There’s no denying that the Japanese manufacturers have produced some of the world’s craziest race cars over the years. But they’ve also put together some pretty bonkers road cars, just to earn their place on the grid. Here are six of the best.
1. Toyota GT-One
Initially developed to comply with GT1 rules and later adapted for racing at Le Mans, Toyota built just two road-going versions of their GT racers in 1998.
With a 3.6-litre twin turbocharged V8, these had nearly the same 600bhp as the full-on race cars. They also had a few small driver comforts like air conditioning and an actual interior. Not bad for a 236mph road car.
2. Subaru Impreza 22B STI
Strictly speaking, it’s more of a celebration car than a homologation special, but the Impreza 22B is certainly the one to get any true Scooby fan excited.
The widebody, 2.2-litre, 280bhp mud slinger was built in 1998 to commemorate both Subaru’s 40th anniversary and their third manufacturer’s title in WRC. Apparently, 399 JDM cars were produced, with a further 25 for export to Europe. Best of luck finding one.
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3. Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205
Here’s a car you can not only find but find for reasonable money… relatively speaking. 2,500 ST205 GT-Fours were produced from 1994-1999, all with suitably mad WRC hand-me-downs like twin-entry turbos and big spoilers.
With 252bhp (239bhp on the UK models), they were also the most powerful production Celicas ever made.
4. Nissan R33 Nismo GT-R LM
This car is what happens when manga meets the Nissan Skyline. Bizarrely, Nismo only needed to build one road-going version in 1995 to take their race cars to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GT Class.
But even though you can’t have that one (except on Gran Turismo), this widebody, 300bhp rear-wheel drive monster is still one of the all-time great motoring unicorns.
5. Nissan R390 GT1
Developed in conjunction with Tom Walkinshaw Racing, officially, only one 550bhp, 220mph road car was ever built to homologate the GT1 race cars in 1998.
With that said, popular legend has it that another road car was put together in secret and is now in the hands of a private collector. In its lifetime, the R390 GT1 road version was registered twice in the UK, has been red and then blue, and was reconfigured as a ‘long tail’ version.
6. Mitsubishi Pajero Evo
Only 2,500 of these were produced in the late 1990s and they’re all JDM cars, but you can still find imports here in the UK. And, should the zombie apocalypse ever come, you’re guaranteed to be safe behind the wheel.
These homologated a few modifications to enable entry into the legendary Dakar Rally – the most brutal event on Earth. The Pajero Evo included jacked-up, independent suspension, a seriously wide track and a 280bhp petrol V6. Plenty to get those Land Rover Defenders quaking in their boots!
