Classic Cars That Deserve A Second Chance

It was reported today that Porsche is considering reviving their mid-engined 914 sports car if the response to Volkswagen’s two-door Lotus Elise killer concept is better than that of the ill-fated Phaeton.

Ain’t nothing like a second chance, just ask Pac Man Jones. We always like to see old and forgotten models that should have never been discontinued in the first place (the 914 was Motor Trend’s 1970 Car of the Year) make a comeback, Robert Downey Jr-style. While there are tons of whips we’d like to see on the streets again, there are some that have actually left a void in the market place. We chose five of our all-time favorite discontinued cars that deserve another shot….

TOYOTA COROLLA AE-86

Introduced in 1983, the Corolla Levin/Trueno appeared to be your average econobox. That was until the tuners and club racers got a hold of it. Thanks to its highly tunable 4A-GE engine and its virtually perfect 50/50 weight balance, it became an instant favorite of gear heads and petrol-heads around the globe. Let’s not forget about the drifting world. The AE-86 is so coveted that it’s almost impossible to find one in good condition, and if you do, it’ll probably be $2,000 to $4,000 over priced.

ACURA LEGEND

Although the Legend hit the scene in 1986, it was the second generation that was heaviest in the streets. If someone was ridin’ around shinin’ in one of these (especially the coupe), you knew they were doing something serious. At the time, it was the hottest big bodied whip out. Not only was the design ahead of its time, so where its features. The Legend sported a 200hp engine or a 230hp Type II engine. It had speed-sensitive steering, heated leather seats, hands-free telephone and soft-close vacuum operated doors. The Legend was replaced by lackluster RL and thus began the decent of Acura.

MCCLAREN F1

This one goes without saying. Before the Bugatti Veyron came through, the F1 was the fastest production car on earth with a 0-60 time of 3.2 seconds. It’s still the fastest naturally aspirated production car thanks to its BMW V12 engine. It was a beast. It’s still considered to the be the best car ever made, and we’d have to go out on a limb and agree even with the uncomfortable ass interior.

FORD SHO SERIES

When it comes to Ford performance all you really got are Mustangs. That wasn’t always the case, though. Back in ‘89 Ford introduced the Taurus SHO (Super High Output) that came with a Yamaha built 220hp V6 and a 5 speed manual transmission. They continued building ‘em all the way up until 1999 which left a void in their line up for people who wanted an everyday driver that had a little performance edge. There’s been cries from SHO fans for Ford to bring back the nameplate with other Ford models like the Fusion.

TOYOTA SUPRA
Honestly, we thought after the Supra was featured so heavily in The Fast and the Furious, we thought Toyota would bring back their twin-turbo monster. But we forgot how much cake they were making off of Camry and Prius sales. They’re more concerned with soccer moms and environmental freaks than with performance heads. Fair enough, sales showed people didn’t appreciate the Supra when it was here, but, damn, there’s nothing in their current like up that can mess with the Supra. Nothing. There’s talks of them developing a hybrid sports car to fill the void, but they better hurry up. The Nissan GT-R is already eating their lunch.