The obvious play in the JDM market is done. The R34 GT-R is now fully legal and fully expensive — $150k for a clean V-Spec II Nür is real money that requires real conviction. The FD RX-7 has doubled in four years. The NSX Type R is stratospheric. A clean A80 Supra Twin Turbo 6-speed is approaching $100k.

If you missed those windows, I'm sorry. I wrote about all of them. But the story isn't over — it's just moved.

Here's where I see the next wave.

The Cars Nobody Is Talking About Yet

Honda Civic Type R EK9 (1997–2000)

This is the car I keep telling people to look at. The EK9 is the first-generation Type R Civic — 182hp from a naturally aspirated 1.6L B16B engine that revs to 8,400 RPM, 5-speed close-ratio manual, 2,315 lbs. It is, in the opinion of many people who've driven everything, one of the best front-wheel-drive cars ever made.

Right now, clean gray-market examples are coming in at $18–28k. That price is going to look very different in five years. The EK9 is the Honda equivalent of the E30 M3 — a watershed performance car that defined what a company could do when it decided not to compromise.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV–VI (1996–2001)

The Evo I through III were always going to be collectible — they were the rally-homologation cars, and their rarity made them valuable automatically. The IV through VI are where the engineering peaked before the homologation pressure softened.

The Evo VI Tommi Mäkinen Edition is the crown jewel, but even the base Evo V and VI are remarkable machines — 280hp (officially) from a turbocharged 2.0L four, AWD, active yaw control, and a chassis tune that made them faster around a race track than cars costing five times the price.

Clean examples with documented mileage are still $35–55k. The trajectory is clear.

Subaru Impreza WRX STi GC8 (1994–2001)

Everyone knows the GD (2002–2007) STi — that's the car Americans got. The GC8 is what the Japanese got while we were waiting: a lighter, rawer, more analog machine with 275hp, a 6-speed close-ratio manual, and a suspension setup tuned for the WRC.

The GC8 market has been moving steadily for two years. Clean Type R and V-Limited examples are $40–65k now, up from $20–30k three years ago. The ceiling is not yet visible.

Toyota Aristo 3.0V (JZS147/161)

This one is a dark horse recommendation. The Aristo was the Japanese-market Lexus GS — but with the 2JZ-GTE twin-turbo engine in a more driver-focused configuration than the American market received. The 161 in particular (1997–2004) is an overlooked platform that the tuner world knows well and the collector world is starting to discover.

Clean examples with documented history are $20–35k. The 2JZ engine alone is worth the price of admission to many people, but the car around it is genuinely excellent.

The Cars That Are Already Priced In (Don't Overpay)

R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II: Great car. Fully priced. $140–180k for the best examples. Not a buy at this price unless you have generational holding power.

A80 Supra: The Mk IV twin-turbo 6-speed crossed $100k. At that price you're paying for the cultural moment as much as the machine. The naturally aspirated 5-speed is a better driver's car that can be had for $35–50k and doesn't carry the meme premium.

FD RX-7: The rotary requires expensive maintenance done properly or it will cost you an engine rebuild. At $50k+ for a clean example, you need to be a true believer. The market doesn't care — it keeps going up — but know what you're buying.

What I'm Actually Buying

If I were putting $40k into the JDM market today with a 5–7 year hold horizon, I'd split it: $25k into the cleanest EK9 I could find, and $15k into a well-documented GC8 STi.

Both cars are appreciated by the people who know them. Both are still below the threshold of mainstream collector attention. Both are likely to appreciate as the 25-year rule brings more eligible examples into focus and as the generation that grew up playing Gran Turismo enters peak earning years.

The JDM moment isn't over. It's just getting started on the cars that weren't obvious.