The '90s was an era where car manufacturers could flaunt their sports cars by releasing them in stunning color combos, one-of-a-kind designs and shapes, and even some insane performance attributes. This era's designers also took inspiration from everything and constructed things resembling clown shoes, performance pickup trucks, and even psychotic sleepers.
Carmakers' top priority was the driving experience, thus anything related to the words low key or bland were nowhere near their vocabulary, hence why we received creatures such as the Dodge Viper RT/10, which lacked any form of safety precautions, and the iconic Mazda MX-5 Miata N/A, which might have been slow made up for it with its unmatched fun factor.
Here are some of the cars produced in the last part of the 20th century that really do deserve some more appreciation by car lovers over the entire world.
10 Mercedes-Benz 500E
The 500E used to be a plain W124 E-Class, but once Mercedes-Benz and Porsche started tinkering with it, they made it a pure performance sedan. Sure, it might look like your everyday E-Class, and that was exactly the point.
Underneath the hood was an unassuming 5.0-liter V8 with 320 hp that spun up the rear wheels and led to a magnificent 0-60 time in less than 6 seconds, as well as a top speed above 160 mph, which was unheard of for sedans from the time. Not only was it gifted in a straight line, but the 500E truly shined when you threw it around a track, for a sedan it was almost unheard of.
9 BMW Z3M
The infamous clown shoe car is like an exquisite delicacy that only those with the utmost of unique pallets can appreciate. The public wasn't very fond of BMW's Z3 initially, so BMW retaliated to their criticism with the Z3M, which was basically an E36 M3 with a different shell.
So while the Z3M came in a coupe shape or in a drop-top variant (for those who are afraid of clowns) it still contained either a 240-hp S52 or 316-hp S50 straight-six engine directly from the E36 M3, as well as its suspension, brakes, and LSD. The mandatory-manual Z3M is worthy of its unicorn-car title, and it truly has a cult following since BMW produced fewer than 6,300 shooting-brake M-versions of the Z3.
8 Ford Racing Puma
The Puma was a fun little FWD sports car made by Ford to prove to the world that FWD cars aren't limited to basic old hatchbacks and that proper race cars can be front-wheel-drive too, so they created a top-tier version of the Puma, and called it the Racing Puma.
It deserved the racing title since it came equipped with a gut-wrenching Alcon Design four-piston Motorsport braking system, a brand spanking new monocoque shell designed for the WRC, upgraded stiffer suspension set up, limited-slip-differential, and a special FRP 150 hp 1.7-liter Yamaha 4-banger, and when all combined make a one-ton Ford FWD sports car that murdered corners as well as lap times.
7 Mitsubishi 3000GT
Mitsubishi created one of the greatest JDM cult marvels of the '90s, they called it 3000GT. If you got your hands on the mothership variant (the VR-4), your 3000GT would inhabit a pretty powerful turbo V6 with 320 hp, which somehow managed to teleport the 1.7-ton Japanese racer to 60 mph in under 5 seconds.
If the performance figures aren't enough reason to be impressed, Mitsibushi also redefined what's possible in everyday sports cars with the GT3000 by giving it a tunable exhaust sound and active aerodynamic components.
6 Subaru SVX
The SVX fell through the cracks of the stage shared by other, superior JDM sports cars such as the 300ZX or RX-7 since it cost much more than all of its rivals, despite it looking stunning, especially from the back.
The SVX had some immense potential on paper since it was classified as a grand tourer, received power from a 230-hp flat-six that generated 228 lb-ft of torque as well, and it had a responsive AWD that could send the Subie to 60 mph in fewer than 8 seconds.
But the SVX especially stood out in its interior since most Japanese sports cars had cheap, plastic interiors, Subaru broke the norm and drenched their cockpit in alcantara, suede, wood, and still managed to keep to its Japanese roots with a splash of plastics.
5 Ford Taurus SHO
Sure, the acronym SHO, which stands for Super High Output, might sound a little tacky, but that's where all the jokes end with the Taurus SHO. The SHO was the quintessential sleeper of the '90s thanks to its monotonous looks and Yamaha-built 3.0-liter V6, which punched out a hefty 220 hp, making it more than powerful enough to smoke most motorists.
Please, do keep in mind, this was a stick shift Ford capable of a 15-second quarter-mile run and a 0-60 of 6.6 seconds, which at the time was superior to any other sedan costing under $50,000, while the SHO only cost $20,000, which was less than half that of its so-called competition.
4 Alfa Romeo GTV
In a nutshell, the Alfa Romeo GT was a masterfully designed four-eyed sports car by Pininfarina which sent all of its power to the front wheels and inhabited the iconic 3.0-liter Busso engine. Yes, the Type 916 made use of an FWD drivetrain, of course, that did not sit well with the public and restrained some buyers, until they got time to drive the little Italian creature, of course.
Giuseppe Busso’s genius engineering phenomenon, the 3.0-liter V6, that put out 237 exuberant horses to the front wheels, caused the GTV to stick to the road around corners like no one ever thought imaginable.
3 GMC Syclone
Back in the '90s, a pickup truck that could outsprint a Ferrari in the quarter-mile was already a reality with the 14-second GMC Syclone. Powering the AWD sports truck was a 4.3-liter V6 with a sneaky turbocharger added to the mix, which all thrown together generated 280 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque.
This combination propelled the world's first super pickup to 60 mph from a standstill in just 4.3 seconds, which is extremely impressive even today. Every single Syclone was painted black except for a few called Marlboro Editions, which were finished in red and white.
2 BMW M5 (E39)
Remember how we said the 500E was a sheep in wolf's clothing? Well, there's one family car that was a bit more bonkers and juvenile. Arguably the best sports sedan in existence, the E39 M5, was basically an RWD supercar with five seats and four doors, or as some may call it, a supersedan.
Inhabiting this unsuspecting 23-year old sleeper was a grotesque 3.8-liter V8, the first of BMW V8s ever used, pumping near 400 hp to the rear wheels. In combination with its sheer strength, 369 lb-ft of torque, and mandatory six-speed manual gearbox, the supersedan M5 was capable of doing a 0-60 run in as little as 5.2 seconds.
1 BMW Z1
Not only is this the most peculiar Z-car BMW ever made, but it was also the first one they ever birthed. So, let's address the elephant in the room, those wacky doors. Over the years some truly weird engineers came up with doors that open up vertically, the wrong way, and even some that don't open at all, but the designer behind the Z1, Harm Lagaay, takes the cake for the quirkiest door design.
By the push of a button, the Z1 would pull off a one-of-a-kind party trick and its doors would vanish into the rest of its body. Oh, and one last thing: while cruising down the road in your 168-hp straight-six powered Z1, your windows, roof, and doors could all be down.