By Ben Stewart
For decades now, Datsun (Nissan) has been a fixture of the
American automotive landscape. But in the 1960s, Datsuns certainly
weren't as common as Fords or Chevys. So the company built the 510
Sedan, at least in part, to be the breakthrough car for Datsun in the
U.S. And it was a hit.
The 510 used a tough yet lightweight chassis, and it became known as the
bargain BMW because of its fully independent MacPherson strut front and
semi-trailing arm suspension (though the wagon version did use a solid
axle and leaf springs for its rear suspension). The 510 was a blast to
drive, thanks in part to its double-overhead-cam, four-cylinder engine.
The Datsun won numerous racing championships around the world, including
two SCCA Trans-Am Championships and an East African Safari Classic.
This racing pedigree gave rise to a full catalog of performance parts
from Datsun and a healthy aftermarket from other outlets.
Many Japanese cars from the 1970s and 1980s are now collectable, but the
Datsun 510 was the first one to hit cult status. Even though these
popular cars are cheap and were produced in large numbers (400,000
globally), finding one in good condition here in the U.S. is a
challenge—and there are many folks hunting for them.
1968-76 BMW 2002
Long
before BMW was known as the Ultimate Driving Machine, the automaker
crafted this tiny 2100-pound car that became a major step in plotting
the company's future course. The BMW 2002 was a plucky half-pint sedan
with a punchy four-cylinder engine and front and rear independent
suspension. The 2002 delivered sporty moves in the corners and room for
four adults at a time when most automakers were producing thirsty and
cumbersome V-8-powered heavyweights that were more at home on the
boulevard than any canyon road.
Today, the high-performance, 130-hp, fuel-injected 2002 tii commands
close to $20,000 in good condition. The company even produced a 170-hp
turbocharged model between 1973 and 1974 (BMW's first turbo), but the
car was never officially sold in the U.S. As the predecessor to the
modern BMW 3 Series, the 2002 enjoys cult car status for its style,
driving zest, and historical importance.
2002-07 Subaru Impreza WRX
Few cars today can trace their lineage directly to a racing machine. But few cars are the Subaru Impreza WRX.
The original 1992 WRX was the road-going version of the Subaru Impreza
WRC (World Rally Championship). In the mid-1990s, race fans in the U.S.
could only dream of owning this turbocharged, rally-derived sport sedan.
The U.S.-spec Impreza RS had the look, but not the performance.
Then, in 2002, we finally got our own WRX packing a 227-hp turbocharged
flat-four-cylinder engine with brilliant all-wheel-drive traction and
handing. It was the car Subaru (and rally) fans had been waiting for.
Two years later, Subaru brought us the 300-hp WRX STi—the ultimate
performance WRX. And the aftermarket for performance parts for these
cars that had been developed around the world blew up in the U.S. WRXs
with serious horsepower and a unique exhaust growl became one of the
cornerstone car models of the sport compact world.
1981-85 Toyota Pickup
In
the 1980s, Toyota built its reputation for quality and reliability in
the U.S. on the backs of not only its small cars but also its pickup
trucks.
It actually started in 1979, a watershed model year for the Toyota
pickup. Not only could you get the SR5 with a five-speed manual in
two-wheel-drive models but also, for the very first time, Toyota had a
four-wheel-drive pickup in the U.S. This rugged truck had a heavy-duty
solid-axle leaf-sprung suspension at each end of the chassis. And Toyota
timed the 4WD launch perfectly with the rise of off-roading.
Two years later, the company put out the 22R with a 2.4-liter
four-cylinder engine that became one of the most reliable truck
powerplants of all time. Toyota then added an Xtracab model when it
revamped the truck in 1984. These 4WD Toyotas became the go-to truck for
four-wheelers that needed a reliable and capable pickup—no other brand
of compact truck could touch Toyota's rough riding capability. A cottage
industry developing hardcore 4WD parts for these trucks took hold in
the 1980s. These rigs were such a part of the culture that a modified
one appears in all three Back to the Future films.
By the late 1980s, the Toyota truck became more carlike. It was still a
tough, solid workhorse, but those early Toyota trucks are the ones now
gaining the attention of collectors who were kids at that time.
1992-13 Dodge Viper
Since
the Chevrolet Corvette's debut in 1953, many American sports cars tried
and failed to compete. Only the 1960s Shelby Cobra truly challenged the
Vette.
In 1989, Dodge unveiled a concept to take on the Corvette: the Viper.
The production Viper of 1992 looked just like the concept and packed its
now-iconic aluminum V-10 engine with an incredible (at the time) 400
hp. It looked like a modern-day Cobra—and drove like one too.
The Viper's cult status took off with the American Club Racer
track-ready package that arrived in 1999. It gave Viper owners with the
itch to go racing a hardcore track package straight from Dodge. A 2003
redesign made the Viper a better car to drive in every way, but some
critics thought the styling was vanilla. No matter: Viper loyalists
snapped up the next-gen, 500-hp snakes in big numbers, and the
subsequent coupe and ACR models of this generation were hugely popular.
Dodge even massaged that 8.3-liter V-10 all the way to 600 hp in 2008.
The newest Viper just slithered into the public imagination last week, when Chrysler revealed
the 2013 Viper (now with 640 hp and badged under the SRT performance label rather than Dodge) at the New York International Auto Show.
1983-92 VW GTI
The
Volkswagen Beetle may well be the ultimate cult car. But it was the GTI
of the 1980s that gave rise to a new generation of VW enthusiasts.
The 1983 GTI was based on the Rabbit, and delivered what no economy car
at the time could—fun. The first GTIs from 1983-84 (Mark I) were
entertaining to drive, with taut handling and reasonable acceleration,
for the early 1980s at least. In 1987, the Mark II GTI offered a
16-valve model (16V) with 123 hp; our colleagues at Car and Driver
called the hatchback "the original econohunk." The next few generations
of GTI became turbocharged and even V-6-powered. In 2003 VW created a
special 20th anniversary U.S. edition with a firmer suspension and more
serious components.
VW's newest generations have brought back much of the fun of the earlier
cars. The current Golf R is a 253-hp, all-wheel-drive monster GTI that
can hit 60 mph in around 5.5 seconds. But it's those first two
generations of GTI that created the fan base and later aftermarket
industry for these front-drive fun machines. Those early GTIs in good
condition are highly sought after.
1985-93 Ford Mustang 5.0 GT
The
classic Ford Mustangs from the 1960s and early 1970s are some of the
most iconic cult cars of all time. But the downsized ponycars of 1974 to
1978 killed that buzz. In the '80s, Ford had to reinvent the Mustang
and restore its former glory—or risk losing an entire generation of
performance buyers.
The 1979 Mustang was a huge leap forward. But it was the 5.0-liter GT
Mustangs that arrived in the mid-1980s that made hearts melt. The
pushrod 302-cubic-inch V-8 was a powerhouse at the time and packed an
exhaust note few could mistake. In 1985, the Mustang GT received a major
power bump up to 210 hp; in 1987 that jumped to 225 hp, a level so
impressive the number would be seared into the brains of Mustang fans of
the day. After all, the mighty Corvette made only 15 hp more.
The 5.0-liter Mustangs were quick—in some cases quicker than the hottest
GM muscle cars at the time. That led law enforcement agencies to buy
the more subdued 5.0 LX Mustangs in the notchback body style for
high-speed pursuit. The Mustang's popularity in the 1980s and early
1990s lead to a booming aftermarket and a specialty magazine (now called
5.0 Mustang & Super Ford Magazine). While Ford changed the
body style in 1994, the 5.0-liter V-8 stuck around until it was
replaced with a smaller 4.6-liter V-8 in 1996. However, Ford brought
back the 5.0-liter for 2011 in a Mustang packing 411 horses.
1984-2000 Honda Civic Si
Today
the Honda Civic is largely a commodity car. The same can be said for
the sportier Si model—it's just mediocre. But that was not the case with
the Civic Si's of the 1980s and 1990s. Like the 1955 Chevy and 1932
Ford before it, the unassuming Honda Civic grew to become the most
popular car for young performance-minded enthusiasts—in the Civic's
case, during the height of the sport compact car movement and The Fast and the Furious generation.
Honda Civics and Si models were modified with incredibly stout engine
blocks and turbocharged to within an inch of their lives to create
front-wheel-drive machines that could devastate larger, more expensive
cars in a drag race. Civics owners modded them for road course work,
too, and they could be built to handle better than many of the compact
cars at the time.
Our favorite model was the 1999 Civic Si. It was a brilliant-handling
coupe thanks to its strut front and multilink rear suspension. And it
could rip to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds—not too shabby for the time. The
latest Civic Si is much faster, but it doesn't have the soul of the
older cars.
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Bryce Womeldurf/Flickr
1982-87 Buick Grand National
To
capitalize on its recent manufacturer's cup win in Nascar's Grand
National Series, Buick decided to build a special car in 1982. A handful
of those early Grand Nationals packed a 175-hp turbocharged 3.8-liter
V-6. The original Buick Grand National wasn't quite the fire-breather of
the later cars, but realize that this V-6 made more power than the
5.0-liter "high-output" V-8 in the 1982 Ford Mustang.
Soon, fuel injection, an intercooler for the turbo, and more boost
increased the Grand National's performance. In fact, power went up just
about every year until the last year, 1987, when the car hit 245 hp in
standard trim and 276 hp in the limited edition GNX trim. The GNX was
one of the quickest cars on the planet at that time, and these mean
black Buick Grand Nationals have long enjoyed cult status among casual
enthusiasts and drag racers. The robust 3.8-liter V-6s can withstand
very high levels of turbo boost. So these cars are tremendous platforms
for racing. And the quickest street-legal modified cars can routinely
run in the 9-second bracket in the quarter-mile. That's a full 2 seconds
quicker than the quickest modern exotics.
1986-91 Volvo 740 Turbo
A Volvo station wagon that's quicker than a Porsche? In the late 1980s, it was true.
Volvo launched the 700 series in 1982 with the upscale 760—a major step
up from the 240 that had been in Volvo's family since, well, practically
the dawn of time. The 760 wasn't exactly a performance car, but in the
late 1980s, Volvo stuffed its brilliant turbocharged and intercooled
four-cylinder engine into the 700-series chassis. The result:
turbocharged Volvo 740 sedans and wagons that were giant killers of the
day. These rear-drive "turbo bricks" could handle lots of turbocharged
boost. The production cars were fast, but aftermarket support has
created some wild monsters, mostly in Sweden.
The 740 Turbos, as well as the earlier 240 Turbos, have a small but
loyal following in the U.S., with several websites catering to these
unique cars.
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