Toy Supercars of the 1980's

The 1990's began with an explosion of new supercars but as the decade progressed, the rush to offer new supercar models declined. In this our sixth and final review of of the world's most desired cars, we continue to look at the cars everybody wanted. In the stories on the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's and post 2000 models, a definition of 'supercar' was offered.

"In the 1950's, they had to be able to exceed 125 mph. In the 1960's, 140 became the benchmark with a bump to 150 for the gas-starved 1970's. For the 1980's, top speed of 170 was required, moving to 180 for the 1990's and 190 mph or more for the supercars of today. While these numbers narrow the field, they are not the final determining factor. A true supercar is more than the sum of it's parts."

The benchmark of a top speed of 180 mph is one that seriously narrows the field of potential players. Some models like the Lotus Esprit V8 and Porsche 911 Carrera could be included here but they are already represented, either in previous installments or the most potent version (911 GT3) is shown. The 'missing' list below the images is a short one for the '90's supercars.

Bugatti EB110 - Matchbox (prototype) 0-60 3.9 sec., top speed 212 mph	Chevrolet Corvette C5 - Matchbox 0-60 4.7 sec., top speed 175 mph	Dodge Viper GTS - Racing Champions 0-60 4.7 sec., top speed 179 mph
Ferrari 512M - Hot Wheels 0-60 4.9 sec., top speed 189 mph	Ferrari 550 Maranello - Hot Wheels 0-60 4.2 sec., top speed 199 mph	Ferrari 355 - Yat Ming 0-60 3.5 sec., top speed 183 mph
Ferrari F50 - Matchbox 0-60 3.6 sec., top speed 202 mph	Ferrari 456 - Matchbox 0-60 4.5 sec., top speed 193 mph	Honda NSX - Kyosho 0-60 5.8 sec., top speed 171 mph
Jaguar XJ220 - Matchbox 0-60 3.9 sec., top speed 213 mph	Jaguar XKR - Hot Wheels 0-60 4.9 sec., top speed 180 mph	Lamborghini Diablo SE30 - Matchbox 0-60 4.2 sec., top speed 202 mph
McLaren F1 - PMA Microchamps 0-60 3.2 sec., top speed 231 mph	Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR - Maisto 0-60 3.8 sec., top speed 210 mph	Porsche 911 GT3 - Hot Wheels 0-60 4.5 sec., top speed 187 mph


Missing in 1:64 scale Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Bentley Continental R
Source for 0-60 and top speed stats: Supercars, Graham Robson, Crestline, 2003

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