Skylines, Supras, EVOs and Impreza’s. Hear these names and images of souped up cars with massive wings and spoilers tearing down the local streets, turbos whistling and wastegates wasting away. In truth, the car that started off the Japanese sportscar revolution was a little more simple.

It was actually, a LOT simpler then the computerised techno-monsters of today. The car was the Datsun 240Z. It was simple, affordable and most importantly of all, fun to drive. During a time when most people would turn their noses up at the very idea of a Japanese sportscar, Datsun did the impossible. They made a sportscars that was reliable and could be use on a daily basis. This was during a time when European sportscars were notorious for being horribly unreliable machines. The little Datsun was thus destined for success, and successful it became. From then on, the “Z” emblem became legendary.

Totally kickass site from SAAB. One of the best Automobile promotional sites i’ve seen. (Great car too!) Click here to view

The latest BMW M5, powered by a 5 litre V10 engine, this unit pumps out a massive 507 Brake Horsepower and 520NM of torque. That’s ALOT of power! Mated to a 7-speed SMG Drivelogic transmission, the M5 goes from 0-100km/h in about 4.7 seconds and bangs on all the way to a limited top speed of 250km/h. Unrestricted, it will hit almost 330km/h. That’s just immensely quick. 330km/h for a car that can carry 5 passengers comfortably is pretty amazing in my book.

Style-wise, not so subtle hints show that this isn’t an ordinary BMW 5 series, the quad exhaust pipes, the wider tyres, the side vents with M5 emblazoned on them, the larger front air intakes and that slightly understated bodykit. To a casual observer, he or she might probably not be able to differentiate it from any other run of the mill 5 series, but to people in the know, this is the ULTIMATE. There’s where the cool part of this car comes in, you see, it’s Godly powerful, it’ll do over 300km/h if you let it. But, it doesn’t shout about it. It’s might have the power to smash most other road cars on the road, but, it just doesn’t want people to know about it. Understated cool.

The Fiat X/19 Bertone. Some people call it the “Baby-Ferrari”. Debuting to the World in 1972. It was a mid-engined rear wheel drive sports car and it was small. Really small. But, it had a very unique wedge shaped styling which was attractive as well. The design allowed for 2 seperate luggage storage compartments. Performance wise, the engine pumped out a meagre 75HP (Very litle by today’s standards. But remember, this car is now over 30 years old!) But the weight as kept low and coupled with the mid engined layout, allowed for some really fun handling. I had the chance to sit in one of these before and it was really a small car, the seating position was really low as well. But, it had character. I still like the car quite alot and maybe one day, i would like to have one for myself. It wasn’t very fast though, but i guess with most classic sports car, you don’t need to be going fast to enjoy the car. Top speed was quoted to be at 170km/h. Yeah right…

The BMW M1, the first ever car to wear that much coveted M badge. It was a sight to behold. Designed by Giugaro and initially to be built by Lamborghini. It had the looks, the power and the pedigree. The development of BMW’s mid-engined M1 project began in 1976, though it was to be built by Lamborghini, the Italian supercar maker ran into financial difficulty and caused BMW to move production over to Baur. (Who made their convertibles) But by the time production resumed, the homologation rules for international Group 5 racing had been changed. Since BMW had not met the required sales figures of 400 cars in 24 months, the M1 went to the new Procar series instead. By the time BMW had sold enough cars, the M1 was no longer competitive for Group 5 racing. Quite a waste really.