Preamble
More than ever, the streets of America are streaming with extreme performance machines. This is due in part to the manufacturers trying to "out do" each other with their flagship performance cars during the 90's. Unfortunately, many of these vehicles have either been discontinued or will perish in a few short years. Because of this, the '90's may very well be remembered as one of the premiere performance decades. A quick glance at some of the players will surely strike a cord with most readers:
Domestic:
Dodge Viper, Chevrolet Corvette, Pontiac TransAm/Chevrolet Camaro, Ford
Mustang, & Buick turbos (80's Regals, GNs, & '89 TAs)
Japanese:
Toyota Supra, Mitsubishi 3000GT, Nissan 300Z, Mazda RX7, & Acura NSX
German:
various Porsche & BMWs (M Power)
Italian:
various Lamborghini & Ferraris (rarely seen exotics, but worth mention)
British:
Lotus Esprit (see note above)
There is always overlap, but in general terms, the Domestics rely on larger displacement low tech powerplants while the Japanese manage to create horsepower out of their smaller engines (no greater than 3.0L due to government taxes) by making it breathe with multi-valve heads and forced induction. The others fall somewhere in-between these two extremes.
Even in stock form, today's street machines can better or at least hang with the Detroit iron from the 60's. A 13 second 1/4 mile car no longer rules the street like it once did. Factor in the abundance of after market bolt-ons and the performance potential of each is further broadened. Races have to be chosen cautiously, many street rides are now capable of 12's and even 11's. Beyond that, you're usually dealing with an unstreetable car in terms of creature comforts, tires, range, etc.
With that said, I hope you enjoy my web site on one such car from the '90s. While not the absolute quickest, my twin turbo, all wheel drive, Dodge Stealth can hold its own.
since August 7th, 2002
Last Updated: 08/08/02 07:50 PM