Japan is home to some of the greatest cars of all time. For a variety of reasons, Japanese cars never disappoint, providing consumers with quality, functionality and, in the right environments, intense fun, and performance.
The best sports cars and fast cars from Japan are now becoming incredibly valuable, but they still won't reign supreme when it comes to value and being collectible. Those honors would be bestowed to the special edition versions. Limited editions of the best Japanese sports cars that are so rare and so valuable, everyone wants them, and everyone is hunting them.
10 Nismo 400R
The Nismo 400R was a limited production, special edition version of the R33 Nissan Skyline GTR. And in this case, limited really does mean limited. Only 44 of these race-bred machines were ever made, and they are going for insane prices nowadays. If you can even find one at all.
The engine was specially engineered for the 400R by a company called REINIK. It was a bored and stroked version of the RB26DETT engine, called the RBX-GT2. With various upgrades, it put out 400 hp, allowing 0-60 in just 4.0 seconds and a top speed of 186 mph. It also has one of the very best alloy wheel designs ever fitted to a production vehicle.
9 Mazda Cosmo 110S
The Mazda Cosmo 110S is a very special car in Mazda's history, for the simple reason that it was the very first car they made with a rotary engine. It also looked really good, and though it's not as fondly remembered among Mazda fans, it still has a cult following.
They are also incredibly valuable. It's unknown how many Series I 110S models were made, but only 833 Series II versions were ever made, and around six of those were imported in the United States. Needless to say, the Cosmo is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars nowadays.
8 Nissan GT-R50 By Italdesign
The R35 GTR is one of the longest running sports cars, and it's been with us for over a decade now. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the GTR badge, Nissan commissioned a very special, bespoke GTR.
The result was the GT-R50 by Italdesign. Though the design was extremely controversial, and sometimes even called ugly, there's no denying how special this car is. The 3.8 liter turbo V6 has been upped to 720 hp thanks to Nismo, and it was only limited to 50 units.
7 Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition
One of the most special supercars of the 2010s, the Lexus LFA redefined what everyone thought of Toyota's luxury brand up until that point. It was incredibly innovative, incredible to drive and highly valuable.
But if you want your LFA to be even more valuable and even more awesome, then the Nürburgring Edition is for you. The last few LFAs produced during the production run were Nürburgring Editions, and they command pretty big price premiums over the "regular" LFA. They are incredibly rare, and one of these sold for $700,000 once.
6 Mazda RX-7 Spirit R
The FD3S generation RX-7 is already pretty valuable and collectible, but the absolute peak of the FD, in terms of collector's value and in terms of the car in general, was the Spirit R.
The Spirit R was, in RX-7 parlance, the final edition. It featured a whole host of upgrades, like cross-drilled brake rotors, as well as unique wheels, aero, and paint. The rarest one is also the least desirable one, the Type C, which had an auto transmission and rear seats. The Type A had the most units made, but it also holds the biggest price premium.
5 Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R (Hakosuka)
Though this wasn't the first generation of the Skyline as a whole, it was the first ever GT-R. Called the Hakosuka by many enthusiasts, the 2000GT-R was the first of its kind, and it really did make a name for itself very quickly.
It dominated racing championships of its day, a tradition that was carried on by all of its successors. It was also quite rare, and both of those things combined mean that they are worth really big money nowadays. Most of them also look just like the ones in the photos, so original ones without the flares and the RS Watanabe wheels are even rarer.
4 Toyota 2000GT
One of the most highly sought after Japanese cars of all time. Also very probably one of, if not the most beautiful Japanese sports car, or maybe even car, of all time. The 2000GT was Toyota's original halo sports car in the 60s,
Its design was inspired by the Jaguar E-Type, which is quite obvious when you look at the car. It also featured pop-up headlights, and a 150 hp 2.0-liter inline-6 engine. Only 351 were ever produced, and prices are absolutely out of control, and that's assuming you can find one. But don't worry, there's a company that will build you a replica with a Lexus V8.
3 Honda NSX-R/GT
The first generation Honda/Acura NSX completely changed the supercar game. It showed the world that supercars can also be practical and usable daily. As befits a supercar, there were tons of special editions of the NSX, the standout of them being the R.
The NSX-R was made as those drivers who didn't really care about the daily driving aspect of the NSX, and just wanted a pure uncompromised driving experience. The NSX-R GT, meanwhile, was built to comply with JGTC regulations saying that five road-legal examples of your race car have to be built. As a result of that, there are more pictures of the NSX-R GT in video games than there are in real life.
2 Nissan Fairlady Z 432 (S30)
The first generation Z car, called the 240Z in most markets, was one of the biggest sports car successes of the 1960s and 70s. It spawned a huge legacy of Z sports cars that are about to enter the next generation, and that have cemented themselves in history.
The most valuable of these is undeniably the 432 version of the original 240Z/Fairlady Z. Powered by the same engine as the Skyline 2000GT-R, only 420 units were made, and one recently sold for just over $1 million.
1 Nissan Skyline GTR Nismo Z-Tune
Pretty much every R34 Skyline GTR is collectible, rare, or valuable nowadays, but the Z-Tune definitely reigns supreme. It was specially produced, a few years after the R34 had already gone out of production, and it was extremely rare.
Only 19 cars were ever made, and they were all fully hand-made, with around 500 hp and theoretical top speed of around 203 mph. Needless to say, they are worth millions now.
While not all JDM legends will go up in value all that much, these have already shot way up, and they're only going to go up from here. If you can somehow afford them, buy them while you still can.