I still remember the first time I saw a photo of the Z32 Nissan 300ZX twin turbo. This was the late 80s and like most Americans that had been fed a steady diet of Detroit muscle, I didn’t even like Japanese cars. But the 300ZX was sexuality on wheels.
In the post-Regan world of faux fender vents and plasticky trim that covered American cars, it was like like an iPod among cassette players. There were no unnecessary scoops or side strakes, the headlamps and taillights were completely flush with the bodywork, and it looked like an ultra-high-tech weapon from Cybertron.
Plus, it had the performance to match. Equipped with a 300hp V6, pumped up with dual turbochargers, it even trounced our beloved Corvette in magazine comparos. Soon after, the Acura NSX, Mitsubishi 3000GT, FD Mazda RX-7 and A80 Toyota Supra appeared on our shores, brewing an all out battle royale.
My cold Yank heart had no choice but to melt. Soon, I was in total awe of Japanese sporting machines and quickly became a convert. This, then, is the period I like to call the 90s Japanese Renaissance. Before long, my radar was flooded with JDM goodness like the Skyline GT-R, Lancer Evo, WRX STI, and even the hidden potential of the lowly Civic. It was the best of times.
Sadly, it was also the worst of times. Japanese automakers were still adhering to the ridiculous “gentleman’s agreement” that limited these cars to 280ps. Darker still, little did my octane-fueled brain realize, most sports car buyers did so for the image, not the performance. And hidden from view, many of them began to flock toward a new form of vehicle in which to pose, the SUV. As sales of the Chelsea tractors grew, sports car sales tanked, and by the end of the decade all those wonderful road carvers had been discontinued in the US market.
That is why, after a 10-year drought since the 1998 Supra went bye-bye, I’m so damn amped to see camouflaged Japanese sports cars flying around the Nürburgring. Once again, Nissan is leading the charge with the GT-R. But soon, Toyota and Honda will join in with the Lexus LF-A and Acura NSX. Mazda’s Furai concept isn’t slated for production, but man, is it sexy.
With gas prices rising to $5.00 per gallon in some parts of the US (I know, I know, we’re so spoiled) and no signs of retreat, this could put the final nail in the coffin for the SUV.
We’re long overdue for a new Renaissance, and instead of setting 280ps as a benchmark, automakers have torn that gentlemen agreement to shreds and declared all-out war. The LF-A and GT-R Vspec are shaving seconds off each others’ ‘Ring lap times, and Honda CEO Takeo Fukui has declared that the NSX is to top the GT-R or all the engineers will lose their pinkies. God, I feel like a teenager again.
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The stupidest part of that “280ps Gentlemen’s Agreement” is that it was only to apply to Japanese market vehicles. Any car that was built for export could make whatever power the OEM wanted.
I don’t know if its a part of Japan’s parochialism, but they never did. Export model cars were just as hobbled as their “JDM” counterparts…if you ignored the fact that the OEMs basically lied about power outputs.
Nice one Ben. There is certainly plenty to look forward to on the horizon from the Jap manufacturers and the GT-R has shown that they can beat the best a comncept that was in doubt before the R35.
Alan raised a good point as well - the Japanese did lie about their outputs, non more so than Nissan with the previous generation GT-R’s that were putting out quite a bit more hp than quoted. It looks like old habits die hard as the current GT-R is providing owners with many more hp (or kw) than the spec sheet suggests.
Nissan’s engineers swear blind that the R35 makes its advertised power. They say the reason why the car pulls inordinately high figures on a “rolling road” or hub-based dynamometer is because they’ve used ultra-efficient drivetrain parts, which have cut drivetrain losses to approximately 10%.
Considering some AWDs lose 40% of their power from the flywheel to the tyres, that is very impressive.
That said, the old GT-Rs were not making their advertised power. The R34 GT-R made more torque all the way through the rev range than the R33, yet the peak power somehow didn’t change. When the Whites imported their standard R34 GT-R N1 from Japan, the “206kW” car made 210kW at all four tyres.
Nissan’s engineers are also aware that power = torque x rpm x constant so they weren’t working with non-Newtonian physics either.
Subaru and Mitsubishi have also done similar things with the STi and Evolution. Their engines make more than 206kW too, but for whatever reason they don’t get the same coverage as the GT-R.
As long as we’re nitpicking, I’ll point out that the title of this entry is somewhat redundant…
Yeah, the automakers were able to sneak in a few extra hp for export models. 300ZX had 300hp, Supra TT and 3000GT VR-4 had 320hp in our market, and we ‘murricins never got the Skyline GT-R. Glad to see all that has gone out the window. Hopefully this supercar battle will last longer than half a decade.
Whatever the case may be, that J manufacturers have certainly come a long way from. Their cars have always been impressive, but they haven’t always been world beaters - especially on the looks front, as they’ve always been uniquely Japanese when it came to style.
I still think the R35 has a FOAMCL, but the LF-A and the NSX look like they’re going to be competitive *and* absolute stunners.
I think GT-R Proto looks better than the production version. They should have released that exterior instead.
Its not a stunning car to look at, but it is tough and has a lot of presence.
I think of the GT-R as a Japanese muscle car. Its not meant to look pretty or overtly aerodynamic (although the GT-R’s Cd is amazing), but its meant to look tough and hunkered down. That’s been a GT-R trademark more than a delicate, beatiful exterior.
I agree with Alan. The GT-R Proto looked much better. The GT-R does look uniquely Japanese, which has been quite polarizing. That, and the fact that it looks like it’s swallowing a Volkswagen.
And what does FOAMCL mean?
Face Only a Mother Could Love
And dude, you had me in stitches over “swallowing a volkswagen” hahah.