The Japanese coupes from the 1990s that you could also get in the Netherlands.
At the time of writing, the Tokyo Motor Show is underway. The Japanese car brands foresee a great future for the sporty and luxurious coupe. That much is clear, because almost every brand has brought a coupe for the fair.
All a different type and type of car with a different character, but still. The car that made us most happy was the Honda Prelude. The car looks as if it could go into production tomorrow. Unlike a hardcore sports coupe, the Prelude was a perfect daily. A beautiful and reliable car with four seats and special technology.
The Japanese see a market for that. If all brands have a crossover, they will look for other ways to distinguish themselves, just as consumers (hopefully) want to do. What the effect of this will be in the Netherlands: no idea. Or well, a little bit.
Japanese coupes in the Netherlands are traditionally a difficult business case. Fortunately, the Nissan 350Z and Mazda RX8 were exceptions that we regularly encountered. But for this Sunday morning’s reading (winter time!!) we look at the models for that. Of course the examples are:
Mitsubishi Eclipse (D30)
1996 – 1999
Brian O’Conner’s car and for that reason alone legendary. Secretly, the Eclipse was a dragon of a car. They cannot be improved, the interior is substandard (also for Japanese cars from the 1990s). In the Netherlands they were not very expensive, so it was less bad.
In the US (where the car was also sold as Eagle Talon) and other markets you could also get it as a turbo. Then you get a 4G63 under the hood and experts know that that is a special engine. This was also available with four-wheel drive. The tuning potential for these Mitsubishis was enormous. But yes, that was abroad. Here in the Netherlands we simply bought an Opel Calibra if you wanted a nice coupe.
Mazda MX-6 2.5i V6 (GE)
1991 – 1995
A Japanese coupe does not necessarily have to be sporty. This Mazda MX-6 proves that. Strangely enough, Mazda does not really have a more compact coupe below the MX-6 and above the compact MX-3. Now they had a roadster (MX-5) that fit in perfectly. The Mazda MX-6 is related to the Ford Probe, which was once supposed to be the successor to the Mustang.
The car was an affordable car in many countries, but in Europe initially only a super luxurious GT with leather upholstery, alloy wheels and air conditioning. You could optionally choose four-wheel steering, something that Japanese car brands often had in that period. The car went out of production in 1997, but in the Netherlands it was already over in 1995. Unfortunately, there was no successor. The RX-8 arrived in 2008, but was a completely different kind of car. The MX-6 name has been taken out of mothballs by Mazda since 2018, but has not yet been applied. How beautiful would a coupe based on a rear-wheel drive ‘6’ with an inline-six be?
Honda Prelude 2.2 VTI (BB5)
1996 – 2000
Yes, Honda appears more often in the overview. The brand had a huge number of coupes on offer in the 1990s. Yes really. Think of the CR-X, Integra, Civic Coupé, Accord Coupé, Legend Coupé and therefore also this Prelude (and then we forget the NSX…). The Honda had been available in the Netherlands since the late 1970s and was quite a popular car in the 1980s. Sales slumped a bit in the 1990s. The fifth generation also came here.
It was definitely a nicer car than before, with (in retrospect) a fairly unique front. But yes, the European competition was also very nice and about the same price. All this premium technology such as VTEC, four-wheel steering and Wishbones all around was very expensive. There was also an Active Torque Transfer System present. That is one of the first torque vectoring systems. In this case it caused the outside wheel to spin faster and get more torque.
Nissan 200SX (S14a)
1997 – 2000
The coolest on the list is the most old-school. This is an extremely premium Nissan. The chassis of this S14 generation is so good that it is still used for drifting purposes. Finding an original copy is almost impossible. Perhaps someone in southern Germany still has one in the garage.
It is logical that this car was hardly sold. You can indeed boost the turbo engine far, but it was still an old-fashioned unit with a lot of turbo lag. The interior was quite basic and there was not much space available. And although the car certainly has its charm in terms of bodywork, it was not a Volvo C70 or Peugeot 406 Coupé that you could buy for similar money. That is what the consumer did. The S14 was taken off the market in the Netherlands in 2000. In Japan, this generation received a successor in the form of the S15. This car did not last long. In fact, the Nissan 350Z gave you the performance of the 300ZX for the price of a 200SX, forcing both to be taken off the market.
Honda Integra Type-R (DC2)
1998 – 2001
In the Netherlands we could not get a regular Integra. Think of it a bit like the BMW M5 Touring, which will soon be available in the US, but not the regular 5 Series Touring. We were surprised when Honda announced the Integra Type-R in 1997. Rarely has a car been so unanimously praised.
The Integra Type-R also had to be delivered in various European countries for homologation. It is therefore a car for people who want premium quality, everything that leads to a better racing car is present. So a stiffer chassis, modified chassis, lightweight rims, limited slip differential and one of the most beautiful four-cylinders ever built.
Toyota Celica T-Sport (ZZT-231)
1999 – 2006
We end the list with the car that lasted the longest. There are also rumors about the Toyota Celica that it will return. Since it comes from the mouth of Toyota’s top boss, we assume they are serious. The T210 generation Celica was not a bad car at all. The Celica had an excellent 1.8 engine, original bodywork, excellent interior and neat driving characteristics. In 2000 there was a hotter version, the ‘T-Sport’. That was a Toyota label that only had a short life for a few Yaris and Corollas.
The T-Sport did give the car some extra street cred. In any case, it was the best car for anyone who wanted a successor to their Prelude VTI. The last variant was the Celica GT for the British market, complete with a thick body kit and enormous spoiler. The engine is the 2ZZ-GT, which is more VTEC than a VTEC engine. The block only delivered its maximum power of 192 hp at 8,250 rpm. The engines survived the car, because they remained available in the Lotus Elise and Exige.
Honda Accord Coupe
2000 – 2003
And we end up with a Honda. Because Honda really likes being in this segment, that much is clear. The Prelude went out of production in 2000 and we received this car as a replacement (so we are smuggling a little bit). The difference couldn’t be bigger. The Prelude was a refined piece of technology, this was a big GT. That’s because it is not based on the European Accord that we received, but the American Accord. It is a lot larger, more luxurious and heavier.
This car was not really very sporty. Instead of a high-revving VTEC four-cylinder with a lot of power, there was ‘normal’ a 2.0 engine or a 3.0 V6 with 200 hp. This made it a direct competitor for some European coupes. With a price of almost a ton in guilders, most consumers went for it. Nowadays you see them pass by sporadically. It’s a Honda and they stay intact. The model was taken off the market in 2003.
Read more? These are the nicest affordable 80s coupes!
This article Japanese coupes from the 1990s in the Netherlands: list food first appeared on Autoblog.nl.
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