Best Cars Of 1987 – The Greatest Cars In The World This Year
Perhaps the most notable development in 1987 was the introduction of he Ferrari F40. The car served as the successor to the 288 GTO and was designed to celebrate Ferrari’s 40th anniversary. It was also the last Ferrari automobile personally approved by Enzo Ferrari. At the time it was Ferrari’s fastest, most powerful, and most expensive car for sale
On the other hand, Honda Motor Company accounted for 6 of 1987’s most reliable and durable, up from 4 in 1986, 1985, 1984 and 1983 and up from 3 in 1982. Toyota Motor Corporation accounted for 2 of the most reliable and durable cars of 1987, down from 3 in 1986, 1985, and 1984, same as in 1983, and down from 4 in 1982, 8 in 1981, 6 in 1980, 5 in 1979 and 1978, and 4 in 1977, 1976 and 1975. Although Toyota’s rapid expansion of product offerings likely made quality control more challenging even in the early 1980s; nonetheless, Honda did a very fine job of displacing Toyota as leader of the best-selling brand in 1987.
Japanese-engineered cars accounted for all of the 10 best in 1987 and 1986, up from 9 in 1985 and 1984 and in 1983. German-built cars accounted for none of the ten best in 1987, same as in 1986 and down from 1 in 1985 and 1984 and 3 in 1983. Note that in 1987 none of the Detroit manufacturers had a car among the top ten best selling cars for that year.
Related: Don’t forget our best car hub where you can find the top cars for every year.
Our Favorite Cars for the 1987 Model Year
1987 Ferrari F40
To celebrate 40 years of Ferrari, Enzo had his design team create a supercar that translated racing car technology to the road. Furthermore, it was built with only the most essential systems and in many regards is a supercar with functional simplicity. Learn more…
1987 Porsche 959
Featuring a 2.85-litre turbocharged rear-mounted flat-six engine based on the flat-six out of a 911, which put 450hp at 6500rpm to all four wheels, the 959 was the peak of supercar performance in its day. Learn more…
1987 Lotus Turbo Esprit HC
The Turbo Esprit HC (High Compression) appeared at the October 1987 Motor show in London. That occasion was also used to unveil another limited edition, based on HC running gear, that was intended to celebrate twenty years of Lotus in Norfolk and up the price per Esprit. Learn more…
1987 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Clubsport
These days we are used to seeing new focused and track-inspired 911s almost every year. Back in 1973 we saw the legendary 2.7 RS come onto the scene. It was followed a year later by the much rarer 1974 3.0 RS variant and then ten years later by the 1984 SC RS (technically the SC RS was a pure competition car vs the homologated ‘73 and ‘74 RS 911s). Another 13 years passed before we saw the next car with that Rennsport magic-touch applied. It was known as the Carrera 3.2 Clubsport. Learn more…
1987 Ruf CTR Yellow Bird
The Ruf Yellow Bird is one of the most prolific tuned vehicles and gained notoriety from a Road & Track cover article which called it the ‘Fastest car in the world!’. It achieved this title during to two-day event in 1987, where Road & Track was testing various cars in Northern Germany and stunned everyone by achieving 211 mph at Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien track. Learn more…
1987 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II
The Mazda RX-7 Turbo II is a coupé with 2 doors and a front mounted engine which delivers the power through the rear wheels. It has an output of 178 bhp (180 PS/133 kW) of power at 6500 rpm, and maximum torque of 247 N·m (182 lb·ft/25.2 kgm) at 3500 rpm. Learn more…
