Japanese sport classics11/9/2023 It was built to mess with the sports car establishment and it went on to outsell all European rivals in the USA. For the money, the 240Z is an almost brilliant car.’ This quote from Car and Driver in 1970 tells you all you need to know about the 240Z. ‘The difference between the Datsun 240Z and your everyday three-and-a-half thousand dollar sports car is that about twice as much thinking went into the Datsun. In the Toyota 2000GT, Japan had built a sports car for the wealthy and the glamorous, but in the 240Z, Datsun delivered something a little more blue collar. Powered by a 4.8-litre naturally-aspirated V10 engine, the LFA can hit 200mph, and just 200 were built. “If someone were to offer me the choice of any car that had ever been made, ever, I would like a dark blue Lexus LFA,” said Jeremy Clarkson. The Lexus LFA was a long time coming: development work started in 2000, with the final production version not appearing until October 2009. Just 4,392 were produced before the AZ-1 fell victim to the Japanese recession. Weighing just 720kg, the AZ-1 could hit a top speed of 87mph. Power was sourced from a Suzuki 657cc turbocharged engine producing 63hp at 6,500rpm. Sold by Mazda under its Autozam brand, the AZ-1 was built by Suzuki and featured a pair of gullwing doors. If the Toyota 2000GT is the prettiest sports car to emerge from Japan, the Autozam AZ-1 is arguably the cutest. By the time the last car rolled out of the factory in 1970, the 2000GT had set numerous speed records, appeared in a Bond movie and put Japan firmly on the world sports car map. Launched in 1967, the 2000GT was powered by a 2.0-litre six-cylinder engine developing 150hp, enough to hit a top speed of 136mph. Whisper it, but we reckon the Toyota 2000GT is prettier than the Jag. It has been labelled the ‘Japanese E-Type’, but this is unfair. Don’t forget the blueprinted, naturally aspirated 3.0-litre V6 engine and manual gearbox either. The NSX-R weighs around 120kg less than the standard car, with carbon-kevlar seats, Enkei forged wheels and virtually no soundproofing. That sounds steep for a 26-year-old Honda, until you realise that only 483 were made – all for the Japanese market. This stunning example of the first Type R was recently sold by Collecting Cars for £160,000. You’ll note we have excluded hot hatches – that’s a whole different argument – and, for the most part, have limited ourselves to one example of every make and model. It includes the fast and the furious, but also the affordable and unusual. Which Japanese sports cars would you have in your lottery-win garage? Honda NSX or Nissan Skyline GT-R? Mazda RX-7 or Toyota Supra? Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution or Subaru Impreza WRX? We argued about this for hours before boiling it down to the following list.
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