The anime “Initial D” in the hearts of car fans is absolutely God-like existence.
1995 Shigeno Shuichi began serialized “Initial D”, to the sixth part of the official end, but also a generation of Japanese people on the local car dream of the final showstopper, the Japanese automobile has had a brilliant, but this splendor ultimately stopped at the beginning of the twentieth century.
In addition to several of the main characters’ rides, there are many other classics within “Initial D” that JDM fans will enjoy, like the ones below.
Nissan Skyline GT-R
Driver: Tsuyoshi Nakazato
So many people are no strangers to the name GTR, which has become an iconic Nissan car, while the SKYLINE lineup has been continually downplayed, if not forgotten. But no matter what the current models are, they can’t erase the god-like status of the early NISSAN SKYLINE.
The GT-R has two killer features, namely the RB26GETT inline 6-cylinder engine that provides superb power, and the ATTESA E-TS intelligent four-wheel drive system that distributes power to all four wheels. In those days, such a set of four-wheel-drive system that calculates the power distribution by the computer can be regarded as an extraterrestrial technology that exists like an alien.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution in Initial D
Driver: Keiichi Sudo
In order to participate in the WRC World Rally Championship and the SCCA Professional Rally Championship. Mitsubishi Motors improved and strengthened its family car. The Lancer, to produce a high-performance flagship sports car, the Lancer Evolution.
The Lancer Evolution won four WRC annual championships between 1996 and 1999. It was becoming the most powerful car in the WRC at the time.
Each generation of the Lancer Evolution has had amazing performance. In the end of the ninth generation, it was a phenomenal car in Japan.
Toyota MR2 in Initial D
Driver: Kobayashi Kai
There are only two Japanese mid-engine cars, the first is the NSX and the other is the MR2.
The mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, 2-seat layout is where the MR2 gets its name from. The SW20 belongs to the second generation of the MR2, and is designed to look like the Ferrari F355, with its classic jump lights. Everyone likes to call the Honda NSX the Japanese Ferrari. Toyota MR2 is known as the poor man’s Ferrari. Compared to the NSX, the MR2 is not technically comparable.
Toyota utilized clever thinking to flatten the rear front drive layout to the rear wheels to form a mid-rear drive layout. That greatly saved development costs and made the price of such a mid-mounted sports car all. Also, acceptable to a class of young people. The poor man’s Ferrari is not disparaging the MR2. It speaks volumes about its cost-effectiveness, making the fun of a mid-mounted sports car accessible to the average consumer.
Honda Civic Type-R in Initial D
Driven by Tomoyuki Tate
The Honda Civic is one of the few front-wheel-drive models inside Heads Up, and it’s very tenacious. The Civic’s Type-R, B16B red-head engine paired with dual-swing arm suspension front and rear, and active rear grip running is in fact the strongest rival of a bunch of rear-wheel drive models. This is no ordinary Civic, but a Demo Car fully modified by Spoon, with the B16B engine expanding to 1.8L cylinders to produce 260hp. Plus a series of chassis strengthening modifications.
The classic cars in JDM are of course far more than these: just count the number of Honda’s strongest NSX, Mazda rotor RX-7, Roadster’s MX-5, Subaru WRX series, K-car on behalf of the Suzuki Cappuccino and so on. It is a pity that these models have lost their original style with the change of time. And now with the trend of new energy electric vehicles replacing traditional cars, how far can JDM’s legendary cars go?
