Summary

• JDM cars are vehicles specifically manufactured for the Japanese public and are known for their compact size and optimized performance.
• The top JDM cars on this list, such as the Toyota Supra A80 and Subaru Impreza 22B STi, are highly regarded in the automotive world for their engineering and performance capabilities.
• Many of the best and most iconic JDM cars were not exported outside of Japan, leading to a long wait for American car enthusiasts who have admired them from afar.

For those who don’t know what JDM cars are, the acronym stands for Japanese Domestic Market. Thus, JDM cars are vehicles that were specifically manufactured for the Japanese public. As a country, Japan has a lot of regulations regarding how big vehicles and their engines can be and this heavily influenced their car culture. Manufacturers had to optimize boost over displacement, make their cars lighter, and develop sports cars that were more compact than anywhere else in the world.

These were some of the most iconic sports cars of all time and while the West saw versions of some of them, the best and most impressive were sold in limited number to the people of Japan. Due to a rule in the United States which outlines that only cars older than 25-years could be imported into the country, Americans have spent a long time admiring from afar and biding their time.

This list incorporates some of the fastest JDM cars ever produced. These icons are the height of engineering and all abide by the simple ethos that driving a sports car should, at its core, be fun.

Manufacturer press releases and official pages were used in conjunction with AccelerationTimes to bring you this list of the top 10 best JDM cars ever made.

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10 1983 Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-Apex

Top Speed: 121 MPH

The Sprinter Trueno AE86 is perhaps one of the most iconic iterations of the Sprinter/Corolla name. It has been a source of inspiration in the automotive world for years; Toyota and Subaru even worked together to create a spiritual successor to the car, the BRZ/86.

Performance

The highest and best trims of this incredible little car were again not exported outside Japan. The most iconic of which is the GT-Apex in black and white two-tone paint. Part of this car’s huge cultural impact is thanks to the anime and manga Initial D, where the main character takes down a number of faster cars in the sporty compact.

9 1989 Toyota MR2 W20

Top Speed: 145 MPH

This mid-engine coupe is easily one of the most underrated cars to come out of a Japanese automaker. Toyota was clearly inspired by Ferrari, with the MR2 having a body style fairly similar to a 358. What was impressive is that they managed to make a sports car that also performed as well as a Ferrari at a fraction of the cost. It was Japan's first-ever rear-mid engine sports car.

Performance

The best and fastest version of the MR2 were the ones fitted with a turbocharger. The GT trim Japanese market MR2 was marketed as the luxury version and came with a ton of standard features. The GT-S forewent the frills and went for speed, able to outperform a Ferrari 348 in a quarter mile sprint.

8 1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four

Top Speed: 149 MPH

The Toyota Celica is a rallying legend, with the GT-Four being the most performance-oriented trim. Whilst other countries like Australia and the United Kingdom did see a version of the sixth generation GT-Four, the best and highest tuned model was reserved for Japan only.

Performance

The production of the sixth generation Celica GT-Four was heavily influenced by Toyota’s factory rally team meaning that the final version included a ton of rally-oriented improvements. In the United States you could only get your hands on the underpowered ST and GT models which were great but just couldn’t compete with the GT-Four.

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7 1994 Toyota Supra A80

Top Speed: 155 MPH

One of the big three late-90s Japanese sports cars, the Toyota Supra A80 has become a legend in the motoring world. The resurgence of love for this sports car in the last couple of years has made it an incredible collector’s item, with prices of used Supras soaring to mind-boggling heights.

Performance

The A80 Supra is a legend for a reason. The sports coupe comes fitted with a twin-turbocharged inline six-cylinder that outputs massive amounts of power (much more than its official 280). The Supra featured some engineering marvels such as its sequential turbocharger system which was innovative for the time and Toyota’s VVT-i in Japanese markets.

6 1995 Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R

Top Speed: 155

With the R32 Nissan had resurrected the GT-R moniker after a long hiatus and had received a lot of praise. The R33 GT-R built upon that success and developed a car that was everything the R32 was and more. While the next generation skyline is by far the more popular, the R33 GT-R is the superior Skyline.

Performance

Nissan’s Skyline R33 GT-R used essentially the same powertrain from the R32 with some minor improvements. The biggest feats of engineering were felt in the car’s handling and responsiveness. All its improvements helped it become the first production car to break the sub eight minute mark in a lap around the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

5 2008 Honda S2000 Type S

Top Speed: 156 MPH

Japan has consistently made some of the best roadsters the world has ever seen, and the Honda S2000 sits firmly among them. Being a relatively new JDM car, there is still a wait of a couple of years before the Japanese-only Type S model becomes available to import.

Performance

The Type S got a number of improvements over the base S2000 including an aero body kit, increased tyre size, a number of interior changes, and improved suspension. In the United States, a similar model to the Type S was sold, the Club Racer. However, While the Club Racer was tuned to be more of a track star, the Type S retained some creature comforts and had improved handling for the Japanese touge experience.

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4 1998 Subaru Impreza 22B STi

Top Speed: 157 MPH

Perhaps the most iconic rally car of all time, the Subaru Impreza has a long history full of incredible cars. The most sought after by far is the JDM exclusive 22B STi, which is a widebody coupe version of the car used to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the automaker as well as their third consecutive win in the FIA World Rally Championship.

Impreza 22B STi Performance

The 22B was a limited run and only 400 were sold to the Japanese market which sold out in two days. The 22B featured an improved engine, of which the actual specifications are a gray area due to a gentleman’s agreement where Japanese manufacturers said they would not produce sports cars with more than 280 horsepower.

3 2002 Mazda RX-7 Spirit R

Top Speed: 161 MPH

One of the most collectible and arguably most attractive coupes to come out of 90s Japan is the Mazda RX-7 Spirit R. Mazda was at their peak and the RX-7 represented the culmination of its innovative engineering. While some models were sold around the world, Japan got 1,500 units of the exclusive Spirit R trim.

Performance

While everyone else were arguing over whether an inline, boxer, or V formation engine was best, Mazda was slapping rotary engines in their performance cars. Their approach may have been different, but it made the RX-7 incredibly lightweight and allowed to rev insanely high. The Spirit R was boasted as the most performance-oriented and came with a ton of exclusive features.

2 1992 Honda NSX-R

Top Speed: 168 MPH

With DNA that sprouts from Honda’s prevalence in Formula One, the NSX was designed to be the ultimate mid-engine sports car. It was even developed in conjunction with Formula One world champion, Ayrton Senna, who we can thank for improvements to the NSX’s legendary handling.

Performance

The best version of the NSX in terms of performance was the Type R. The NSX is often praised as being more liveable than the Ferraris and Lamborghinis of the era and that’s because Honda’s engineers had to makes some sacrifices here and there. The NSX-R shed anything that was unnecessary and focused on breaking records.

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1 2009 Nissan GT-R SpecV

Top Speed: 190 MPH

The Nissan GT-R is representative of generations and generations of engineering by the Japanese automaker. Visually, it fully encapsulates the essence of what has made historic GT-R spec Nissan’s so special. The SpecV was a limited-run version which came with a number of performance upgrades.

Performance

Whilst the SpecV ran the same powertrain as the normal GT-R, it featured a new high-gear boost controller which would allow the driver to temporarily increase the amount of boost. Its Turbochargers were also larger than the standard GT-R. This came along with new NISMO wheels, bucket seats, tuned suspension, and ceramic breaks.