After Group B cars were banned from the World Rally Championship and Group A took over as the premier class, Lancia’s Martini-backed Deltas collected a trio of back-to-back Driver and…
Read MoreAfter their disappointing run at Le Mans in 1997, TWR and Nissan pledged to return in 1998 with an uprated R390: more speed and improved reliability was the order of the day. The R390 programme…
Read MoreYamaha started life as a piano and reed organ manufacturer in 1887. It then expanded to building motorcycles during 1954. Having become known for its high performance engineering prowess…
Read MoreHaving initially dabbled in the small sports car and utility vehicle market, a lack of early commercial success left Honda ready to quit automobile manufacture had the first generation Civic launched in
Read MoreHaving established an enviable reputation on the special stages that culminated in seven outright Safari Rally wins between 1970 and ‘82, Nissan decided to embark on a Group B programme for 1983.
Read MoreWhen Honda launched its car building division in 1963, the company offered two miniature models. First to arrive was a diminutive pickup truck powered by either a 356cc dual overhead camshaft…
Read MoreFor 1985, Toyota decided to embark on a factory Sportscar programme with the intention of becoming the first Japanese manufacturer to win at Le Mans. However, the Group C era could not…
Read MoreHaving made a breakthrough into the automotive market with the first generation Civic in 1972, Honda went from strength-to-strength. By the mid 1980s, the company had become one of the…
Read MoreIn 1949, the Japanese government introduced a new taxation category for ultra-small vehicles known as the Kei class. Kei cars had to comply with regulations that limited their physical size and…
Read MoreLike the R32 GT-R, the new-for-1995 R33 variant was available in a choice of different specifications. Least expensive of these was the base model R33 GT-R which nevertheless offered scintillating…
Read MoreTwo key factors led to the transformation of sports car racing in the early 1990s. As the 1980s drew to a close, the cost to compete in the World Sportscar Championship began to rise inexorably. New…
Read MoreIn 1979, Honda returned to Grand Prix motorcycle racing after more than a decade in the sporting wilderness. A Formula 2 engine supply deal followed in 1980 and Honda-powered Ralts went on to…
Read MoreThe re-introduction of the Skyline GT-R in 1989 proved to be one of Nissan's smartest decisions. The GT-R moniker had disappeared in 1973 when Nissan abandoned their line of super high performance…
Read MoreMugen Motorsports was established in 1973 by Hirotoshi Honda, the son of Honda founder, Soichiro Honda. Based in Asaka in the northern suburbs of Tokyo, Mugen initially offered tuning…
Read MoreIn 1996, Nissan unveiled a limited production GT-R equipped with a comprehensive list of performance upgrades. Developed by Nissan Motorsport (Nismo), the 400R was created for those…
Read MoreBy 1997, the European manufacturers that Honda originally targeted with the NSX had regrouped. New models from Ferrari (F355) and Porsche (993) had closed the performance gap and helped…
Read MoreThe unexpected popularity of Nissan’s R32 Skyline GT-R meant a successor was a certainty. The original plan had been to build sufficient R32 GT-Rs to meet the homologation requirement for…
Read MoreAlthough upon its release the NSX was widely considered the finest mid-range supercar available, the everyday nature of its set-up left certain customers yearning for a hard core version. Something…
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