11 Japanese Performance Cars That Will Make You Nostalgic For The ’90s

Few things evoke ’90s nostalgia in a gearhead as much as a Japanese performance car. While heavy hitters like the MkIV Toyota Supra, Nissan Skyline GT-R, Honda NSX, and Mazda RX-7 often hog the spotlight, this article shifts focus to the other undisputed ’90s royalty that showcased Japanese factory engineering.

1998-1999 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V: Defined Mitsubishi’s 1990s rally homologation craze. Tommi Mäkinen famously piloted four different generations of the Mitsubishi Evo to four consecutive World Rally Championship drivers’ titles from 1996 to 1999. The base recipe included a rally-bred AWD system, manual transmission, and the turbocharged 2.0-liter 4G63T engine, which produced from 244 horsepower in the Evo I up to 276 HP in the Evo IV and V. The fourth- and fifth-gen Evo models were based on an all-new, sixth-gen Lancer platform. The Evo IV introduced the Active Yaw Control (AYC) system. The Evolution V stood out with its widebody treatment, stiffer chassis, upgraded suspension, adjustable rear spoiler, and larger Brembo brakes. The 4G63T engine produced 276 HP due to the Japanese automakers’ gentlemen’s agreement, while torque jumped from 260 pound-feet to 275. It achieved a 0-60 sprint in only 4.7 seconds.

1998 Subaru Impreza 22B STi: Subaru racked up three consecutive manufacturer’s titles from 1995 to 1997. The 22B STi was built as a limited-edition street-legal two-door sports car to celebrate Subaru’s 40th anniversary and WRC success, with only 424 units built in total. It features a 2.2-liter turbocharged boxer-4 (the EJ22G closed-deck block with forged pistons) producing 276 horsepower and 268 lb-ft of torque, paired with a five-speed manual transmission. Weighing about 2,850 pounds and featuring Subaru’s rally-bred AWD system with 50:50 torque distribution, it sprints to 60 mph in about 4.7 seconds. It also received a widebody treatment, Bilstein dampers, an aggressive rear wing, and 17-inch gold BBS Elektra alloys.

1989-1999 Toyota Celica GT-Four / All-Trac Turbo (ST185 & ST205): Toyota’s WRC homologation hero captured four drivers’ titles with three different drivers (Carlos Sainz, Juha Kankkunen, and Didier Auriol) and two manufacturer’s titles in 1993 and 1994. Toyota produced road-going versions: the ST185 and ST205 Celica GT-Four (All-Trac Turbo in North America). The ST185 succeeded the ST165, which had a 185-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged 3S-GTE inline-4. The ST185 produced 200 HP in the U.S. markets and up to 222 HP in Japan, sprinting to 62 mph in about 6.7 seconds while retaining pop-up headlights. The ST205 model amped numbers further, with the JDM model producing 255 HP from its refreshed 3S-GTE engine.