Japanese performance cars gallery

In twin-turbocharged form the Supra is a supercar eater. The 280bhp straight-six is torquey and smooth. The styling has aged well – it’s a real looker – and it can now be picked up for next to nothing.

The third generation Mazda RX-7 is arguably one of the prettiest Japanese sports cars of all time. It’s rakish coupe looks were matched by a powerful turbocharged rotary engine producing 276bhp.

This GT-R was much more than just a quick Nissan… And is arguably a classic in the making. The last GT-R to wear the Skyline badge, it was also the first to feature the now legendary LCD g-force meters in the dashboard.

Honda’s S2000 boasts a 237bhp 2.0-litre engine which screams to 9,000rpm. It boasts bulletproof reliability too, allowing worry-free open top enjoyment of the race-bred powerplant’s spine-tingling soundtrack.

Introduced in 1990 when the average Ferrari was difficult to drive and inconsistently built, the NSX mated supercar performance with Japanese build quality and a chassis developed with F1 legend Ayton Senna. That 2002’s NSX-R could still compete with the best is a testament to its greatness.

Small and nippy with sublime handling. The MX-5 fully deserves its title as the world’s best selling sports car. Mazda ripped-off Lotus something chronic with the MX-5’s styling and characteristics – to great effect. Near perfect weight distribution, peppy engine and excellent short-throw gearbox make it a cracking drive.

The third generation Integra Type R is a more hardcore drive than its Civic sibling. It’s not the most practical everyday car, but more than makes up for it in the rewarding driving experience it offers.

Subaru’s rally-bred Impreza is capable of embarrassing most cars on a winding B-road. Its unassuming saloon car looks hide a giant-killing 2.0-litre turbocharged boxer engine and high-tech all-wheel drive system.

Despite being in its tenth generation, many still hail the hardcore Evo VI as the ultimate embodiment of Mitsubishi’s Japanese supersaloon. Despite having ‘only’ 280bhp, its World Rally Championship heritage and clever four-wheel drive system meant it could tear through corners at barely believable speeds.

This model was very nearly called the 300Z… The X was added to the nameplate as an afterthought to signify this machine’s luxuriously appointed interior. Popular with the performance tuning industry the 3.0-litre V6 engine is hugely tuneable – and the car to this day holds a speed record at the Bonneville Speed Trial, where a modified edition of the car hit an incredible 260.87mph in 1995.

Unfortunately, Mitsubishi doesn’t sell the Eclipse in the UK. In the USA, it offers high levels of equipment wrapped up in a rakish coupe bodyshell and plenty of performance from its 3.8-litre V6 engine.

The 350Z boasts old-school coupe thrills – a hearty warbling 3.5-litre V6 up front driving the rear wheels through a slick, six-speed ‘box. Available in roadster and coupe variants, there’s a Z for all weathers.