Top JDM cars of all time
TOP JDM CARS OF ALL TIME
I was always fond of cars but my introduction to JDM cars came from The Fast And The Furious which released in 2001. Apart from the Fast and FURIOUS series, it was the Need for Speed Underground franchise that got me madly in love with JDM cars. Bought JDM magazines, learnt about the Japanese car culture and I was only 16 at the time of the first movie. I lived in India where there was little to no car culture at the time and none of the cool JDM cars. Moreover in India, the legal age to start driving was 18. But I did start driving at 16. If I got caught bribing the Traffic Police was a normal occurrence as I was not the only 16-year-old who drove without a license in India. But moving to the UK brought me closer to the JDM car culture. I attended the University of Hertfordshire at the time and it had a lot of Japanese, Chinese and Indian students. And due to Fast and Furious movies, JDM car culture was at its peak.
So today I have decided to write about the top JDM cars of all time. The list is not in any particular order but lists all the best and most Iconic JDM cars.
Toyota Supra (mark IV)
The Mark IV Supras origins can be traced back to the 2000GT, The Toyota Celica and The 89'Lotus Excel. The car became an overnight sensation worldwide after Paul Walker drove it in the first Fast and the Furious movie.The Mark IV Toyota Supra was offered with two different engine variants:
1. A naturally aspirated 2JZ-GE, 3.0 litre, straight 6 producing 220 horsepower and 210 ft/lbs of torque.
2. And a 2JZ-GTE 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged straight 6 producing 320 horsepower and 315 ft/lbs of torque.
The second one is the more desired of the two. The 2JZ motor is arguably one of the most popular motors after the Chevy's LS motors and is used for a lot of motor swaps. It got popular not only because of the movie but also for the fact that it has one of the hardiest of engines ever made. We have seen on so many instances where people have extracted more than a 1000 Horsepower out of the 2JZ motor. Although the car has now become more of a collector's piece and one with low miles and a manual that has not been modified can fetch up to a $100,000. You can pick one up with an automatic and ton of miles for as little as $35,000.
Nissan Skyline (R34)
The R34 Skyline is a car that has the most potential on this list. It is capable of being modified and producing the most power on this list. The R34 is very customizable and is the car I can safely say has 'God' status on this list. I have had the pleasure of being in one and driving one in London but unfortunately, the R34 never made it to the U.S as it was too cool for America. Having said that this machine should be available to Import in the U.S. very shortly now. And hopefully, we would get to see plenty of them here. This is a car that Paul Walker used in 2 Fast 2 Furious for a short stint but the previous generation models of the Skyline GTR were used in the series more often.
Acura/Honda NSX
Acura or the Honda NSX was Honda's successful attempt at making a supercar. It was developed with the help of Formula1 Legend Aryton Senna and the handling of the car is a testament of Aryton's excellence. This is one car that made it on this list purely on merit and not because of a movie. This car's exterior design was inspired by the F-16 fighter Jet and was the first mass-produced car to have an aluminium body. Expect to pay north of $40,000 for an NSX that has got more than 100,000 miles on it.
Mazda RX7 (FD)
The third generation of the RX-7, known as the FD, was a 2-seater coupé. This featured a sequentially turbocharged 13B REW(rotary) engine. This also featured the 2+2 seating option in some markets. It was used in the first 3 fast and furious films. It was driven by Dominic Torreto (Vin Diesel) in the first film, It was a little overshadowed in the second film but was in a very prime role in the 3rd instalment of the franchise where Haan drives it with a VielSide widebody kit.
The car is popular because of its turbocharged Rotary Engine although we have seen some people swap it with an LS engine. The debate of LS swapping the RX7 has been a heated one on the internet. You can find a beat-up FD RX7 for $18,000 to $20,000 on Craig's list today.
Mitsubishi Evo (Evo 8)
Now although the EVO was in the 3rd Fast and Furious movie, (Tokyo Drift) it is very much here on merit and not because of its movie fame. The Mitsubishi Evos have always been an awesome rally car. Tommi Makinen won WRC 4 times in a row straight, from 96 to 99 with the Mitsubishi Evo. All-wheel drive Evo is not an ideal car for drifting despite what Tokyo Drift suggested but is an awesome rally car. Subarus WRX wouldn't have the sales it has today if the Evo still existed on the market today. You can find one of these in, not an overly abused condition, for north of $30,000 today.
Honda S2000 (AP1 or AP2)
Honda S2000 concept car was first revealed in 1995 and came into production in the year 1999. This beautiful Japanese convertible came with a 2litre DOHC VTec engine that could rev up to 9000rpm. This car is not as popular as the supra or the skyline but it is going up in value. You can find one of these for around $10,000 on Craig's list today.
Datsun 240-280Z
Nissan Fairlady or the Datsun 240Z is the oldest on this list. This was Nissan's arrival in the sports car market of the U.S. The 240Z had sleek styling, aerodynamic front end, modern engineering, impressive performance and a relatively low price point which struck a major chord with the consumers and the press. This resulted in a long waiting list for the 'Z' at the dealers. The Japanese sports car was welcomed with open arms in the U.S. Datsun's growing dealer network compared to limited production imported sports cars manufactured by Jaguar, BMW, Porsche, Alfa Romeo and Fiat ensured both easy purchase and ready maintenance. A real relatively beat-up version of this car would set you back $20,000 according to Classic Auto-Trader today.
Now there are a lot more cars I would have liked to add to this list like the s14 or s15 Silvia, the 350z, the 300zx, the civic, Eclipse GSX, Prelude, Integra, Celica, Impreza, Miata, MR2, RX8, R32 or R33 Skyline, etc But than it wouldn't have been an article on Top Jdm cars, It would have been an article on all JDM cars. I struggled to keep it limited to only the top 7 cars.
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