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The eighties

Deregulation, synthesisers and the arrival of the modern consumer.

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9:59

Nissan Silvia

Nissan Design · 1988

The S13 Silvia is a compact, rear-wheel-drive coupe introduced by Nissan Design in May 1988. It continues Nissan’s long-running Silvia series — a line of small sports cars built on the compact, rear-drive S platform. Its design prioritises driver feedback, predictable rear-axle behaviour, and mechanical simplicity over comfort or modern electronics. It overlaps the outgoing S12 and sets the template for drifting-focused chassis tuning in Japan’s domestic market.

9:22

Renault 5 Turbo

Marc Deschamps · 1980

The Renault 5 Turbo is a homologation special that reimagines the Renault 5 supermini as a mid-engined rally car. Built from 1980 to 1984, it features a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, a 1,397 cc turbocharged Cléon-Fonte inline-four, and 4,987 total units produced. Though badged as a Renault 5, its mechanicals are radically different. It was launched at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1980 and sold in street-legal form to meet homologation requirements.

10:06

Toyota AE86

Toyota · 1986

The AE86 is a small, front-engine/rear-wheel-drive compact car derived from the fifth-generation Corolla (E80) range. It was the final Corolla model produced with rear-wheel drive. Its light weight, affordability, modifiability, and balanced front-engine/rear-drive layout made it distinctive amid an industry shift away from RWD. It featured a high-revving (7800 rpm) twin-cam engine in some markets, optionally elsewhere. It achieved early and enduring international prominence in drifting due to its inherent qualities. It was central to the manga and anime series Initial D (1995–2013) as the protagonist's drift and tofu delivery car. In 2015, Road & Track described it as 'a cult icon, inextricably interwoven with the earliest days of drifting.' It inspired the Toyota 86 (2012–present), a 2+2 sports car co-developed with Subaru.

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9:28

Alfa Romeo Alfetta

Alfa Romeo Centro Stile · 1972

The Alfetta is a front-engine saloon and fastback coupé produced from 1972 to 1987. It used a rear transaxle and De Dion tube rear suspension to improve weight distribution and handling. Coupé models featured a central tachometer. All models left the factory with Pirelli Cinturato 165HR14 tyres.

9:02

Alfa Romeo BAT

Franco Scaglione · 1953

The BAT series is a focused, documented exercise in aerodynamic research—not styling, not engineering for power, not market readiness. It is a rare case where form follows one measurable physical constraint, iterated across three years, with no deviation from that brief.

9:22

Alfa Romeo 105/115 Series Coupés

Giorgetto Giugiaro · 1963

The Alfa Romeo 105/115 Series Coupés are foundational Giugiaro — not as a stylistic endpoint, but as a working method: take a proven platform, impose a strong, arched silhouette, and let coachbuilders extend it. They are compact, alloy-engined, live-axle sports coupés that prioritise form coherence over mechanical innovation. Their legacy is visual, not technical.

10:49

Alfa Romeo Giulia

Giuseppe Scarnati · 1965

The Alfa Romeo Giulia Type 105 redefined what a four-door saloon could do—without electronics, without weight, without apology.