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’90s Cars Everyone Loved 20 Years Ago But Not Anymore

Cameron Eittreim August 5, 2020

Mercedes-CLK GTR — Photo Credit: Auto Evolution

12: Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR

Although Mercedes often comes off as a reserved automaker, the brand has ventured into the performance market. The standard CLK was an elegant, well-designed personal luxury coupe and convertible. But Mercedes decided to take the platform a step further with the stretched design of the CLK GTR. This was not a production vehicle but a purpose-built machine made to race in the FIA GT Championship in 1997. The car had a masterful LS600 6.0-litre V12 engine, delivering smooth power in the range of (447 kW; 600 hp) and 538 lb-ft (729 N⋅m) of torque.

The CLK GTR would compete in two rounds of the 1998 season. The CLK GTR holds the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most expensive production car ever built at the time with a price of USD $1,547,620. There were a total of 25 of these built during the initial run and the car is still among the most prized sports cars on the road.

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Ford Escort Cosworth RS — Photo Credit: Bring a Trailer

11: Ford Escort RS Cosworth

The Escort RS Cosworth is most notable for the “whale tail” spoiler that sticks off of the back of the hatchback. If you’ve never laid eyes on this interesting hatchback, it’s because the RS Cosworth was manufactured between 1992-1996 in very limited numbers. A very small number of the total 7,145 vehicles produced have been imported legally into the United States.

Ford Escort Cosworth — Photo Credit: Gield

The (224 bhp; 167 kW) at 6,250 rpm and 304 N⋅m; 224 lb-ft (31 kg⋅m) of torque at 3,500 rpm was more than enough to propel the Escort RS Cosworth with authority. Even compared to other rally cars of the period the Escort is in its league. These cars are becoming increasingly valuable as automakers switch to the crossover.

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10: Mazda RX-7

The ’90s were an interesting time for sports cars with the SUV boom in full swing. One of the last real sports cars was the RX-7. From a design standpoint, the third-generation FD “1992-2002” was a beautifully sculpted sports car. Even by today’s standard, the RX-7 is a modern looking sports car that emphasizes design. The 1.3 L (79 cu in) twin-turbocharged 13B-REW twin-rotor is generally regarded as one of the greatest engines of all time.

Mazda made sure to create a welcoming interior that was designed to look more like a cockpit than anything. The signature popup headlights have always been a stylistic choice on the RX-7. Notable features included the hatchback design and factory alloy rims. All in all, the third-generation RX-7 is a legendary ’90s sports car.

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9: Acura Integra Type R

Rev happy four-cylinder cars were a hallmark of the ’90s, and Honda specialized in them. The Integra Type-R was every bit the boy racer image that Acura intended it to be. Four-cylinder Honda sports cars are generally fun to drive and cheap to maintain. The same can be said for the Integra Type-R, which stuck to a simplistic formula.

The Integra Type-R had the highly desirable B18C5 1.8 L 4-cylinder engine. This is a highly coveted enthusiast engine that provides a high rev limit and decent reliability. Everything that made the Integra Type-R special was based around this motor. Undoubtedly, the Integra Type-R is the most distinctive Acura of the last two decades.

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8: Ferrari 550 Maranello

The 550 Maranello is a dazzling spectacle of design and performance. The 485 hp 12-cylinder engine is among one of the most well-designed engines to ever grace a Ferrari. The front-engine design coupled with rear-wheel drive gives the car an amazing blend of performance. In addition to the beautiful two-door version, there was also a roadster called the 550 Barchetta Pininfarina. This roadster was produced in very limited production numbers, around 448 to be exact.

Ferrari F550 Maranello — Photo Credit: Wikipedia

With vented disk brakes, the 550 could stop just as fast as it could accelerate. The performance was derivative of the Ferrari manifesto and the car handle it accordingly. The interior is the quintessential Ferrari with a metal shifter and ribbed seating. With a top speed of 199 mph, the 550 Maranello is still an exciting ride to this day.

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7: BMW 850CSi

Another impressive V-12 from the ’90s was the BMW 850CSi, if you could afford the maintenance. Known as the “ultimate dream car,” the 850CSi was an impressive blend of performance and luxury. The wide-bodied coupe pretty much embodied what the BMW brand is all about. The optional 5.6L V-12 could put down a staggering 372 hp. The 8-series E31 was produced until the 1997 model year in America, with a total of 7,232 cars produced.

These cars are becoming increasingly expensive and hard to come by in the open market. But this is a car that was built for the true BMW enthusiast. In a way, the 8-series was a tad bit overengineered, which takes the car to the next level. BMW has a long history of building exceptional performance coupes and the 8-series was one of them.

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6: Jaguar XJ220

Known as one of the rarest supercars of the ’90s, the XJ220 is a piece of marvel engineering. The car was designed in collaboration with Tom Walkinshaw Racing, and the concept had a 6.2 L (6,222 cc) Jaguar V12 in it. Unfortunately, due to budget restraints, the production model utilized a 3.5 L (3,498 cc) twin-turbocharged Jaguar JRV-6 V6 instead. The sheer design of the XJ220 is unlike anything else on the road, even by today’s standards.

The interior of the XJ220 is remarkably ’90s, with dual vents on each side of the driver cockpit. Rich leathers graced the interior of the two-seater, with a relatively no-nonsense design that was still comfortable. The XJ220 had relatively low production numbers, hovering around 275 (some reports say 281).

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5: Toyota MR2 (SW20)

There was something different about this little roadster that separated it from the general Toyota narrative. The second generation known as the SW20 borrowed a lot of styling cues from Ferrari. The car has been called the “poor man’s Ferrari”. But don’t laugh too hard, because the MR2 is a solid sports car from the ’90s.

If you were lucky enough to get your hands on an MR2 Turbo, the turbocharged 2.0L 3S-GTE engine produced 200 bhp (203 PS; 149 kW) at 6,000 rpm and 200 lb-ft (271 N⋅m) at 3,200 rpm of torque. Although those numbers are mediocre by today’s standards when you combine it with such a small package, you still have a formidable road car.

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4: Subaru Impreza 22B

Known as the “best Subaru ever made,” the Impreza 22B is hard to beat. The combination of the rally car design and light bodyweight made the 22B a blast to drive. The EJ22G engine was designed specifically for the 22B, producing (276 bhp; 206 kW) at 6,000 rpm and 363 N⋅m; 268 lbs-ft (37 kg⋅m) at 3,200 rpm of torque. This is dubbed as one of the best engines to ever come out of a Subaru factory and has made the 22B skyrocket in value as a result.

These cars are extremely rare and have been shooting up in value. If you are in the market for a ’90s sports car, the 22B is a great investment. Along the lines of the Acura Integra Type-R price-wise, you get a lot of bang for the buck with one of these street-legal rally cars.

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1997 Porsche 911 GT2 — Photo Credit: Classic Driver

3: Porsche 911 GT2

Extremely rare even by Porsche standards, the Porsche 911 GT2 personified the ’90s sports car. There was a Riviera Blue 911 GT2 that sold at auction for a staggering amount of $2.4 Million, quite the value for a 20-year-old sports car. For the true Porsche enthusiast, it doesn’t get much better than the 911 GT2. This generation had everything that you could want in a Porsche of this caliber.

With a curb weight of only 2,855 lbs and a 0-60 time of 3.9 seconds, this is not your realtor’s Porsche. There are quite a few serious road cars driving around today and the Porsche 911 GT2 is one of them. From its beautiful design to awe-inspiring speed, the 911 GT2 is everything in one package.

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2: Lamborghini Diablo

The Lamborghini Diablo was an iconic piece of ’90s pop culture, more so than the outgoing Countach. The Diablo could obtain a top speed of 200 mph, which even by today’s standards is blisteringly fast. Available with either a 5.7 L V12 and a 6.0 L V12, the Diablo was well powered. The original V12 boasted 492 PS (362 kW; 485 hp) and 580 N⋅m (428 lb. ft.) of torque. The interior was well appointed and the car even had modern safety features such as anti-lock brakes.

A 1998 facelift gave the car a more modern interior and exterior. There was also a very rare roadster variation of the Diablo, which was the pinnacle of many car collections. Although the Diablo was replaced by the Murciélago, the car is still a highly sought-after collector’s item.

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1: Acura NSX

Most people didn’t know what to make of the NSX when it was originally announced. Honda had gone from building cheap economy cars to crafting a new supercar for the world. Launched in 1990, the NSX was the first car to ever be mass-produced with an aluminum body. The styling was lead by Chief Designer Masahito Nakano and Executive Chief Engineer Shigeru Uehara. The aerodynamics were said to have been inspired by an F-16 fighter jet. The interior was no-nonsense ’90s sports car in every aspect.

The Acura NSX was produced from 1990-to-2007 and each year the car became more scarce. There was a facelift in 2002 which gave the NSX a more modern vibe as a result. The all-aluminum 3.0 L V6 engine that powered the NSX is therefore still regarded as one of the best powerplants to come out of Japan. Overall the first-generation NSX is among the best supercars ever built.

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