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Some Japanese sports cars are better all-rounders than American muscle cars, but some just get annihilated.

While the all-out American muscle cars have mostly been designed for straight-line drag racing speeds, JDM sports cars have always been tuned for the perfect balance between acceleration and handling – whether on the street or track. The 1960s and 1970s were arguably the golden eras of muscle cars. These American aggressive 2-door, rear-wheel drive production cars we're characterized by flared fenders, wide tires, large hood scoops, and large V8 engines churning out crazy horsepower figures.

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Japanese sports cars were late to the party and took until the 1980s and 1990s to have their golden era. Since then, their influence has spread globally. The Japanese automotive industry has established a reputation for the world's most affordable and reliable sports cars. Talk of aesthetics, handling, or performance; Japan's best models can rival even the best from Europe and America. But like any other car industry, even the best Japanese automakers have an equal share of massive hits and big misses.

So, which is better between Japanese sports cars and American muscle cars? While there is no outright winner, here are five Japanese sports cars we'd buy over any muscle car and five that we wouldn't.

The 1st-gen NSX was an instant hit throughout the 1990s. Left with a huge gap to fill, the 2nd-gen car is even better and more powerful, coming in hybrid form. Its practicality makes it a true everyday supercar. Sadly, the Japanese performance legend will bow out with the 2022 limited-run Type S (the first NSX in the U.S to wear the performance moniker).

With a hybrid powertrain generating a combined 600 hp, the NSX Type S is more powerful than most classic muscle cars. Its performance and sharp handling further set it ahead of modern American muscle. Additionally, it boasts a blistering 2.9 acceleration from 0-60mph, unmatched even by the GT500, and a clever all-wheel drive system.

Following the success of the fast, sporty RX-7, Mazda introduced the RX-8 in 2002 as the successor of the RX-7. The RX-8 gets its juice from its predecessor's high-revving rotary engine but with no form of aspiration employed. The result? It only produces 232 hp and 159 lb-ft of torque.

While the RX-8 offers precise handling thanks to the car's lightweight design and a near 50:50 front/rear weight distribution, for a sports car, it's massively underpowered. Its rotary engine was nothing but reliable. A muscle car beats the RX-8 any day.

The Lexus LFA was a long time coming, but it was worth the wait. It's one of the best-sounding production cars from Japan. Of the 500 LFAs produced from 2010-2012, only 64 came in the high-performance Nürburgring package. The Nürburgring Edition LFA featured recalibrated transmission, faster gear shifts, a front splitter, alloy wheels, aerodynamic canards, and a large rear wing.

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Combine that with the Yamaha codeveloped 4.8-liter naturally aspirated V10 engine that produces 563 hp (10 horses more than the standard LFA), and you have one of Japan's best sports cars. We'd pick the Nürburgring-honed supercar over most pony cars.

Named after the mythical 8-headed Japanese dragon, the Mitsuoka Orochi certainly looks wild. But for a car dubbed "fashion-super car" by Mitsuoka, everything about it – bar the exterior looks – says it's not a supercar. Well, the interior build quality is impressive but doesn't match the exterior's excitement and drama.

It is powered by a Toyota-sourced 3.3-liter V6 engine cranking only 233 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque. The exhaust note is short on drama as the car accelerates to 60mph in a lengthy 5.7 seconds. The Mitsuoka Orochi looked the part but lacked the power. And the starting price of $125,000 (in 2014) is just ridiculous.

Following the footsteps of the legendary Skyline R34, the GT-R R35 has remained competitive since its debut in 2007. We have seen power swell from the initial 480 hp to today's 565 hp, all generated by the hand-crafted 3.8-liter turbocharged V6 engine.

The track-focused GT-R Nismo further sets the bar higher, producing 600 hp and 481 lb-ft of torque, thanks to the bigger turbos sourced from the GT3 race car. This outrageous flagship variant is the equal of anything from Detroit, Maranello, or Stuttgart. And for the record, the Nismo has scorching acceleration, hitting 60 mph in an eye-blinking 2.5 seconds. Truth be told, not many muscle cars can break that.

Nissan 350Z is a modern recreation of the legendary Datsun 240Z. And like other Z-cars, this 5th-generation Z33 handles well, is responsive, and is a head turner with its V6 engine roar. However, the interior isn't lavish; it's basic.

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Also, the 350Z has a poor safety reputation and ranks among the most dangerous cars. A survey by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) ranked the 350Z as the most dangerous car in America (2011), with 143 deaths/million registrations and 90 driver deaths/million registrations accounted by single-vehicle crashes.

GT-R Z-Tune was launched in 2003 as part of Nismo's 20th-anniversary celebration and a stylish send-off to the R34 Skyline. Nismo purchased 18 used R34 GT-R V-Spec that had clocked less than 18,000 miles. They were completely stripped, hand-rebuilt from the ground up, and given some real authentic JDM performance tuning.

Based on racing experience from Nissan's Le Mans GT2 and GT500, comprehensive mods led to 493 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque from the upgraded 2.8-liter RB26DETT engine. Only 19 units (including 2 prototypes) were produced and are priced heavily. One of Japan's most sought-after sports cars to this day, we'd buy one over any muscle car.

The Mitsubishi Eclipse is a sporty compact car produced between 1989 and 2011. The first two generations were built at a time when Mitsubishi shared a close relationship with Chrysler forming the Diamond-Star Motors (DSM) partnership. As a result, Mitsubishi Eclipse shared platform and parts with Plymouth Laser and the rebadged Eagle Talon.

Unfortunately, the Mitsubishi Eclipse was plagued with mechanical problems resulting in multiple recalls. The third generation saw Mitsubishi replace the 2.0-liter 4G63T with a 3.0-liter V6 engine. While it was more powerful, we'd still pick a muscle car as it still turned out to be less dependable and capable.

The Supra is an iconic Japanese sports car, thanks to the MKIV powered by the 2JZ-GTE – the holy grail of engines from the land of the rising sun. The A90 was introduced in 2019 as part of the GR performance family. And like the GR86, it was developed alongside BMW's Z4. So yes, under the hood is a brace of BMW-sourced engines.

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The base 2.0-liter pot generates 255 hp, but the one you want is the 3.0-liter inline six that produces a respectable 382 hp. While gearheads ranted about the lack of a manual transmission, the 2023 GR Supra answered their plea with the return of an optional six-speed manual transmission. It's set to be a game changer. Also, unlike most muscle cars, the reborn Supra comes alive with sharp handling on race tracks and twisty roads.

Toyota Celica is a Japanese icon for its rallying prowess. Produced for 7 generations from 1970 to 2006, the final generation is the least loved among Celica enthusiasts. Unlike its predecessors, the Celica T230 only came in one Liftback body style.

Again, Toyota opted for two economical 1.8-liter four-cylinder engines producing 140 hp and 180 hp. To squeeze out any significant performance from the anemic engines, you had to push the car past 6000 rpm. And with no high-performance variant in the 7th-generation Celica, we'd rather save the money for a muscle car.

Dennis Kariuki is a tech enthusiast who writes for Hotcars.com. Previously, he wrote for the.car .He likes covering the marriage between technology and cars. Besides that, he is big f1 fan. After working tirelessly through the week, you can be sure that on Sundays he is most likely enjoying and following motorsports events.