The new trend in sports cars isn’t all that new. Reimagined classic sports cars (or recreated, in some cases) are all the rage, with the new Toyota Supra set to join the long list of classics to be revived in the coming months.
That list already includes the Nissan GTR (replacing the Skyline after a brief hiatus) and the Honda/Acura NSX. It’s not just sports cars – even luxury cars are getting in on the fun – in a different way, of course – with Jaguar and Aston Martin offering rebuilds of classic cars (in the case of the DB4 GT, you’ll need a paltry $1.9 million) that are surely out of just about everyone’s price range. Even Lancia (!!) recently got in on the action with a remake of the Delta S4.
So, let’s get inspired by that new Supra. What classic affordable sports cars would you like to see revived? Here are our picks:
Mitsubishi 3000GT
The 3000GT is perhaps the best looking car that Mitsubishi has ever created, bringing aggressive looks and clean lines that still turn heads to this day. While it certainly wasn’t as popular in America as the company’s other sporty offerings (the Lancer Evolution and Eclipse), it’s gained a bit of a cult following. The VR-4 trim in particular is a bit of a collector car, with all-wheel drive and a powerful (by 1990’s standards) V6 engine, and a clean example on the used market will still fetch about $30,000.
Will we see a reborn version of the 3000GT any time soon? Unlikely, with the company killing off the Lancer Evolution a few years back, and rebranding the Eclipse as a crossover recently. The all-wheel drive configuration and sleek coupe format would make the 3000GT a bit of a unicorn even today, but it’d sure be nice to have Miata-type styling and Golf R performance.
Mazda RX-7
Still sad over the death of pop-up headlights? Join the club.
The Mazda RX-7 is in the pantheon of great cars with even cooler pop-up headlights, alongside the Ferrari F40 and F355, the C5 Corvette and first-gen Honda NSX. All of those cars, in one form or another, have either continued (and lost the pop-up lights) and been updated, or been replaced with spiritual successors. It’s about time the RX-7 got that treatment.
…actually, it already did, with the RX-8 that died off back in 2012. Perhaps it would have stayed around longer if they’d given it pop-up headlights, too.
Regardless, Mazdas remain a joy to drive and a popular enthusiast choice – particularly with the Miata – and the rotary engined goodness shouldn’t stop there. Bring it back, Mazda!
Ford Escort
Not exactly the first classic that comes to mind for most – although referenced with surprising frequency in hip-hop (by Kanye West, J. Cole and others, no less!) – the Ford Escort is perhaps the best iteration of the small, fun cars that the company just killed off. Just not the Escort you may remember.
The version that North America got was more geared towards commuters than enthusiasts. The limited run Escort RS Cosworth is the one we want back – because we barely got it in the first place!
The European version of the Escort was quite different than the North American version – and, many would argue, much better looking as well. The Cosworth version was even better – purpose-built for rally racing and pretty great at it. Unfortunately, not very many were made.
Sure, the Ford Focus RS was a bit of a spiritual successor, but like J. Cole said, they just don’t make them like the Escort anymore.