If u can think of other Jap sports / super car not listed here and is deserving to be the next legendary godzilla like car, just post it here. Some popular cars were not included bec. they really do not belong to the sports / super car category or they simply do not qualify e.g. Honda S2000- yet to prove its mettle in motorsports.

**ghosthunter** · July 2nd, 2007 07:57 PM

It would be at tie between the Mitsu EVO and Subaru WRX.

**Orido** · July 2nd, 2007 08:58 PM

if you watch best motoring videos in you tube or through DVD's the real next best thing in jap sports/super cars is the NSX type R.. they always pit it in a race against th e best of europe, USA nd japan like the porsche 911 turbo (996), 996 gt3, Ferrari 360, ferrari 360 challenge, lamborghini Murcielago nd gallardo, bmw m3 CSL nd e90 M5, ferrari f50, evos, wrx's, the skyline series from the 32 to the 34, and for some reason it always wins using its monster late braking and legendary cornering balance its probably the most underrated and unloved jap exotic there is! and there is a reason that Keichi Tsuchiya the drift king loves this car as well as he loves his Hachiroku!!!

**Jun aka Pekto** · July 2nd, 2007 09:14 PM

I'd say a car's 'legend" status can be determined by their collectability quotient.

The guy we bought our house from is a car collector. Judging by what he collects, it's the last model Toyota Supra twin turbo and the Acura NSX because those two cars were in the garage when we first looked at our house*.

He may like those two. But, his daily driver is a red Honda S2000 and a red Eclipse V6 Spyder for his wife.

*He actually lives 5 houses down the street. He merely used the garage of our house for storing his cars and nothing else. Seems like he has another house somewhere to store his beauties because I only see the two red convertibles everyday. GoogleEarth did catch his white Supra (with red interior) outside at his garage a year before before we moved here.

**artpogi** · July 3rd, 2007 04:51 PM

After the Skyline? hmm.....

for me it's the NSX and the Supra siguro

**Dr.Kamiya** · July 3rd, 2007 05:04 PM

Originally Posted by Orido

if you watch best motoring videos in you tube or through DVD's the real next best thing in jap sports/super cars is the NSX type R.. they always pit it in a race against th e best of europe, USA nd japan like the porsche 911 turbo (996), 996 gt3, Ferrari 360, ferrari 360 challenge, lamborghini Murcielago nd gallardo, bmw m3 CSL nd e90 M5, ferrari f50, evos, wrx's, the skyline series from the 32 to the 34, and for some reason it always wins using its monster late braking and legendary cornering balance its probably the most underrated and unloved jap exotic there is! and there is a reason that Keichi Tsuchiya the drift king loves this car as well as he loves his Hachiroku!!!

There is one big problem with the NSX Type-R... At over 14 million yen, it is even more expensive than a new 997 GT3. Yes it is hugely underrated, but unlike many japanese sports cars it doesn't exactly offer a big bang-for-the-buck advantage. Would you fancy paying more than 997 GT3 money for a 15 year old chassis with a much weaker engine?

**Orido** · July 3rd, 2007 05:26 PM

for an NSX type R??? you crazy??!! hell yeah!!

and FYI there was two Type R series that came out the first came out way back in 92ish?? but am not sure... then the latest one the one that is kicking all of those euro and jap asses came out in 2001 until honda stopped production of the NSX back in 2005..

**Jun aka Pekto** · July 3rd, 2007 07:58 PM

Another important criteria for a "legend" car and it's collectablility factor is not just performance, but build quality, finish, and "solidness" over time as well. Both the Supra twin turbo and Acura NSX of our collector friend still looked great and sounded solid like they were just bought yesterday even though both cars are over a decade old and have pretty good mileage on them.
Among the cars deserving of similar stature, I'd include the Fairlady Z's. That's about it.

**niky** · July 4th, 2007 11:17 AM

The NSX should be legendary, but the perceived lack of power really hurts it. In the minds of some, it is legendary, but a lot of people can't be bothered to get up in the morning for less than 300hp. Some of us know better...

The "Godzilla" was legendary not just because it rewrote the rulebooks on AWD handling, but because it was so rare. Until the release fo the LF-A, new GT-R or the next NSX, there's really nothing approaching that exclusivity.

Of course, for me, the one true Japanese supercar was the Nissan R390...

**empy** · July 4th, 2007 01:32 PM

niky, don't forget the Toyota GT-One. did they ever make the roadgoing version of that car?

let's not go too crazy with the NSX...it is a beautifully balanced, wonderfully driveable sports car that had supercar-level performance in 1992

still a great car but never really captured the imagination or attention of the world like the Skyline did.

actually if i look at how the import tuner crowd in the US has viewed the list, i'd say the closest comparison is the Toyota Supra. great performance out of the box, but tunable to monster proportions with relatively simple parts, great aftermarket support....the only difference between it and the NSX and Skyline is that it is a whole lot more available to the masses.