Can’t have too much of a good thing, right? Just like the glam rock bands of the era, 80’s cars came in a variety of flavors and sizes, they were at times a bit over-the-top, and there were way too many to try and keep up all of them. Here are 10 honorable mentions that could rock out the clubs on the Strip, but for various reasons never cracked the Billboard top 20.

1988 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe—Large and in charge with the Mustang SVO’s 2.3 liter turbocharged four cylinder, an available five-speed manual tranny, and a host of luxury items like active suspension control.

1984 Volkswagen Rabbit GTI—Modern day hot hatchbacks like the Ford Focus RS, MazdaSpeed 3 and Honda Civic Si owe their existence to the GTI. It was lightweight and practical, it handled like a go-kart, and it was quick enough to be fun.

1988 Camaro IROC-Z—One can’t think of mullet cuts and rocking out to Whitesnake without thinking IROC-Z, and with the bugs worked out of the General’s 350 V-8 it was a tire-smoking boulevard bruiser, not to mention one of the quicker rides of the decade.

1985 Porsche 928—Who can forget Tom Cruise sinking his Dad’s 928 in the movie Risky Business? Add in the 928’s all-new, 288-horsepower DOHC 5.0 liter V-8 for 1985 and you have another iconic 80’s ride made famous by Hollywood.

1989 Chevrolet Corvette—Arguably the least-desirable generation for America’s premier sports car, the C4 Corvette’s modern styling and handing improvements (albeit at the cost of ride quality) helped to keep the ‘vette magic alive until the horsepower caught up with the styling.

1986 BMW 635CSI—The classy lines of BMW’s first 6-series are punctuated by the sexy growl of its gutsy inline six-cylinder engine, never mind the endless list of luxury items offered by this coupe. Folks may also recall a pre-Die Hard Bruce Willis and 80’s goddess Cybil Shepard sporting a 635 in the quirky drama Moonlighting. Hollywood strikes again.

1983 Mazda RX-7—This tiny road racer embodied the essence of sports car motoring with its light weight and balanced handling. Though initially down on power, by the end of the decade the RX-7 would evolve into one of the best sports cars in the world.

1980 Ferrari 308—It’s hard to imagine the early 80s without Magnum P.I. rocking the airwaves in his red Ferrari 308. Though technically a mid-70’s design, the 308 lived through 1985 and became the car of choice for guys with neat mustaches and an abundance of chest hair.

1988 Honda Prelude 4WS—Aside from being one of the original tuner cars, its sleek styling, robustly-economical engine and rock-solid reliability would set a benchmark in this class. And oh yeah, it was also the first production car to offer four-wheel steering. How cool is that?

1984 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible—Not all memorable 80’s autos are purely performance oriented. Aside from being the last “large” droptop Caddy, the Eldorado’s rarity, distinctive 80’s style and front-wheel drive V-8 power make it a sought after collectible of the era.

By Christopher Smith

Christopher is a former marketing executive for high-end Ford performance products and a current editor for NextAutos.com/Winding Road magazine.

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