If you are interested in adding a classic car to your collection, there are several options, but here are five from the ’80s worth considering.
The 1980s were a wildly different time, and although it might not seem all that long ago for some of us, the decade is 40 years forgotten now. Still, regardless of how long gone the decade is, it’s still well worth celebrating — especially in today’s age of $50,000 commuters, autonomous driving, and cinema-spec infotainment screens. Everything’s just a little too complicated and expensive these days, which is why we’ve been perusing the classifieds for something a little easier to digest.
There are a great number of cars we could pull from the ’80s that are well worth buying today, although we’re going to keep things simple and focus on sports cars only. The performance on offer from then is no match for the grunt of today’s turbocharged and hybridized sports cars. They do, however, offer a more analog approach, with less in the way of gadgetry to distract you from the job at hand — driving.
The five cars featured here are all proper sports cars, either roadsters or coupes, rear-wheel drive, available with manual transmissions, oh, and they’re affordable too. Anyone can stick a Ferrari F40 on a list and call it a day, but attainable sports cars give us something real to aim for. So, the five we’ve highlighted are all available to pick up for under $20,000 in roadworthy condition, although more often than not, mint examples will command multiples of this. To kick things off, though, we’ll start with one of the most affordable and most celebrated ’80s sports cars of them all.Mazda Miata
Having debuted as a 1989 model year, the Miata only just makes it onto our list, but it’s quite possibly the most iconic sports car of recent decades, so it definitely earns its place. There was nothing revolutionary about the Miata when it appeared — it simply looked to capture the essence of what classic British sports cars offered in the 1960s. Although the appeal now is that the Mazda did it reliably, and with far superior build quality, although Miatas do still have their common issues.
Looking at the Miata’s engine specs, you could be forgiven for thinking it is a simple commuter sedan, rather than a drop-top sports car. However, its feather-light curb weight and near-perfect weight distribution meant the 116 horsepower and 100 lb-ft of torque on offer from the 1.6-liter inline-four was more than enough. That power was channeled exclusively to the rear wheels, via a five-speed manual.
When new, the humble Miata sported a starting price of just south of $14,000, and 35 years later, that’s pretty much what a smart Miata commands today, too. Projects can be picked up for less, far less actually, although the very best delivery-mileage cars can fetch prices as high as $40,000.
