The 1990s was a great decade for the world – it gave us the Hubble Space Telescope, the McLaren F1, great music and videos, on reinvented CDs and DVDs, and most importantly – the World Wide Web, no one can do that without more. It also introduced GPS systems that changed automotive navigation forever.
In the automotive industry of the 1990s, too, there were enormous improvements in automotive technology – especially in the area of safety – which is largely standard today and is required by law in modern cars. This decade also has some brilliant ones Sports car – we still compare most of them with their modern equivalents. Many of these ’90s cars made such an impression on people that they forever engraved themselves on the hearts and memories of petrolheads.
Some of them are over 30 years old and have built a cult following, with hardcore fans modifying their vehicles to play all sorts of different motor sports or to wow the crowd at auto shows. Here are some of the coolest sports cars of the 90s and what they’re worth today.
10 Mazda RX-7 ($ 45,000)
About motor vision
The Mazda RX-7 is one of the coolest sports cars of the 90s and one of the coolest sports cars of all time. It was Mazda’s last attempt at building a proper sports car, aiming to be the best it can be, with an interesting engine range, lightweight body, manual transmission and rear drive.
About like car specs
The RX-7 has a twin-turbo-charged rotary engine with a calculated displacement of around 1.3 liters – which doesn’t sound impressive, but the engine has 250 hp and 217 lb-ft of torque – all in one car, that weighs in at just 2,700 lbs. The RX-7 is available second-hand for around $ 45,000 and has already become a cult car with a large fan base that will undoubtedly become a future classic.
9 Toyota Supra A80 / Mk4 ($ 54,000)
About CCW
The Toyota Supra was Toyota’s attempt at a proper sports car, and the Mk4 was the last model before the current BMW Supra Mk5. The A80 featured a 3.0-liter, twin-turbo inline-six, known as the 2JZ, that produced around 320 horsepower and 315 lb-ft of torque. However, this COP can easily be increased as 400-500 hp can be fully achieved with a simple ECU remap.
Via mecum auctions
Like the RX-7, the Supra has a large following, with many cars still achieving well over 1000 hp with the 2JZ. The Supra was even adapted to Toyota’s own V12, the 1GZ-FE in the form of the Top Secret Supra V12, which was also equipped with two turbochargers. For regular car collectors, the Mk4 Supra can be purchased for around $ 54,000, but there may be deals that require parting with more cash.
8th Nissan 300ZX ($ 27,000)
Via Youtube
The Nissan 300ZX was a vehicle in the Nissan Z-Auto family that was sold as the Fairlady-Z in its native Japan. The Nissan Z cars were the top-selling sports cars in North America in the 1990s, with the 300ZX alone accounting for over 80,000 units. It was only available with a 3.0-liter V6 – optionally as a naturally aspirated or twin-turbo engine – with an output of between 222 and 300 hp.
Via tuning blog
The 300ZX had a T-top roof and the North American version was only available as a 2 + 2 coupe. Although they produced the 300ZX through 2000, Nissan hired it for the North American market
1996 due to the steadily increasing yen / dollar ratio. This resulted in a car that cost about $ 30,000 and rose to over $ 50,000 in the six years it was sold. Now, however, a 300ZX can be found for an average of $ 27,000, which makes it a great place to start out in the JDM world.
7th Honda NSX ($ 55,000)
Over. Engine 1
The NSX was Honda’s (known as Acura in the US) idea of a mid-engined sports car as a more affordable alternative to Ferrari. The result was a far more reliable and efficient car than any of its competitors, while costing less to buy. In the wild, it has often been mistaken for a Ferrari, likely because Pininfarina was consulted during the design process for the HP-X concept vehicle on which the NSX is based.
via Bring A Trailer
The NSX came with a 270-horsepower 3.0-liter V6 with 210 lb-ft of torque that was mated to either a 4-speed automatic or a 5- or 6-speed manual. Honda sees the main innovator in the NSX’s success as Ayrton Senna, the famous Formula 1 racing driver who acted as the advisory test driver for the project. With the popularity of the NSX, it has become quite desirable, so the price has gone up a bit.
6th Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 ($ 70,000)
About motor journalism
The Skyline GT-R is Nissan’s signature sports car and uses a 6-cylinder twin-turbo engine that transmits power to all four wheels via a manual transmission. The R33 generation was available from 1995 to 1998 and featured the proven 2.6 liter engine developing 276 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque.
About Good Fon
Like most of its competitors, it has almost endless customization options for the aftermarket, and the production engine can achieve enormous amounts of power without major modifications. Nissan also produced a limited edition version of NISMO with an upgraded 2.8-liter twin-turbo engine that produced a whopping 400 horsepower and 347 lb-ft of torque. Just like the R34 GT-R, its successor, the price of the R33 GT-R has increased in recent years, making it difficult to obtain.
5 Mitsubishi 3000GT ($ 20,000)
About Orlando Classic Cars
In the late 1980s, Mitsubishi decided to build a front-engined sports car to compete with that of the Toyota Supra, and thus the 3000GT was born. It had a 3.0-liter V6 with a couple of turbos built in that produced 300 horsepower and 308 lb-ft of torque that went to all four wheels via a 4-speed automatic or a 5- or 6-speed manual .
About Bring A Trailer
The car was sold in the US and Canada as both the Mitsubishi 3000GT and the Dodge Stealth R / T. Both cars shared the same powertrains, with minor internal and external changes to the bumpers and wheels. The Mitsubishi 3000GT retails for around $ 20,000 while the Dodge Stealth can be purchased for a little under the same price.
4th Porsche 968 ($ 24,000)
Via Auto Motor und Sport
The Porsche 968 was the last version of the 944 – which began as the 924 – and was built as a sports car to help Porsche out of the financial crisis. The 968 was equipped with a 3.0-liter i4 turbo that produced 240 hp and 225 lb-ft of torque and only went to the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual or 4-speed Tiptronic automatic. More than 80% of the 944’s components were updated, and the car featured better sculpted bumpers, bigger wheels, and redesigned headlights and taillights.
About Carpixel
For the 1993 model year, Porsche presented an even more powerful version, the 968 Turbo S, which generated an impressive 305 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque from the same 4-cylinder turbo. It also featured an adjustable rear wing, unique three-piece wheels, and was limited to just 14 pieces – all exclusively available in mainland Europe. As a German performance car, the 968 has depreciated to the point where it became an affordable sports car for the average gasoline-powered vehicle.
3 Porsche Boxster ($ 20,000)
About Silver Press
The Boxster was introduced in 1996 as Porsche’s “entry-level car” and had a 2.5-liter Flat-6, which was optionally combined with a 5-speed manual or automatic transmission. The Boxster Concept was heavily inspired by the 550 Spyder of the 1950s, with the production version incorporating many of the concept’s design elements. The Boxster was designed to fill the ever-growing sales gap created by the obsolete 944 and proved to be a huge success.
Porsche
Porsche had Toyota as an advisor during the design process and used its part-sharing strategy to cut costs. The Boxster has been referred to by many as the car that saved Porsche from financial ruin – not only saved the company, but made it the extraordinary brand it is today. These little wonder-working cars can be had for around $ 12,000 or a little more for a well-equipped car.
2 BMW M Coupe ($ 45,000)
Via topspeed.com
The BMW M-Coupe was essentially a Z3 roadster with a shooting-brake body style and the engines of the E36 and E46 M3s. While sales were slow compared to the roadsters, collectors became interested and bought some units.
Via BMW
The drivetrains for the Z3M and the M-Coupé were the same, as both cars shared the drivetrains, with only the body parts at the rear of the car differing – to do justice to the revised “clown shoe” look. Today the BMW M Coupe is a collector’s item and prices have risen sharply.
1 Chevrolet Corvette C4 ($ 15,000)
About CorvSport
The Chevy Corvette is a familiar car to every car enthusiast. It arouses thoughts of a V8 rumble and a flash of vision. The C4 generation of the Corvette has been completely revised from the C3 with a new chassis, chassis and, above all, a new engine. It was the 5.7 liter LT5 V8 that was built into the ZR-1. The interesting thing about this engine was that it was designed and built by Lotus, which was only ever available in the C4 Corvette ZR-1.
About CNET
The LT5 developed 375 hp and far surpassed its competitors in every driving test. The C4 Corvette rekindled interest in the Corvette brand and helped General Motors keep producing fast V8 coupes, which eventually led to the high-performance Corvettes we get today. Now, a C4 Corvette can be purchased for just $ 9,000, or an average of $ 15,000 for a well-maintained Corvette.
Continue reading
About the author
Michael De Kock
(17 articles published)
Michael De Kock is a qualified psychologist and is currently training to become a mechanic. He has a passion for cars and is aiming for a career in auto journalism. He’s interested in everything from avocados to particle accelerators. He also has a book, 125 Creative Writing Prompts for Petrolheads, which is available on Amazon. Help stop the hatred – adopt a V8.
More from Michael De Kock
