We picked out the most interesting Japanese athletes sports cars that are popular as used cars around the world. From the small Honda S500 to the classically beautiful Toyota 2000 GT and the technically interesting Mazda Cosmo and RX-7 to the high-tech super sports Honda NSX and Nissan GT-R.
Sports Cars from Honda
Cars offer by Honda looks like an Italian super athlete, and the list of its technical finesse is long. With the mid-engine sports car Honda NSX was released in 1990 which become the fireworks of new technologies.
First of all, the chassis and the body, both made of almost 100 percent lightweight aluminum. This makes the Honda NSX the first production car made of this material. The curb weight could be reduced to less than 1,400 kilograms. In the development of the chassis information from the Formula 1 involvement of Honda flowed.
The suspension components are also largely made of aluminum. The wheels are guided by double wishbones and the chassis is glued to the road with anti-roll bars and specially developed tires. The Honda NSX is steered by a fully electronic power steering, the throttle valve is also fully electronically controlled and the accelerator pedal position is transmitted electronically.
The S-series from Honda
The first major production sports car from Japanese production was the 1963 Honda S500, which established the sports car series as the first S model of Honda. Its development goes back to the prototype S360, which was developed 50 years ago and was presented in 1962 at the Tokyo Motor Show. This accelerated the 510 kilograms lightweight sports car at least 120 km / h. But the sluggish dwarf was given little opportunity in the international market.
The Z - Datsun and Nissan Z series
As for the S-series for Honda, the Z-models are for Nissan. The first three generations of the sports car were sold under the brand name Datsun. The classically designed Z models were in great demand, especially in the USA, and set records for sales.
With the Datsun 240Z the success story of the Z models started in 1969. The sleek lines with long bonnet, short stub tail and short overhangs were well received. Even the modern 2.4-liter engine with 130 to 153 hp was convincing.
But the real sensation was the elaborate suspension that made American cars look old. Rear wishbones and coil springs led the wheels, front wishbones and McPherson struts. More than 150,000 copies were built. All these cars are very popular as a used car.