Mitsi GT0?

I've got 2 of them myself and love both of them! They're great car's IMO. Yeah, they're not the most reliable, but it you get a decent one that's been taken care of you shouldn't have too much of a problem. Amazing on the open road for cruzing!

NSX I'll agree with. That was a true supercar as far as Jap cars go.

I don't see anything special about the Supra over the 300 and GTO though. If it wasn't for all the hype around the 2JZ Engine they use they wouldn't be anywhere near as expensive, much like the RB engines in the Skylines. I've out driven both Turbo Supra's and Skylines at track days in my more or less stock 300zx. Unlike the pony cars you mentioned, the 300 was actually designed for track - The 300 actually got banned from the US GT (Can't remember its actual name but there version of Touring Cars) in the 90's for being to fast, much like the GTR did at Bathurst.

Back on topic to the GTO though, some people love them and some hate them. They do perform well if ya get one that's problem free, but won't match the likes of other cars mentioned in this thread on a track. Something to keep in mind though is that they are 4WD as well in Turbo Guise, as far as I know there isn't a RWD option.

Still think the faclift GTO is a heck of a looker.better looking than the supra or300zx, although ironically still the least desirable.

yes the mid 90s facelift made it look much nicer, but the late 90s facelift was horrible and made it look more like the tacky American car it was always trying to be. Sadly Chrysler had too much input into the design of the car.

Unless you are going all-out to make a properly state-of-the-art supercar like the NSX, I would have thought a cut-down short wheelbase version of a big solid 4 door car should make a pretty good platform for a big-engined speedster! Compared to (say) attempting to beef up your current small car chassis to take big power!

And re the Supercar / Pony car thing. NSX is a supercar, the alloy chassis & suspension design of that car was apparently better than any of the top european cars of the time, read the McLaren F1designer's comments about it.

TT Supra, 300ZX and GTO are definitely in the "pony car" category IMO - just conventional steel road cars with big engines and big tyres.

GT-R skylines are a bit more debatable, the 4WD system those have is pretty clever as I understand it and that (along with their heritage of winning races with it) possibly elevates them slightly above "pony car" status.!

Performance wise the GTR was above that.but it's still a family car on steroids where at least the 300ZX, Supra and GTO had their own chassis/panels. I would say that is why the GTR was relatively light- The old 3-box design is pretty stiff whereas a lower roof line (GTO, Supra) would require a bit more metal to keep it as rigid.

Adding to the weight of the GTO AWD system is the transverse V6 which requires a bit more plumbing/weight to connect the turbo system compared to a more simply I6 layout.

The 4WD system in the GTR is on-demand, except that it's primarily 4WD and will direct up to 50% torque to the front when it detect excess wheel spin and steering angle/yaw. The GTO turbo uses a Getrag gearbox with a permanent 45/55% front/rear split with a LSD center diff which allows for give.

The Diamante platform the GTO was based on was hardly a big solid 4 door car, the suspension is pulled from the smaller and lighter Galant with modifications to make the track wider and that's about it. Chassis flex is still present in the GTO as it was in the Diamante and the Galant. It uses heavy steel subframes both front and rear which while being very strong, don't do wonders for its already heavy kerb weight.

A fully optioned early 90s Diamante 4-door with leather, 4WD, 4WS, ABS etc tipped the scales at 1650kgs. The lightest GTO MR with no 4WS or active aero is still 1690kgs.

The transverse V6 with turbos and plumbing attached is still lighter than the IL6 of the Skyline. The V6 block is physically smaller with less iron, the crankshaft is shorter, and the two cylinder heads roughly take up the same mass as one long IL6 DOHC cylinder head.