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

[RED XIII]

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]

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

[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!!!

[Jun aka Pekto]

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]

After the Skyline? hmm.....

for me it's the NSX and the Supra siguro

[Dr.Kamiya]

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]

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]

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.

[Blackraven]

There are only two Jap sports/super cars that will make the waves this gen:

Nissan GT-R and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10

Malapit na sana ang Subaru pero binasura nila ng konti ang design ng bagong model. Even with the hatchback and sedan, medyo so-so pa rin yung styling. To top that, wala silang bagong engines at the moment (unlike what Nissan and Mitsu have announced).

So ngayon, only those two will triumph while the Subaru would be out of the race this time around.

[O!lman]

OT: Meron pa bang street legal Toyota Supra ngayon? parang nag-lie low na ang toyota sa production ng supercars? or they find it useless to produce performance cars nowadays and concentrate instead w/ F1?. Wala na rin silang rally cars.

[niky]

Toyota only has two current sports cars:

The Celica and the MR-S. Both went out of production last year because demand was very low.

The Celica's problems included the peaky engine (absolutely no torque) and the fact that it was never as good as the Integra.

The MR-S had no power for its price... it should have been better than the Miata, with the mid-engine layout, but it sadly wasn't... thus R.I.P.

There's still the Corolla XRS (same problem as Celica, no torque, plus the chassis is so-so), which is discontinued, too. There have been various iterations of Echo/Vios/Yaris Turbos... but they weren't very well-sorted either. So they're fast cars, but not really sporty.

Toyota's next sportscar will most likely be a Lexus. Even if it's meant to be a modern Supra, it won't likely carry a Toyota badge.

[yuichi]

There are only two Jap sports/super cars that will make the waves this gen:

Nissan GT-R and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10

Malapit na sana ang Subaru pero binasura nila ng konti ang design ng bagong model. Even with the hatchback and sedan, medyo so-so pa rin yung styling. To top that, wala silang bagong engines at the moment (unlike what Nissan and Mitsu have announced).

So ngayon, only those two will triumph while the Subaru would be out of the race this time around.

seems that you are very sure of what you are saying

sabi ng SA, Subaru's plan is to make the WRX/STI a short-wheel base car and trim the length shorter to be more agile and manueverable kaya nag-hatch sila, like the Ford Focus and Citroen. i dont think na aged na rin yung 2.5l Boxer Engine nila.tignan na lang natin.

yun din doubt ko sa EvoX, mukhang malaki at malapad, ipapaspok ba nila yon sa rally?
pano yan sasabay sa maliliit na WRC cars?

[IGNITED]

Originally Posted by Blackraven
There are only two Jap sports/super cars that will make the waves this gen:

Nissan GT-R and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10

Malapit na sana ang Subaru pero binasura nila ng konti ang design ng bagong model. Even with the hatchback and sedan, medyo so-so pa rin yung styling. To top that, wala silang bagong engines at the moment (unlike what Nissan and Mitsu have announced).

So ngayon, only those two will triumph while the Subaru would be out of the race this time around.

_______
Hmmm... the evox? Like what bro Yuichi said parang sure na sure ka na. We cannot tell yet bro black raven.. coz the evo x is not really been tested... haven't shown its performance on any motorsport, and also remember that the evo lately hasn't been dominating the rally scene unlike before, and infact any motorsport in that matter. But well see, in the states the evo x has been tagged as the would be "nissan nemesis" and "honda hunter" though. ;) Let's see whether it will really step up.

[Dr.Kamiya]

seems that you are very sure of what you are saying

sabi ng SA, Subaru's plan is to make the WRX/STI a short-wheel base car and trim the length shorter to be more agile and manueverable kaya nag-hatch sila, like the Ford Focus and Citroen. i dont think na aged na rin yung 2.5l Boxer Engine nila.tignan na lang natin.

yun din doubt ko sa EvoX, mukhang malaki at malapad, ipapaspok ba nila yon sa rally?
pano yan sasabay sa maliliit na WRC cars?

Mali ka dun brother! The new subaru, despite being a hatchback actually has a longer wheelbase than the outgoing car by 3.7 inches. Subaru's plan is actually to increase the wheelbase of the car, and change the rear suspension to double-wishbones in order to increase stability. Wala dun yung "paliitin ang kotse."

Ganun din ang ginawa ng Peugot when they transitioned to the 307 from the 206, pati yung championship-leading Citroen ganun din. Last year's Xsara was 2540mm between the wheels, the new C4 WRC is 2608mm. Lahat naghaba ng wheelbase.

I agree the Evo X has yet to prove whether it will live up to it's name and predecessor's pedigree, pero medyo mali yung conclusion and assumptions about small = better sa WRC. In fact, lahat nga ng mga bagong kotse nila mas malalaki. Deceiving lang siguro yung itsura dahil puro hatchback.

[HyBrideVo]

My vote goes to the AWD's in the crowd.

The Evo and STi will do fine for me. I need something that'll make plenty of power has 4 doors or more and seats five.

[aizen]

have you forgotten to add Nissan 350z or i guess its under the nissan Z series of cars..
Well i go for EVO its no sports car like the NSX or Nissan Z cars.. EVO is a Sedan its like an everyday car your mom and dad drives but its has a monster under the hood .. nearly perfect handling and suspension .. a head turner in the road .. monster drifter .. a AWD car ... It could not win against the Z car or the NSX in terms of HP ... it could not win in a drag race against those sports car... but it can out run a murcielago in a circuit race or anycar for that matter ...

[yuichi]

Mali ka dun brother! The new subaru, despite being a hatchback actually has a longer wheelbase than the outgoing car by 3.7 inches. Subaru's plan is actually to increase the wheelbase of the car, and change the rear suspension to double-wishbones in order to increase stability. Wala dun yung "paliitin ang kotse."

Ganun din ang ginawa ng Peugot when they transitioned to the 307 from the 206, pati yung championship-leading Citroen ganun din. Last year's Xsara was 2540mm between the wheels, the new C4 WRC is 2608mm. Lahat naghaba ng wheelbase.

I agree the Evo X has yet to prove whether it will live up to it's name and predecessor's pedigree, pero medyo mali yung conclusion and assumptions about small = better sa WRC. In fact, lahat nga ng mga bagong kotse nila mas malalaki. Deceiving lang siguro yung itsura dahil puro hatchback.

thanks for the info bro, anyway sinabi lang naman sa akin yon. enjoy our Impreza!

[cd!]

teka diba may nissan z naman talaga sa choices?... I think wala pa din makakapalit sa GTR.. all those cars e kung madami dami pang kakainin.. as in madami. ;) Its a legend talaga! Pro personally for me ang close sa kanyang stature is yung Z... iconic car na to way back pa.. had its share of numerous motorsports trophies. And it's one of those sought after "uso" cars 2day, have seen d Fn'F tokyo drift? I believe nasa top 5 yung nismo xanavi at motul Z ngayon sa current GT 500. Yung silvia ok din, 1 of the most popular cars lalo na sa tuner world.. malupit din ito sa track.. can go head to head sa time attack w/ porsche gt3 sa unlimited ff fr/mr class.
As for the evo... medyo lay low kc yan ngayon.. same for the imprezza.. di na cla matunog unlike before.