On a quest to find a sports car for my second year of college, I accompanied my dad to a used car dealership, and to my surprise, my dad walked over to the red Miata and said, “We’ll take it!” Though impractical in the frequent snowy weather of my college town, driving with the top down when the weather was “good enough” was always worth it, especially when, coming to a stoplight, I got the coveted “Ooh, nice car!”
That little MX-5 Miata was my gateway into the world of Japanese sports cars. Over the years, these cars have made a big impact on the American auto scene and built a loyal fan base among enthusiasts. Here’s a quick look at some of the coolest ones out there.
How a Car Got a Spot on the List
Image Credit: Nissan.
The automobiles listed here are meant to be a sampling of awesome Japanese sports cars. For this list, a car is defined as Japanese if its headquarters are located in Japan. Honda has several manufacturing plants in the United States, and the Miata was designed by an American. However, both companies are headquartered in Japan and are therefore considered Japanese for the purposes of this list.
The cars were also selected based on personal experience and through car reviews (like those found on Edmunds and YouTuber car enthusiasts), as well as historical accounts from the car makers themselves. With those things in mind, here are ten of our favorite Japanese sports cars from the past 25 years.
2005 Mazda MX-5 Miata
Image Credit: Mazda.
The 2005 Mazda MX-5’s 1.8 L engine and 140 hp are not the most powerful sports car on the market, but the roadster is still one of the best-selling roadsters. So why is the Miata so popular?
Having owned one myself, I can attest that being so lightweight, even with less power than other sports cars, the MX-5 is just so dang fun to drive! In an interview with Top Gear about her modified Miata, Emme Hall explains further, “[The MX-5’s] lightweight, it’s rear-wheel drive, it’s reliable… and they’re cheap and easy to work on.”
2025 Nissan Z
Image Credit: Nissan.
The 2025 Z is the latest entry in the long-running Z-family for Nissan. In their test of the new Z, with its V6 engine and 400 hp, Edmunds tracked the car from 0 to 60 in 5 seconds compared to its predecessor, the 370Z, whose engine capped out at 332 hp.
Edmunds notes, “Though not totally different from its predecessor, the latest Z is a quicker, more comfortable and far more modern vehicle in every way.” We’ll wait and see the legacy this Z leaves consumers, but the Nissan Z is looking like another awesome Japanese sports car.
2022 Toyota Supra
Image Credit: Toyota.
As documented by motor journalist Joe Clifford, the fourth-gen Toyota Supra with its 3.0 L straight-six engine and a power output of 220 bhp to 326 bhp, the Toyota Supra A80 outperformed its sports car contemporaries. But where it had the horsepower, it did not have the commercial power, as the A80 didn’t sell as well as previous models.
The Supra A80 left the US market in 1998, only remaining in production in Japan until 2002. The current average resale value of the A80 is $75,899, according to Classic’s pricetracker, showing that modern audiences understand how powerful this car was.
2006 Honda S2000
Image Credit: Honda.
YouTuber and car reviewer Miles Branman drove around the 2006 Honda S2000 (an AP2 or the second-generation of the roadster) and took his viewers along for the ride. In his review, he said, “This six-speed manual is a work of art. The throws are so tight, they notch neatly into each gear.”
Being a lightweight roadster and with its 240 horsepower (hp), Branman shows how fun the S2000 is to drive, saying, “In short, there’s very little of the AP2 generation S2000 that I would consider inconvenient or stressful.”
2017 Acura NSX
Image Credit: Acura.
The 2017 Acura NSX was the first NSX after a 12-year pause. While reviewing the NSX, Jason Kavanagh from Edmunds wrote this about the 2017 model, “It’s still Acura’s flagship car, however, looking to compete with the world’s best.”
And compete it has, with its 3.5 L V6 engine and 500 hp, it won Road and Track’s 2017 Performance Car of the Year. The 2017 NSX continues a history of awesome Japanese sports cars.
2005 Honda Civic Type-R
Image Credit: Calreyn88, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0, WikiCommons.
The Civic Type-R is a great example of when a Japanese release of the car was more powerful than found in other markets. Breaking down the history of the Type-R, Honda reveals that the Japanese release of a more powerful K20 engine for the Type-R, reaching 212 hp compared to the 198 hp offered by the European engines.
The Type-R is a fun and sporty alternative to the already reliable and best-selling passenger car, the Civic, because everyone deserves an awesome Japanese sports car, even if we just need to transport our kids to school and back.
2001 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI
Image Credit: Rutger van der Maar – Flickr, CC BY 2.0/Wiki Commons.
The World Rally Championship is an international rallying racing series held yearly. As revealed in a deep dive into the Lancer Evo VI’s history, Mitsubishi reveals that this sports car (produced from 1999 to 2001) was designed first and foremost to be a rally car.
With a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline four engine, reaching 276 hp, driver Tommi Mäkinen won the World Rally Championship in 1999!
2025 Toyota GR86
Image Credit: Toyota.
In a review of the 2025 Toyota GR86 for Edmunds, writer Michael Cantu summarizes the sports car as having excellent handling and an interior designed with the driver in mind. However, this sports car’s strength is its affordability.
Cantu breaks it down by saying, “Think of the 2025 Toyota GR86 as a sports coupe that bestows loads of enjoyment without depleting your savings.” With its 2.4L 4-cylinder engine and 228 hp, the GR86 offers bang for the buck.
2000 Mitsubishi 3000GT
Image Credit: User Thaian07 on en.wikipedia – Own work, Public Domain/ Wiki Commons.
The video game Need for Speed: Underground 2 gave me my first experience with the Mitsubishi 3000GT. Without a driver’s license, this racing game gave me the chance to put the pedal to the metal behind the 3000GT. But does this car hold up outside of the virtual realm?
A review of the 3000GT at Machines with Souls says that this supercar deserves our respect. With its twin-turbo 6G72 V6 engine producing more torque than some V8 engines, this Japanese sports car is not just a joy to drive virtually: it’s a thrill to drive in real life, too.
The Legacy of Japanese Sports Cars
Image Credit: Ethan Llamas – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0/Wiki Commons.
From the Acura NSX to the long-running Z-model of Nissan, there is no denying that for the past 25 years, Japan has produced a lasting legacy of great sports cars.
These ten vehicles are just a small representation of the many awesome cars that could have been included here. Did your favorite make the list? What Japanese sports car did we miss?
AloJapan.com