Cars that made the 90s: Part 4 Loud and Rowdy cars of the 1990s

Loud and rowdy cars may have been seen as something of a niche concept in the approach to the millennium, but it didn’t take long to become thoroughly mainstream. Soon having the craziest car would be central to the whole modifying ethos. Wild aftermarket styling and extreme performance tuning was coming of age, much being inspired (and fuelled) directly by what tuners were doing in Japan. It makes sense then, that nothing became more synonymous with loud and rowdy motoring than the JDM imports that landed on our shores at this time. And then, The Fast and The Furious hit the big screen 2001, and everything got louder and rowdier still.

The truth is that the F&F franchise – back when the films were more about the cars than submarines and spaceships – was merely a reflection of the times. It may have encouraged British modifiers to dream up even crazier builds, but grey JDM imports had already been popular all here and in the US. After all, without the tuned Japanese cars to make appearance on screen, we wouldn’t have had the movies in the first place. This popularity was directly linked to the desire for the most technologically-advanced performance cars, and nowhere was the concept of performance JDM cars showcased so prominently than in the most popular video games of the time – Need For Speed (1994) and Gran Turismo (1997). If you grew up with the games, you wanted the cars. It really is that simple.  

So, while the 2000s may have seen the Japanese import become the loud and rowdy king of the road, the ‘90s was when the idea of buying a high spec car from Japan, often for less than a European car (or even a European-spec Japanese car), really started to take off. JDM imports often came with more equipment and ultimately more power, so there’s no surprises that they proved popular. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the steering wheel is on the correct side of the car in Japan, too. 

JDM, or Japanese Domestic Market, refers to cars that were exclusively made for sale in Japan. Some were simply flagship variants of models officially available here, such as the EK9 Honda Civic Type-R and Toyota MR2 Turbo. Others were entire model lines solely available in Japan, the Nissan Skyline being perhaps the most famous. 

In other words, it’s not easy to narrow down such a distinguished list of ‘90s icons to just a few key examples. Much deliberation was needed but, with honourable mentions for JDM versions of the Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Evo, and even the Mk1 Mazda MX-5 (or the Eunos Roadster), here’s our top four loud and rowdy Japanese cars from the nineties and beyond…

Toyota Supra MkIV Twin Turbo (1993-2002)

For many the 2JZ-GTE equipped, twin-turbocharged Supra is THE iconic JDM performance car. After all, the big Toyota is the original F&F hero – the Paul Walker 10-second special – they don’t get louder or rowdier. Except, of course, the JDM myth doesn’t strictly tally with the reality.  

You see, even though Japanese manufacturers have a long and illustrious history of keeping the best models for the home market, the JDM (or J Spec) Supra had significantly less power than its US and European counterparts. Around 50bhp less, in fact. Exports also had better brakes, bigger wheels, leather seats and glass headlights as standard. To this day standard UK A80s tend to command the top prices, although they are significantly rarer than their JDM counterparts.

However, when it comes to the world of modifying, the JDM Supra is still surrounded with an almost mythical aura. There’s no doubt that their popularity with Japanese tuners meant that – in the early days at least – they were the ones with the best upgrades. The likes of Blitz, HKS and GReddy were manufacturing the finest performance parts from the very beginning, and these weren’t exactly easy – or cheap – to get hold of outside of Japan. So, while we may have had the fastest cars off-the-forecourt, heavily modified Japanese versions – many of which found their way across the ocean – soon became the easiest and most cost-effective route to the most extreme performance. 

With no social media the modified car magazines also played a big part in giving the Supra legendary status, simply by featuring world-famous, big-power JDM builds from the likes of Top Secret and members of the Mid Night Club. And let’s not forget that the desire for crazy styling was right up there with extreme performance, too. Who can forget the iconic Veilside Fortune Supra, arguably the real star of The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift?

Nissan Skyline R32 GTS-T (1989-1993)

And of course, we just can’t have the Toyota Supra on our list without the Nissan Skyline R32. Godzilla itself – the original video game icon. Featured in every Gran Turismo game up to 2013, just the name Skyline is synonymous with the concept of loud and rowdy. It always will be.

The R32 Skyline, just like its seven predecessors (and all the Skyline models that came up to 2002), is a true JDM car. Here in the UK an import was your only option if you wanted a Skyline, and obviously we all wanted a Skyline. We still do. 

But, while there’s no doubt that the flagship, twin-turbocharged, RB26-powered R32 GT-R is the most iconic model – not to mention the one most coveted by JDM aficionados in 2024 – in the in the ‘90s and ‘00s, the single turbo 2-litre GTS-T was easily the most popular on the streets. First, and clearly the most important reason, was that the GTS-T was around five times cheaper than the GT-R. They could be picked up for as little as £1,000 as late as 2010. How do we know? Simply because the author had two… sadly ‘had’ is the operative word. 

Second, these models were rear-wheel-drive instead of incorporating the all-wheel-drive system of the GT-R. This made them sought-after, initially at least, with the rise in popularity of drifting. That was of course until the prices started to skyrocket . Nowadays you’re looking at the thick end of 30-grand for a half decent GTS-T, and double that for a GT-R.

Mazda RX-7 FD (1991-2002)

The third generation Mazda RX-7 is another JDM icon that’s not as true-blue JDM as it may seem. Up until the mid ‘90s these were sold through the Mazda dealership network on three other continents – Australia, North America and Europe. And that includes the left-hand-drive RX-7 driven by Vin Diesel in The Fast and The Furious.

The problem (in the UK at least) came with the price. Initially the RX-7 was offered at £32,000, which due to poor sales was eventually reduced to £25,000. Early customers were even refunded the difference. The irony of course, is that the RX-7 only became infinitely popular after Mazda stopped exporting. Only 210 models were ever officially sold in the UK, but many, many more found their way here as grey imports. By the last four years of production the RX-7 was exclusively a JDM car, but one that was extremely popular everywhere else. 

It’s true to say that there’s a mind-boggling array of trim specs available, but what’s most important is incorporation of the iconic Mazda rotary engine, which had been busy winning high-profile races at Le Mans, Spa, Daytona and Bathurst since the early ‘80s. It wasn’t the first car to have a Wankel engine of course, not even the first RX-7 model, but the 13B-powered FD is arguably the most famous. And while it may have taken a few years for specialist tuners here to work out exactly what to do with a piston-less engine, they’ve gained a huge cult following. 

Oh, and if you’ve ever heard the unique sound of a tuned rotary engine (affectionally referred to as the ‘Brap-Brap-Brap’), you’ll know exactly why it’s made the list of our loud and rowdy nineties icons. There’s nothing quite like it. 

Honda NSX (1990-2005)

The first generation New Sportscar eXperimental, or NSX, was Honda taking a stab at the supercar market. It’s a controversial addition to our list because it’s the very idea of a ‘90s Japanese supercar that’s loud and rowdy, even if the result was arguably restrained, clinical… and all-round magnificent! 

Sold with a Honda badge in Japan and as an Acura in the US and Hong Kong, what made the revolutionary NSX different isn’t just that Ayrton Senna himself helped drive the development, but that this ‘everyday supercar’ was a 168mph monster that was as reliable, and no harder to pilot, than a Honda Civic. This concept may now be commonplace with the modern Audi R8 or the selection of Maclaren offerings whizzing around the UK. But in the nineties a Ferrari-beater that didn’t end up on the side of the road in a cloud of smoke was almost unheard of. 

Famously inspired by the F-16 fighter jet, the NSX was the first production car to feature a lightweight aluminium monocoque and all-aluminium body. It also featured a mid-mounted 270bhp, 3-litre V6 VTEC engine (later a 3.2 with 290bhp). Starting at around £60,000 it was an expensive car, but still around half of that of a Ferrari 358. Unfortunately, less than 500 were sold in the UK because it took until far more recently for people to get over the Honda badge on the bonnet. Ironically the kudos and cool factor nowadays is simply off the scale!

Aside from the NSX-GT R, of which only five were built, the stripped-out, race-inspired NSX Type R (or JDM NSX-R) is perhaps the most sought-after model with only 483 built solely for the Japanese market. See what we mean about them keeping all the good stuff?