Okay, so I’m making that claim out of the blue, but I’d guess it’s a pretty close race between a stock Camaro from a few years earlier and this car, with less than half the displacement, cylinders, etc. Before I decided to buy a new car (and ended up with my ’97 Golf), I was test driving some “sensible” used cars and saw one of these on a dealer’s lot. Hey, it’s Japanese, economical, and at the time was only about 10 years old. Even though I realized it was a turbo, I was amazed at how readily it would spin its wheels in second gear. Much like any earlier turbocharged car, the power was only available in a short band and quite explosive when it came on, so I probably would have gone through a lot of clutches trying to accelerate with the turbo spooled up. That said, with its size in mind, it was a real kick to drive.
Check out this specimen on eBay in Fontana, CA, at $1775 with the reserve not yet met. This car actually looks remarkably good, as most of these have been beaten to death in the last 22 years. I’d almost suspect the seller of photochopping the color on the pictures, since the red looks so saturated in some pics, but overall the condition makes it look like the color is really that shiny. Looking at the picture, you can also see he’s got the original wheel covers, spoilers, and turbo sprint graphics on the car, and that the panels all look straight.
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Rusty But Trusty 