While our attention is quickly ramping up for the 2015 SEMA show, the Tokyo Motor Show is in full swing and this year stars a couple of eye-raising pieces along the traditional Japanese “what the hell?” fare of rolling cubes and questionable model names. The Japanese can do awesome cars when they get right down to it, but since the mid-1990s, there has been a kind of downward trend in excitement from the land of the Rising Sun. The old names…Supra, RX-7, 3000GT…are gone, the GT-R hasn’t changed in nearly a decade, the Nissan Z is kind of meh in our books and the one wildcard, the Lexus LF-A, was prohibitively expensive. Sure, it had the kind of exhaust note that could cure impotency, but at nearly $375,000 in U.S. currency, that was one expensive alternative to the little blue pill. This year there are some interesting newcomers, including one that has an entire fandom on their knees begging for production. Check them out below:

1. Toyota S-FR concept

Since 1989, the small front engined, rear-wheel-drive car to beat from Japan has been the Miata/MX-5. Simply put, Mazda went for a market place abandoned by the Europeans – a small, sharp-handling roadster/convertible – and knocked one clean out of the park. The next up to bat was Toyota, with their Scion FR-S coupe…and that didn’t quite go over as well. Toyota is now taking another crack at the small rear-drive market with the S-FR. It’s small, at thirteen feet long, and while there is no official explanation to running gear, speculation seems to put a 1.5-ish four cylinder in the front of the 2,100 or so pound coupe. That would put the MX-5 on notice in quite a hurry. Now, if they could finally get around to that Supra rebirth?

2. Yamaha Sports Ride concept

This isn’t the most exciting concept to come out of Tokyo (that’s next), but it is the most intriguing to us. Yamaha is mostly known for some wicked bikes, but American gearheads should know at least one other notable Yamaha powertrain: the V6 engines that powered the Ford Taurus SHO. Yamaha can build a screaming engine, so picture a 850cc 3-cylinder jammed into a car that’s shaped like a McLaren, the overall size of a Miata, that weighs in at 1,650 pounds. It’s an interesting start from a brand better known for crotch rockets, but picture it with a GSX-R powertrain. Tasty.

3. Mazda RX-Vision concept

Rejoice, Dorito power fans, the rotary is not only alive and well, but Mazda has been hard at work to improve emissions and (hopefully) apex seal life. The engine is known as SkyActiv-R, and the vehicle used to showcase it is the Mazda RX-Vision. Any guesses on what inspired this? Anyone? The RX-faithful, who have been twitching since the RX-8 was killed off and in fits ever since the FD RX-7 left the market in the 1990s, are currently in a fever pitch right now, doing everything short of throwing money at Mazda to produce it. There is no detailed info on the new Wankel, so we don’t know rotor count, induction setup or anything like that. But that’s just enough for some. Mazda, do the right thing…make something that actually backs up the “zoom-zoom” ad campaign!