The Renaissance.

edeeZee

Back in '89, the Z32 and NSX were introduced, a MR2 Turbo, a 3000GT later, then the FD3S and MKIV. And now Japanese Mag Shakedown: Lexus SS550 (LF-A), Mazda RX-7, Scion Drop Top, Toyobaru | Motortrend News & Auto Blog - Wide Open Throttle

BanningZ

Unfortunatrely the LF-A is dead. That one looks like the Supra rendering, its dead, and the RX-7 is still if'y, especially if it looks like the rest of the new lineup with atrocious smiles.

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MB 06' Nismo VQ40DE

CBRich

And don't forget GODZIRRA. It's great to see the Japanese supercars coming back.

edeeZee

Yeah , let's just hope the sputtering economy nor the Japanese yen don't kill them like they did the twin turbo cars from the mid 90s. The yen was 97 to 1 USD last I checked. When I was stationed in Japan 11 years ago, the Japanese yen fluctuated from as low as 105 to 130 yen. The overvalued Japanese yen killed them in the mid 90's, that's why Supra TT were $52,000 and Z32 TT's were $45,000.

But yeah, the next RX7 and Supra look like serious threats not only to the 370, but Vette and M3.

imag

I'm stoked that Toyota and Mazda are getting it back together. I hope Americans follow through and buy the sports cars again to make them profitable.

My worry about sports cars is that traffic has gotten so bad that most people don't have a place to drive them, so they don't have as much credit with normal people. My theory about the SUV craze is that people just sit in traffic all day, so height is a bigger status symbol than speed. After all, if you're just stuck on the freeway, a rolling living room is more important than a twitchy enthusiast machine.

The blue Toyota renderings, and all the renderings I've seen on that Toyobaru, look pretty sweet. I'm not so into the LF-A.

And I'm more excited about the next-gen RX-7 than any other vehicle right now, but I still feel like the Nagare language doesn't translate from the Furai to a production vehicle. The Furai is insane looking, in a good way, but when they try to paste those cues onto production cars they just look like they have a dopy grin and crazy cut lines all over them. They just look dated before they even come out. The FD was a classic design, with some bold moves (like the door lines). It didn't have swoopy slices all over. I hate to say it, but I have to say the Toyota renderings look better than the Mazdas. It will be interesting to see what the real concepts look like.

Can't wait for the Tokyo show. Most interesting cars all year, IMO.

edeeZee

The next gen RX-whatever is supposed to be a 16X or a "big block" 2-rotor Wankel. We'll see what happens when it arrives. I don't hold my breath for anything, I just take life 1 step at a time. This 16X is supposed to make close to 300hp all motor, no turbo...I think. But, if Mazda makes this thing under 3,000 lbs., then it's gonna be pretty quick.

When I was in high school, the FD3S came out my senior year. And I thought it was a joke w/ only 255hp, considering the other Japanese supercars had close to 300 or more. But, I never considered power-to-weight ratios; and when my spoiled friend, who got a brand spanking new Z32 TT, then a new FD3S, I was shocked to see that the FD3S was so quick--STOCK. He let me drive his RX7 TT a lot, very kind of him. It was the R1 model. That thing used to boogie even in 4th gear from 30mph traffic; it was the twin sequential turbos.

Ahhh....memories.

fly yellow

Actually, I just read in this months Motor Trend that the LF-A is back on, but it will be incredibly limited production and cost 2-3 times the price of a GT-R.

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edeeZee

Yeah, I know. I at first thought it was going to be a $100K car, but it's more like $200K+. They want to compete with Ferrari, Porsche GT2 and stuff.

Well, Japanese sports are up to par I think. Though they lack the image/prestige of European counterparts.

We'll see, but I ain't holding my breath.