Audi Quattro (1980 - 1991)

From the makers of quattro, we present to you the Quattro. This was the quintessential rally car of its day and the platform from which many successful and iconic VW / Audi and Porsche vehicles were derived. The Ur-Quattro was powered by a 2.1 liter straight 5 engine that produced 220 horsepower. At home everywhere, and fastest around the dirt track.

Plymouth Voyager (1984-1990)

Imagine having a 1980s van with a 2.5 liter turbocharged engine matched to a 5-speed manual transmission. You'd have one of these. Crazy? We'll tell you what's crazy - no one else did this or has since done this. This iconic van can be made to run the 1/4 mile in 13 seconds with no more than turbocharger modifications. It's built on a car chassis, which made it way more comfortable than its competition.

Honda CRX (1983-1992)

This marks the rebirth of the Civic concept, especially as CRX stands for "Civic Renaissance model X." Versatility was its creedo: It kicks ass as the Si model and it saves fuel in the HF model with an amazing rating of 50 mpg; and this is nearly two decades before the hybrid craze (which is largely hype). Maybe it's successor wasn't the Del Sol but the Insight.

Porsche 944 (1982-1991)

This car was great news for Mitsubishi because they were paid 8 bucks for every one of these produced; Porsche used Mitsu's patented balance shaft technology on their engine which was basically half of a 928 engine. Agile, responsive, and quick (especially with a turbo); this is what the 924 should have been from the start. Sure, you may hear the Porsche purists complain about the front engine layout, the water cooling, and the loan-engineering from the Audi Quattro, but who cares? Not us.

Chevrolet Camaro (1982-1992)

Especially with a small block V8, this car is probably the last true American muscle car. It didn't have a bit in its mouth like its counterpart from the blue oval. For those of you not savvy, "IROC" stands for "International Race Of Champions" (which is a little 'He-Man' sounding) and not "Italian Retard Out Cruising." This is the mythbuster that proves that there are diamonds in the rough of eighties cars, even in the American rough.

Infiniti M30 Convertible (1990-1992)

"Not Lexus. Only Infiniti." If you think about, this was the only Japanese luxury convertible until the Lexus SC430. It was a flawed vehicle and didn't sell well, and in truth it was just a filler car for the Infiniti launch in the United States but it looks great in Kuwait.

Toyota MR2 (1983-1989)

Toyota introduced the world to the Japanese mid engine sports car. Before there was the NSX, you had to settle with this, but it didn't rip up your wallet. The turbo model was rightly quick. It had a reputation of unreliability only because it looks like you're always carrying a spare engine in the trunk.

Honda Prelude Si VTEC (1992-1996)

Honda's test car since its inception, this, the fourth generation, is arguably the pinnacle of front wheel drive sports cars. It was the first automobile with VTEC (which is the first variable valve timing technology) and had the option of four wheel steering as did the previous generation. Its futurustic interior still elicits double takes and long stares. Climate control in the JDM models, but not for us Yanks. Maybe we should move to Japan?

Porsche 911 (1989-1993)

The most obvious choice. This car has put on so many miles driving around in our dreams... at least it was stationary when it hung on our walls. The first 911 to break from the 60s styling, the first 911 to offer all wheel drive (from the marque that invented AWD), the first 911 available with Tiptronic automatic transmission, and the first 911 that we can remember.

Toyota Corolla AE86 (1983-1987)

By far the coolest Corolla and by far the fastest way to get a block of Tofu down the mountain. The best remembered drift machine was rear wheel drive. If it was good enough for "The Drift King" then it is good enough to sit in your garage along with a mountain of bald tires.

Subaru SVX (1991-1997)

A flat 6 sports car that didn't turn out right... maybe it was just the warped rotors, faulty 4 speed automatic transmission, failing wheel bearings, and high curb weight. It doesn't matter. Look at those half-windows! Maybe we're the only people who like to open the windows while it's raining. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. If you had one though, you could twin turbocharge it like the Japanese cops were supposed to.

Mazda RX7 FC (1985-1991)

Obviously, it's the only Wankel rotary production car anyone can think of besides the RX8 (you know, the watered down Rx). What's not so obvious, is that it's got striking good looks that might just have been ahead of their time. Also, flip up headlights are pretty much all it needs to enter our pantheon.

Volkswagen Scirocco GTI (1984-1988)

Based on the hugely successful Audi Quattro rally car, no one can pronounce its name (including Die Vom Wolfsburg), barely anyone has ever even heard of it, and for some reason, people who've owned one don't admit it. This has to have been the greatest iteration of a VW GTI car.