So, I decided to revisit this list to see if my mind had changed in the five years since I first wrote it. Obviously, with only eleven spots, there were going to be some omissions and some contention in the comments section, so I took the suggestions to heart. The two most common mentions were the first-generation Ford Lightning and the Toyota Supra A80. It was also suggested that I take the Mitsu 3000GT and Dodge Stealth and make them disappear. In the end, I chose…to do nothing. These are still my picks, I still stand by them. If anything, I’d combine the Camaro and Firebird into one and add the Lightning, but I see those two in different lights and not as the same car. As before, feel free to skewer the list in the comments! -McT

The 1990s, in automotive terms, should be considered the Great Reawakening Of Horsepower. In the 1960s and first couple years of the Seventies, we were drunk on power. Then we got about fifteen years of neutered V8s choked to death with smog equipment, build quality that varied between barely acceptable and laughable, and lots of stickers but no bite. Sure, the 1982 Mustang GT 5.0 was a start, the Mustang SVO showed that there was more than V8s, Chrysler embraced hot hatches and turbocharged front-wheel-drivers, and GM’s F-car twins were still going strong, but the 1990s showcased a real horsepower war between GM and Ford that got the ball rolling. Handling wasn’t just a parlor trick, it was now expected that the car would turn as well as it could run in a straight line, and more and more imports became viable threats. This list compiles some of the highlights of the 1990s, but there are a couple of caveats: there are no Corvettes or Vipers. They could perform well above these choices from the word “go”. And there are no exotics, which shouldn’t bother anybody. In no particular order…

11. Chevrolet Camaro SS

The fourth-generation Camaro started life with 275 horsepower out of the LT-1 V8, and it bumped up to 285 in 1995, but when SLP got ahold of the car, the result of some tweaking, a new set of pipes and a swagger not seen since the early 1970s got a lot of attention…and 305 horsepower straight out of the gate. Plonked down on fat five-spoke wheels seen on the Corvette, with a a new hoodscoop, new rear wing and a noise that made old-school die-hards raise an eyebrow, the Camaro SS was like mainlining Jolt first thing in the morning.

10. Dodge Daytona IROC

If there was one K-car that Chrysler should have held onto and developed even further, the Daytona was it. For a good portion of the 1990s, this was the face of Mopar’s racing presence, from IROC racing through the Wayne County drag racing team. And while a good portion of the body looked much the same as when the G-body Chrysler debuted in 1984, the 1992 restyle looked miles ahead of the previous designs and blended well with the new crop of Chrysler products, like the Intrepid and the Stratus. Unfortunately, Chrysler decided instead to put the a new body on the base model of the next car and pass it off as “sporty”…

9. Mitsubishi Eclipse and Eagle Talon

“Got Boost?” jokes. “Crank walk” jokes. “Danger to Manifold” jokes. Go ahead and let them fly, but one thing you have to accept is that while they were temperamental, a properly set up all-wheel-drive DSM product could rewrite your definition of fast. At 210 horsepower stock for an all-wheel drive Eclipse GSX or Talon TSi, they were sporty enough, but when the tricks of the turbo game started to get used, psychotic little DSMs with wicked-up 4G63s started to appear everywhere. Your V8 might have the power, but these could put it to the ground, just like their big brothers…

8. Dodge Stealth R/T and Mitsubishi 3000GT

 

They were expensive, and some could be downright heavy, but the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 and Dodge Stealth R/T Twin Turbo were still very worthy adversaries. Packing 320hp out of the 24 valve DOHC 6G72 3.0L V6 and looks that actually menaced for a Japanese ride, these also suffered the same modification fate as the DSM twins. But most surprisingly of all was that a Stealth replaced  Trans Am for the television reboot of “Bandit”.

7. Pontiac Firebird Formula V8

No, it’s not a Trans-Am. Compared, the Firebird Formula was a stripper model, and it looked mostly like the V6 version instead of the shovel-faced T/A. If you knew how to tick the option boxes right, you would end up with a flyweight F-car that had the LT-1, six-speed, good suspension, solid roof and the only two giveaways would be the subtle but cool Ram Air hood and the “Formula V8” stickers….oh, and that noise coming from the back.

6. GMC Syclone/Typhoon

Kind of hard to talk about 1990s cars and forget GMC’s quick foray into performance with two of the most surprising offerings to come out of the General. While the Grand National had been dead for four years, someone inside Corporate didn’t get the memo, because in 1991 GMC debuted the all-wheel-drive, turbocharged V6, back-in-black Syclone pickup truck. Based on the already long in the tooth S-truck, the Syclone was made famous in a Car and Driver test where it spanked a Ferrari 348ts. The Typhoon was simply the Jimmy given the hairdryer treatment, and a few more colors.

5. Ford Mustang GTS

For 1995, Ford wanted to try a trick that had worked out pretty well for them in the 1980s with the LX model: big motor, few options, light weight. This would trim out weight, trim down the price, keep the boy-racer looks down and let the owner walk with the majesty that was the 5.0L V8, in it’s last year before being replaced by the 4.6. Basically, it was a GT on Weight Watchers: no fog lights, wing, only the V6 interior (and V6 only options list), five-spoke wheels and that was it. While I’m unable to confirm, I believe this was the last production Mustang you could radio-delete. Can anyone confirm that?

4. Honda Civic Si

I’m grinding my teeth as I put this Honda here, but if we’re talking 1990s performance, it belongs. I hate this car not because it performs, but because this was the car to shatter my concept of V8-dominated performance. Well, that, and because there was a kid in my high school that owned one, thought he was the ultimate for having one, and left me dreaming about burying him in that car. The power figure wasn’t completely great stock (160 horsepower at 7,600 RPM) but the B16A2 four-cylinder could be tuned to within an inch of it’s life. Put into a car with a 2,600 pound curb weight, and you wound up with a go-kart from hell that taught a generation the values of VTEC.

3. Chevrolet 454SS

If the Honda was the future, the Chevrolet C1500 454SS was an outright throwback to the glory days of the muscle car. The recipe was simple: take the 7.4L V8, jam it into the short-bed half-ton, back it up with a stout automatic (TH400 for 1990, 4L80E for 1991-1994), add emblems and make it visually menacing. While other colors were offered, the truck everyone pictures is the same: black exterior, red interior, and “454 SS” on the sides.

2. Dodge Dakota R/T

 

In the Dodge Ram SS/T, the 5.9L V8 just wasn’t enough. But jammed into the smaller Dakota pickup, and suddenly Dodge’s midsize hauler became one snotty little bastard. Deep gears (3.90!) and a lowered and tuned suspension combined with the torque-heavy mill made the Dakota R/T into an instant hooning machine, and performance modifications can really wake up the 360.

1. Chevrolet Impala SS and Caprice 9C1

The Chevrolet full-sizers were something to really behold in the mid-1990s. The LT-1 provided plenty of grunt, the awkwardness of the 1991-1992 “Orca” body had been fixed and sculpted into something much more pleasing to look at, and depending on how you were viewing one, either you loved it or hated it. By that, I’m referring to the Impala SS, another badass in black GM creation with a huge fan base, and anybody that ever saw a 9C1 Caprice with it’s very colorful lights rolling up behind them. The 9C1 was the first car to really start cracking at cop car records that had been held since 1969 by the 440-powered Dodges and Plymouths, and seemed to be in every police department in North America. This was a car that was both lusted after and feared.