Volkswagen Rabbit MK5 – Bringing Zippy Fun to Economy Class As small cars trudged ever closer to bland transportation appliances by the mid-2000s, Volkswagen reinforced hatchback credentials staying playful via their fifth-generation Rabbit revival for 2006. Originally sold on its standard fuel-sipping 2.5-liter inline-5 pumping 150 eager horses through the front wheels, the Rabbit eschewed…
What Does Nismo Mean? Exploring Nissan’s Legendary Motorsports Division See a cheeky Nissan subcompact trading paint with supercars at the track? Chances are the GTR killer emblazons a small yet powerful badge reading “Nismo”. This four-letter word carries serious weight behind the scenes of Nissan’s performance. But what exactly does Nismo mean and why does…
Altezza RS200 – Japan’s Overlooked Sports Sedan While history celebrates Toyota’s Supra and MR2 sports cars, few realize their Altezza RS200 sedan beat both icons around Japan’s revered Nurburgring track at launch. Developed to inject pulse-pounding excitement into the entry-level luxury segment in 1998, this stealthy four-door packed a high-winding 2.0-liter straight six engine driving…
Honda Integra Type R DC5 – Peak Front-Drive Performance Perfection Debuting in the summer of 2001, Honda’s third iteration Integra Type R arrived just as the 1990 Japanese performance wave crashed. But this DC5-generation model refused to fade quietly by perfecting the front-drive sport compact to astonishing levels through meticulous attention to detail. Significant weight…
Nissan 180SX S13 – Bringing Style & Substance to Japanese Sports Coupes When Nissan debuted their new rear-wheel drive Silvia model code-named S13 in 1989, it brought a welcome injection of style and driving enthusiasm to the affordable coupe segment. Sold internationally as the 180SX, this new entry captured the hearts and wallets of sports…
350z Fairlady Nissan – Rebirth of the Affordable Japanese Sports Car When Nissan debuted the 350Z coupe in 2002, it reignited enthusiast passion for affordable driving purity lost since the original 240Z. Codenamed Z33, the new 350Z drew heavy inspiration from predecessors cementing Nissan’s sports car credentials since 1969. From a long nose/short deck silhouette…
Lotus 72 – Groundbreaking F1 Car that Dominated Grand Prix Racing When the sleek, angular Lotus 72 made its Formula 1 debut in 1970, packs of rivals were left bewildered as this disruptive force piloted by Jochen Rindt immediately snapped the pole position in Monaco by 1.1 seconds. Colin Chapman’s latest Lotus creation brought unprecedented…
1983 Nissan 300ZX – Birth of a Japanese Sports Icon In an era remembered largely for boxy transportation appliances, the 1983 debut of Nissan’s sleek first-generation 300ZX sports car previewed bolder styling directions leveraging advanced wind-cheating aerodynamics. Wearing higher performance ZX nomenclature, visually longer and lower dimensions joined with flip headlights and tucked front/rear bumpers…