Nissan Skyline GTR (1997 - 1999 UK model)
The Skyline had been competing in saloon-car racing for decades before it briefly became the must-have car in the UK in the late 1990s. The combination of stuff-you styling, 150 mph performance and cheap prices was irresistible, but it could only ever be imported in tiny numbers. The Skyline GTR was never homologated for Europe, so they were brought in as "private imports" and there were (and are) strict limits in the numbers of such cars allowed into the country. However, the next generation of Skyline GTR probably will make it as an official model.
Datsun 240Z (1968 - 1974)
The model that killed off British sports cars in the USA. Why buy an asthmatic MGB or prehistoric Triumph TR6, when you could buy a better-looking, more powerful, more reliable 240Z for around the same money? If you are wondering how Datsun (now Nissan) came up with such a beautiful shape, the answer is they didn't. The styling was done by Count Albrect von Goertz, who also designed the fabulous BMW 507 V8 Coupe.
Honda S2000 (1999 - )
In a way, a return the Honda very first sports car, the S700 of the early 1960s. Very small and with an engine that revs to infinity and beyond, it is a very different proposition to the typical inoffensive Japanese design. At low speeds, the car is a pain with little low-speed flexibility and a cramped cabin. However, at high speeds on the right road, the car absolutely sings.
Nissan 350Z (2003 - )
After the 240Z, Nissan sports cars went into a steady decline throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The 1990s 300ZX was an improvement, but it is the current 350Z that has really taken Nissan sports cars back to their glory days. Almost supercar-quick, with over 300 bhp and a 155 mph top speed, it is indecently cheap at well under £30,000. It also looks great and handles very well.
Isuzu Vehi-Cross (1997 - 2001)
This was never officially sold in the UK, but should have been. It was designed by a Brit, Simon Cox and was years ahead of its time. When almost all 4x4s were square boxes, this showed the way forward with lots of curves and organic shapes. 10 years later, most medium sized off-roaders started to look like this. Indeed, apart from the headlights and front grille, the Vehi-Cross looks contemporary today.
Toyota Corolla (1968 - 1974)
The motoring form of beige - unless you are an accountant, when it looks better than a Ferrari. The most popular nameplate of all time, with over 20 million Corollas sold of various generations, but this is the one that got the ball rolling. For Americans that found the rear engined Beetle just too strange, the front-engined Corolla became the small car of choice. Wowed by the car's reliability and low running costs, many owners never returned to American cars.
Mazda MX-5 Mark One (1989 - 1997)
Trust the Japanese to make the perfect British sports car. The original MX-5 was clearly inspired by the 1960s Lotus Elan, but with a few changes. It didn't break down, it didn't need servicing every few weeks and it could be driven by your granny (if she could get in to the low seats). Should we resent this? Not al all. If we had built Triumph Spitfires and MG Midgets properly and developed them beyond the Jurassic era, the MX-5 would never have happened.
Mazda RX8 (2003 - )
Mazda has been making rotary-engined sports cars for 40 years now, but this is the pick of the bunch - because it is much more than just a radical motor. The styling is superb, the packaging very clever (a low-slung sports car with four doors really is new) and the price remarkably affordable. The turbine-smooth rotary is just the icing on the cake.
Toyota Prius Mark Two (2004 - )
Also known as the Toyota Pious, this has been worth its weight in public relations gold. At a time when Toyota was under huge nationalistic pressure in the USA for overtaking GM, it could smile sweetly and say its real goal was to save the planet. The Prius does not make a huge amount of sense in Europe compared to a modern diesel hatchback, but does great business in the States. Over there, small diesels do not exist, so a hybrid is the only game in town when it comes to saving fuel.
Subaru SVX (1991 - 1997)
The car Joe 90 should have driven. This was dreamed up in the late 1980s when Japan appeared to be on the verge of taking over the world (remember those paranoid Hollywood films about sinister Japanese corporations?). Subaru wanted to create a Japanese Porsche, but it all went a bit pear-shaped. The SVX was way too heavy, did not really handle like a sports car, and was launched just before the Japanese economy went into a ten-year coma. Bizarrely it became Switzerland's best selling luxury sports car as the Swiss had long loved Subaru four wheel drive technology. Unfortunately, Switzerland does not really count in the global scheme of things.