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Fun JDMs such as these are some of the last true classics you can still buy for cheap, and they'll inevitably explode in value.
Usually, cars tend to depreciate over time, and this usually allows us to buy awesome cars for a fraction of what they used to cost new. However, this list won't be talking about the best depreciated JDM sports cars to buy on a budget, no, this list will cover some cheap Japanese-built cars that won't be cheap for much longer.
It's difficult to explain why a car will rise in value, for a matter a fact, it's more often than not rather unpredictable. But as the world enters a more tech-focused future, older analog cars, especially ones that are fun to drive, have a higher demand. As the rule of supply and demand states, if the demand behind a product rises, and stays scarce, the price is bound to go up. Here are some cool classic JDM cars that'll soon be worth more than double their asking price.
The Subaru SVX is the perfect example of what the '90s were about. It wasn't dramatically fast, but it had these odd-ball looks, a quirky interior to match, and a unique powertrain as well. It was only offered with a 4-speed automatic gearbox, and mated to it was a 3.3-liter flat-six, as opposed to the legendary flat-four engines found in the WRX.
It might have looked like it could outmatch most sports cars on the track, but its flat-six only produced 231 hp, and all of it was either sent to the front wheels, or all four - no rear-wheel-drive variant was produced. Well-kept SVX models sell for about $20,000 nowadays, but they'll be worth even more in the future.
Related: The Subaru SVX Is A Seriously Underrated Japanese Car
There have been four different generations of the Miata thus far, and by far, the most underappreciated one is the NC. It was heavier and larger than its predecessors, and some people even considered it to not be worth the "Miata" badge... but some things just take time.
All Miatas' prices are on the rise at the moment, especially the first-generation NA ones, but one that still needs to undergo economic transformation is the NC generation. It too came fitted with a rev-happy four-cylinder engine which sent all of its power to the rear wheels - and also had a stickshift and retractable roof, so it definitely adheres to the classic MX-5 formula.
There's a common misconception amongst car lovers when it comes to Nissan's Z-car range. Many people consider Nissan's latest Z to be their first-ever turbocharged Z-car, but in reality, it was this, the 300ZX.
It is worth mentioning, however, that not all the 300ZXs were turbocharged, only a handful from the Z31 and Z32 generations were fitted with some. The car you're seeing above is called the Z32, and in its most powerful variant, its 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 produced more than 300 hp and 283 lb-ft of torque.
Related: 10 Reasons Why The Nissan 300ZX Was Awesome
C'mon, it's a microscopic car produced by Mazda with gullwing doors, what could be cooler than that? Let's just clear the air on something really quick, Autozam is actually just an alias Mazda makes use of in countries like Japan, so all of them for sale outside of Japan had to be imported.
Regardless of that, the AZ-1 is powered by a teensy 657 cc inline-three turbocharged engine that emitted just 64 hp and 63 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels, which translated to a 0-60 time of approximately 11 seconds. It was nowhere near being a quick car, but it's effortlessly cool, but somehow, some of these Autozams are still selling for under $15,000 on CarsAndBids.
Related: 10 Coolest Kei Cars We'll Never Get To Drive
It's no secret that the MK4 Supra is worth astronomical amounts of money at this point in time, but there's one classic Toyota sports car that everyone tends to overlook, the Sera. And yet again, we have an underpowered, front-wheel-drive, Japanese sports car whose uniqueness defined its worth - it has butterfly doors for crying out loud!.
Trust us when we say underpowered too, its 1.5-liter naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine only produced a smidgen over 100 hp and 97 lb-ft of torque, but there's one key component that classifies this car as A-tier level cool... the man behind the F1 and the T50, Gordon Murray himself, said the Sera was the inspiration behind the McLaren F1's doors - if that's not cool, we don't know what is.
Are you starting to see a pattern here, or is it just us? Power doesn't mean everything, well actually, size doesn't matter either clearly. The Suzuki Cappucino was also a kei car that originated from Japan, so they're not too common, but that didn't stop people from going out of their ay to import these jolly youngsters.
The Cappuccino and the aforementioned AZ-1 shared a very similar power train; a 657 cc turbo-three with just 63 hp. But because of its looks, rear-wheel-drive personality, and one-of-a-kind tenacity, speed was no matter of concern for buyers. For the time being, Cappuccinos typically sell for around $20,000, but as soon as everyone catches on to what the Suzuki really is, they'll reach unbelievable heights on the used car market.
There are two reasons behind the STI Hatchback's soon-to-be hike in price: Firstly, it's the only hatchback to be fitted with the STI badge built by Subaru, and secondly, because the WRX STI name has been killed off, we will never be seeing another WRX STI again - this alone drove some low-mileage STI models' prices through the roof already.
In Japan, the Impreza STI was fitted with a 304-hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that came with a twin-scroll turbocharger, and all other markets received theirs fitted with a 2.5-liter single-scroll turbocharger which emitted just under 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque. Both variants were fitted with Subaru's legendary all-wheel-drive technology which secured them numerous rally racing wings, as well as various automatic and manual transmissions to choose from. There will truly never be anything like this ever again.
Related: 8 Reasons The New Subaru WRX Costs More Than The Old STI
This will be the final kei car to feature on our list today, but it's interesting to know that almost all misunderstood, microscopic Japanese cars will be worth more than double their current value in the foreseeable future. Before we say anything about the Honda Beat, take a wild gander at what engine is hiding underneath its small body...
You know it, a compact 656 cc inline-three, only this time around, it was naturally-aspirated, but it still managed to put out 63 hp and because its drivetrain was mated to a six-speed manual, it might have been slow, but it was really a fun sluggish car. Best of all, the Beat is currently the most affordable kei car on our list with prices never escalating past the $20,000 mark.
Like we said before, it's no secret that a well-kept MK4 Supra is worth an absurd amount of money, but the MK3 Supra, well it's much like the NC Miata. The MK3 has always been considered a true Supra since it had up to a turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-six under its hood that sent all 276 hp and 268 lb-ft of torque to the back wheels.
The only reason why we suspect the MK3 to be considered "cheap" is because of all the spotlight its younger brother took, but by the looks of things, MK4 prices will soon become so comedically expensive (we use that expression very lightly), that buyers won't be able to look at the MK3's direction.
To finish off our list today, we're going to talk about a car that won't just be a sound investment, but also be a good pick for a fun daily driver, the Mazdaspeed3. As its name would imply, the Mazdaspeed3 is a hot version of Mazda's hatchback, the 3 - it is worth mentioning though that some of these are known as the MPS 3 outside the States.
There were two generations of the Mazdaspeed3, but both followed the same principle at hand, fitting an obnoxiously overpowered turbo-four into a little front-wheel-drive hatchback, and throwing a manual transmission into the mix, just to ensure they have the right type of people driving their sports hatch. The first- and second-generation Mazdaspeed3 will go up in value, but because the first-gen is older, and costs significantly less than the second-gen at the moment, we can't help but think the MK1 will go up first.
Marnus Moolman is a young aspiring automotive writer from South Africa who is making a name for himself, despite his young age. Currently, he is studying to obtain a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting to pursue his lifetime dream of running his own automotive detailing establishment.