We recently asked you all about a difficult challenge: name the best Japanese sports cars of the decade that was 2000 through 2009. Some of your answers might seem obvious but the way they ended up ranking due to your votes might be a bit more surprising.
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A number of cars get some credit in our list of honorable mentions. That includes the R35 Nissan GT-R, the Acura NSX, and the Honda S2000 that all ended up in the comment section. Even the lowly and often forgotten TommyKaira ZZII ended up with three upvotes and no downvotes. None of those matched these next five though.
#5. Lexus LFA
There’s little guessing necessary as to how the LFA with its glorious sounding 4.8-liter V10 made this list. With three votes and none opposed it takes fifth place. It was also mentioned by two other commenters which places it above the TommyKaira. Despite the fact that we didn’t get a production version until late 2010, we’re counting it because it was introduced during the 2000s.
#4. Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34)
Again, the epic-ness of the GT-R needs no introduction. It received four upvotes, no downvotes, and lots of mentions in other comments. Ben, who submitted it also included an appropriate photo of a cartoon Godzilla swatting away its challengers. In this competition, the R34 was bested by at least three other cars though.
#3. MazdaSpeed MX-5
“It’s gotta be the ultimate version of the ultimate sports car… The 2004 MazdaSpeed MX-5 Miata,” says TRDB0T0Y. That’s quite the succinct argument and it was good enough, along with the submission itself, to garner five upvotes and no downvotes. That places the MazdaSpeed MX-5 Miata solidly tied for second place in this competition.
#2. Subaru WRX STi
It sits there along with the only four-door car to make the top five. The Subaru WRX STi helped kick off a new generation of car enthusiasts and did so in a rally-inspired and almost practical package. PhilMcGraw submitted the WRX STi and rightly points out that it was a “powerhouse in the early 2000s.”
Say what you will about it not being a “sports car” because it had four doors but it certainly had enough performance to put a lot of two-door performance cars in their place at the time. Today, it’s still considered a highly desirable used car.
#1. Mazda RX-7
Finally, the number one spot goes to another Mazda, this time the venerated, third-generation RX-7, codenamed FD. DB, who submitted the car, questioned whether or not it was the best overall but admitted that he felt it was one of the best-looking cars of the period. Not only did he get nine upvotes and none opposed but two more follow-up comments in support raked in a total of four more upvotes. There you have it, the top five Japanese sports cars of the 2000s according to you.