[Closed] Have the Japanese ever made a true classic car?

Have a soft spot for the mark 1 uk impreza turbo from circa 1995. At the time it was cheap, light, understated, and with way more power and speed than any hot hatch I can think of at the time. Would like to see it become a classic one day.

Original Celica ST?

Long shot.... Isuzu Piazza Turbo? Had some kind of Lotus involvement I think.

Not sure how you've established your list of classics, but following the same pattern, I'd put the Micra on there too as a popular classic.

The best of the Japanese Classics they kept to themselves. And they sent the dull (yet way ahead of their time) counterparts over here to slave away as taxis and transport for the terminally old and sensible. Meanhile the Japanese were driving around in supercars posing as family saloons, turbo'd AWD super-minis and generally redefining the car as we know it.

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Look like classic cars to me.
The Toyota 2000GT was a very limited production of 337 in the late 60's, of which around 60 are believed to still exist. Last one I know of sold for £180,000.

"Corolla GT coupe (AE86). Rear wheel drive, 125BHP from a twin cam 16v engine, disks all round, 5 link live axle, weight under a tonne. Basically similar specs to a kit car, much better that the euro hot hatches of the same era. Fantastic to drive"

I sooo nearly bought one of these when I was 19. I think its fair to say that if I had I would still own it. Ace little cars.

Nissan Bluebird.......Nissan GT-R

You are all completely crazy, I give you my first car - the Mitsubishi Sigma high roof wagon...

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granted, mine wasn't lowered, nor did it have alloys...

Op needs to define classic...production numbers? Technology breakthrough? styling?

Plus he needs to better informed about motoring history and Japanese contribution to it 😉

[i]But they'll always be overshadowed by the Audi Quattro [/i]

Is a meaningless thing to say, every car is pretty much overshadowed by something else, especially stuff like Escort Golf etc etc

What criteria makes a classic? Age? Desirability?

This is the big question. For a long while conventional wisdom required some degree of race / rally success. Not so much now, it would seem.

The problem is that nostalgia gets mixed up in the definition of a classic

The MR2 AW11 was a fantastic car. I had one as a youth, would love to have a decent one again, probably worth getting before they all disappear

Datsun s211 / SPL12? or the 510 Bluebird?

NSX. Supercar. Not much to look at. Never sold well. Never developed or improved that much. Simply not desirable.

And developed by Senna.....

There are a lot of classic Jap cars, just not so widely recognised over here, mainly because they didn't import them officially. In Japan and the US, older skylines have a massive following

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Then you have the GT2000

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Celica

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And of course the 240z

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There's dozens of others, all avidly collected in Japan but because they were never imported here for the most part, we don't know about them.

I'm not saying its not, but I've never even heard of one or seen one.

And that means its not a classic does it?

Prefer the MR2 to the MX5

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Don't forget the RX-7.

Didn't MG make some more B cars in the 80s or later?

Had an AW11 a few years ago.

Great little car that I wish I had never sold.

So we've established that there are literally dozens?

My favourite 240Z

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http://www.speedhunters.com/2009/11/car_feature_gt_gt_that_240z/

Didn't MG make some more B cars in the 80s or later?

a very limited run of RV8s in the 90s after the MX5 launch rekindled interest in little two seaters.

<on topic>Most of them were sold in Japan </on topic>

My point was that there was a production overlap with the MX5

well it was revived because of the MX5 as the mazda - it was a retro exercise

they'd been out of production for over a decade before the handful of RV8s were made

Super 4x4, Yes, these kick backsides.
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Hugely biased, but the RX7 has to be there. Insane engine, gorgeous styling, properly sublime handling, and pretty darned rare.

Some fab cars in here... Good thread. Northwind will now add:

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Have a soft spot for the mark 1 uk impreza turbo from circa 1995. At the time it was cheap, light, understated, and with way more power and speed than any hot hatch I can think of at the time. Would like to see it become a classic one day.

[url= http://autotrader.mobi/used-cars/advert/201225476171924/viewing-3/0?PHPSESSID=k7fd8e3ektiu1i4egpq829ugo3 ]At 37k the 22b is definitely in the classic bracket![/url]

 

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8)

A classic indeed, but surely some mistake? That battered white Hilux appears to be lacking any sort of weaponry

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Did Toyota ever make a variant without a heavy machine gun mounted on the flat bed?

How about these

Nissan 240RS Group B

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Four rotor Mazda Le Mans Car.

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How about these

Nissan 240RS Group B

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Four rotor Mazda Le Mans Car.

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glitch

The British car industry laughs at you Japanese "classics"
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Ahh the 787B, that was a proper car!

So I think we have established the Japanese made plenty of worthy classics

Not sure if you'd call them classics, but I've owned some very enjoyable more bang for your buck sets of jap wheels along the years.

The Little Suzuki Jeep thing was quite cool in its day.
As was the Colt Shogun, they couldn't understand where all the sand came from when I traded it. (Use to park it on the beach at camber whilst windsurfing)
The RX7 was a brilliant but thirsty beast, it also used to backfire like a machine gun when the exhaust got a bit old
The Celica Supra was a dream when I first got one, first car with aircon as standard and loaded with every conceivable extra some unheard of back in 82 when they first came out, electric windows and seats, cruise control and blisteringly quick for the period.
The Toyota Hilux, The Toyota Landcruiser..both upped the game of the genre.
The Mitsubishi was it Imprezza or something else, never owned one but left its mark.

So they haven't all been crap, certainly better than some shit we were building back then, that was affordable at least. Ford Sierra ffs?

Celica RA28
Landcruiser 40 and 70 series

Hmmm lovely...

Ooooooo! Some real classics on here... 😀

I've always wanted one of these bad boys:

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Oh, and cheburashka? Barbie wants her car back.

So we've established that there are literally dozens?

No. That there's a few, maybe half a dozen or so. The rest on here are all race cars, utter howlers or copies of something else. 🙂

I've always wanted one of these bad boys:

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Just another copy:

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Nissan 240RS Group B

Quattro copy.

Surely more the Pao is more like this?

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And developed by Senna..

It might be. Don't make it a classic though, does it? There was a Ducati 916 Senna too (We have an ST3s in Ducati Senna colours) Means diddly squat.

So far, I reckon we have the mk1 MR2, mk1 MX5 (Even though it's just a copy.... I love MX5s, I'd have one any day of the week.) Suzuki SJ410, Toyota Landcruiser (Possibly Hilux) That 240z Datsun we all like and the Toyota 2000GT (Looks like a Ferrari copy to me though 😉 )

People's cars, not super cars, not trying too hard to be special, see...? 🙂

Glad I started this, I've learned something today 🙂

So by your logic a 6R4, Cossie Escort, Sierra Cossie and any other 4x4 rally cars are all Quattro copies???? Utter bobbins, lots of Jap classic cars, if you don't want to be convinced that is fine but stop being daft.

(Looks like a Ferrari copy to me though )

Oh, I'd probably go for the Datsun 120Y as well, just because it stands for something, the first proper Jap family car to sell well in Europe. Unassuming with a certain style.

The first Prius will be a classic. A truly original Japanese car.

The first MR2, the first couple of CRXs. The Corolla GT. The mid 80s Celeca. The first MX5. The NSX. Only the CRX and NSX were properly original though, probably. All classics in my opinion.

Surely to be a Japanese classic the car must be instantly recognisable (with all badges off) as Japanese? Too many of those posted here don't fit into that criteria imo. Skyline, Impreza, Evo, etc - yes. Nissan Z's, NSX - not so much

Peter, I think we've ALL learned something today.
Mainly that you should stick to bikes.

Utter bobbins, lots of Jap classic cars, if you don't want to be convinced that is fine but stop being daft.

Chill dude.

So by your logic a 6R4, Cossie Escort, Sierra Cossie and any other 4x4 rally cars are all Quattro copies????

Quattro was first, so in a way, yes. They all jumped on the bandwagon, didn't they? But that Nissan even LOOKS like a quattro! 😉 Did it ever win much? I'm an occasional rally fan but I never knew it existed....
Fast Fords always attract a loyal following though, that's the way of the world and quite right too. People's cars again. Attainable. Usable. Handy. Rapid.
6R4? Competion special, innit? Adds desirability instantly for rarity if nothing else. I've seen them being used properly, and they are very very impresive indeed. But if I was after a Group B car for my dream garage, there's really only a choice of 2.
The original : Quattro
The best : Delta Integrale

😀

The first Prius will be a classic. A truly original Japanese car.

yeah, I was waiting for someone to say that. That was one of my thoughts before I posted this thread too.
Not yet though. it needs time to mellow...........

Gotta have the S800 on that list.

Fast Fords always attract a loyal following though, that's the way of the world and quite right too. People's cars again. Attainable. Usable. Handy. Rapid.

They attract a large following because they were common as muck in their day. And of course some of those that drove and/or admired them will be loyal to the cars they looked up to. That's about it really. I have a soft spot for them myself, but they were awful cars.

Similarly in Japan, you had your fast family cars, like the Skyline, Supra, Soarer, etc. Crazy little hot hatches like the Starlet and Sunny. All quicker, more reliable, and more refined than any of the British offerings, by a long way. And proper driver's cars.

They're not [i]popular[/i] classics over here, because they were never sold over here in any great numbers (some not at all). But they're certainly classics in Japan, and to the many people across the world that drive and admire them. And there are still thousands of them around today, cherished and loved, unlike all the fast fords which fell to bits years ago 😉

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whoops
was a colt sapporo and subaru mv1800 pick up etc etc

Toyota GT86 / Subaru BRZ are potential classics in the making . . . .

Mazda AZ-1?

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I'd say that classic car status belongs to much more familiar cars than alot of the examples given here. With European cars you'd apply the 'classic' status to cars that we're common but distinctive and well loved: the Beetle, Mini, or to cars that everyone could recognise: Ferraris, Lamborginis, Rolls Royces - the kind of car you'd have a poster of as kid or were linked to TV characters or personalities.The Saint didn't drive a 240Y, Purdie didn't drive a S800

Japanese cars to great extent fell between these - comparatively expensive they weren't a car that [i]everyone[/i] had and although they made some very exciting and potent cars very few were poster-on-the-wall objects of lust either.

I'd say the Jimny should be a classic but isn't - knocks the Landrover into a cocked hat for heritage, but no one who sees or even owns one knows that

The Subaru pickup is by accident but better known as a toy than as an actual car

The Toyota pickup has become one, but thats mainly Top Gear meme. If you say anythng and it gets repeated on Dave often enough it becomes fact. Toyota tonkas have been around for a long time very few people actually have owned on.

The Prius is very deliberately designed to be iconic: They intended that its should look unlike any other car, even unlike any other toyota, to suggest that a car with with a different technology inside [i]had[/i] to be a different shape. It worked for them too - their car is the logo for hybrids. Even though its got a dozen credible competitors the competition's cars are all just ordinary cars with a badge. Toyota sells more of its hybrid than all its competitors put together. No ones has really noticed anyone else makes them.

I'd say the pony cars : The 120Y, the first Celica etc were the first jap cars that people really noticed, but its so rare you actually see one that people have pretty much forgotten about them. We had a 120Y when I was growing up. Until I saw one this year I probably hadn't seen one on the road for about 20 years.

So we've established that every single Japanese car manufacturer has produced at least one bona fide classic then? Good.

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Subaru SVX

In my not quite statistically correct mind it seemed that 90% of vehicles on Kenyan roads were these when I was there. Chop the roof off and you have a great safari vehicle too.

I think they'd view it as a classic.

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Have the Japanese ever made a true classic car?

Yes I owned two of them. I took driving lessons and passed my test in a 54plate Mini Cooper. I learnt to drive in a Mazda MX5.

If Toyota got their asses in gear and offered a 120bhp 1.0 3cyl Aygo it'd be biblical. Truly so.

HiLux and Landcruiser.

MX5 mark 1 as looks great (and I've got one)I've got an auto (don't laugh) which stops me driving like a knoob.

stops me driving like a knoob.

I think the Datsun 120Y's are classic

not that this view will be shared by that many . . . .