Japan is notorious for their extensive car scene, they have produced some of the most recognizable cars in the world. With models spreading across all their manufacturers that have gained notoriety like the Mazda RX-7 and MX5 Miata, Toyota and the Supra, Nissan with their skylines, Mitsubishi with its Lancer Evolutions, and Honda with the NSX. Japan has produced many models that put many others around the world to shame.
“People don’t really know what my soarer is and they keep calling it a Lexus,” Madden Batman said.
Although those companies have notorious models that get hype to this day, many of them have been lost to time.
Here are the top 5 coolest lost Japanese cars.
Toyota Sera
The Toyota Sera looks and acts like your average everyday 90s Toyota. And its numbers don’t really make it too special either: it’s got a 104 HP 1.5L inline 4 with a top speed of 180 KMH. It shares similar looks to the Camry mixed with a modern-day Prius, but it has one key feature that separates it from the crowd. Many supercars and hypercars like Lamborghinis and McLarens have gull-wing doors, a feature that is assimilated with high-end expensive cars, but the Sera gets this feature for much less. Giving the common man gull-wing doors made everyone feel special and cool. This gimmick didn’t go over well for the usual Toyota consumers and it quickly fell off. Spanning for only 5 years the Sera died off in 1995. It leaves many wondering if it ever was produced in the United States if it would have stayed alive.
Subaru SVX
The Subaru SVX looks like a cross between a DeLorean and a WRX, and it definitely is quite special. Coming with a 230 HP 3.3 L V6, it had plenty of power to pull around its small body. With a sleek low design, it has a built-in spoiler to improve downforce and gas mileage. It has a hood scoop to improve airflow into the engine and make better performance. The SVX was made to be a grand touring car but got overshadowed by the WRX. It was Subaru’s first attempt at a luxury performance car and it didn’t really last too long either, it started in 1990 and ended in 1996.
Daihatsu Copen
The Daihatsu Copen is the epitome of a kei car, it’s smaller than a Mini Cooper and has an equally as small engine. Powered by a 659 cc inline 4, it may not be a big engine but it’s not for a big car. It only weighs about 1800 pounds and swerves in corners making you say woah. The Copen was originally made in 2002 and discontinued in 2012, but it has recently made somewhat of a comeback, by coming back into production in 2014 until present. Although it is still being made today Daihatsu itself is a dying company and may not last long, the average person doesn’t really know who they are.
Mitsubishi 3000GT
Made to compete against the other big sports cars of the time like: Toyota Supra, Honda NSX, Mazda RX-7, and even the SVX. The 3000GT had many different trim models but the most advanced one came with a DOHC 3.0 twin turbo V6 that made about 300 HP. It may sound cool and fast but the 3000GT’s biggest issue was its weight. Weighing up to 2 tons the 3000GT couldn’t compete with its rivals. It came under multiple names in Japan only it was known as the GTO, in America, it was rebranded as a Dodge Stealth. But the odd thing is that the 3000GT was sold as itself in both countries. Only lasting 10 years, the 3000GT was discontinued in 2000 after it failed to compete in its market.
SW20 MR2
100% unbiasedly the best car ever made, the MR2 is a mid-engined small 2-seater. It came with the most durable and strongest engine for its power to weight, a 2.0 liter turbocharged inline 4. It was a specialty made to dominate the rest of the game; it destroyed the Del Sol, trampled on the Miata, and flattened the Fiero. Styled after Ferraris, it gained the nickname “Poor Man’s Ferrari” and it truly made it feel like that. It had exceptional engineering to ensure the best handling possible, created with the help of Le Mans, Nascar, and F1 drivers. The MR2 had quite a run, the longest on this list, from 1984-2007. But the SW20 was specifically in the 90s, and it truly did thrive in the market. But the MR2 name was lost to time after the third generation came out, it looked a little like a Porsche Boxster but worse. It was less dominant and there was less need for it because the other gave up, so it gradually went out of production, ending in 2007.
“Forgotten JDM cars are kinda everywhere you just gotta know where to look,” Zach Englebrecht said.
This list was meant to bring some awareness to these beautiful cars that lost to time or their bigger brothers. But the real question is how many other cool cars are out there that are even more unknown?
