How the Honda NSX changed the world 

It was the year the Japanese taught Europe how to make sports cars. The Land Of The Rising Sun was a land of rising confidence, and nothing summed that bullishness better than four Japanese cars all unveiled within one extraordinary year – 1989.

It was the year of the Honda NSX, Mazda MX-5, R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R – and a new luxury saloon too, the Lexus LS400.

All were better than any equivalent car from Europe if, indeed, there was one. They were, respectively, the best mid-engined sports car of its day; the best modern roadster; the most technically advanced GT of its era (and one of the fastest on a track); and the most refined and best-built luxury saloon: four fabulous cars from Japan’s four best car makers.