Oh to have worked at Japanese TV show Best Motoring in the 1990s. Regularly, it put together track battles featuring the coolest cars of the era driven by the most talented racers in the country at Tsukuba Circuit. It never missed. This test is particularly interesting, with Japan’s best performance cars of 1992 facing off against some bonafide supercars.
From Japan, usual suspects included a Nissan Skyline GT-R, Mazda RX-7, Honda NSX, and as something of a wildcard, a Toyota MR2 Turbo. From Europe, a Ruf CTR “Yellowbird,” and two Ferraris, an F40 and 512TR. The grid was set in reverse horsepower order, with the F40 and CTR both posting over 500 horsepower on the dyno, and thus at the back.
The Japanese cars put up a hell of a fight despite the GT-R being the only to exceed the 300-hp mark. With a standing start, the Nissan got away very well after a judicious high-rpm clutch dump, and the other Japanese cars try to make themselves as wide as possible. But, the outrageously powerful and ultra-light F40 quickly made its way to the front and walked away.
Otherwise, the race was tighter. The CTR had tons of power, but seemed to struggle under braking and in corners, and it had a hard time with the lowly MR2. Eventually it got past, and only managed to get ahead of the GT-R at the very end of the race. The MR2 even managed to hold off the 512TR for a time, and it finished ahead of the RX-7 and NSX.
The results of the time attack were a bit different, with the Ruf outpacing the F40 by two hundredths, and the RX-7 beating the NSX to the podium. Then came the 512TR, GT-R, and MR-2.
Stay after the race concludes to see full onboard laps of the Yellowbird and the F40. The Ruf likes to be backed into corners, the heavy weight of its rear engine aggressively helping the car rotate under braking. And for all the traction it lacks on entry, it’s got gobs of grip on exit, the driver matting the throttle so early and taking advantage of that rear weight bias. The F40 just looks balletic, doing small little drifts on each exit as the twin turbos deliver their trademark shove.