10 Cool Cars To Import To The USA In 2026

A new year always brings an extra sense of anticipation for US-based car enthusiasts, as it means a new batch of previously forbidden-fruit cars never originally sold Stateside become legal to import under the country’s 25-year rule.

Essentially, the rule means that any cars under 25 years old not originally meant for sale in the US generally can’t be imported, unless it’s a real rarity that’s been given a special ‘Show and Display’ exemption or, in some cases, it can be ‘federalised’ (or should that be federalized?) through a long, complicated and expensive process.

Once a car reaches its 25th birthday, though, all bets are off, so we’ve rounded up 10 cars that celebrate their quarter-century in 2026 and therefore will become eligible for import, encompassing everything from European hot hatches to Japanese sports cars to Aussie pickups. 

It’s always worth remembering, though, that the rule applies to the specific date an individual car was built, so not every single example of every one of these cars immediately becomes eligible on New Year’s Day – instead, you’ll need to seek out early examples and verify that they were built at least 25 years ago.

Alfa Romeo 156 GTA

Read a few reviews of the Alfa Romeo 156 GTA, and one word pops up again and again: ‘flawed’. The first car to wear Alfa’s sporting GTA badge in over three decades, it got off to a good start by using the 3.2-litre, 247bhp version of Alfa’s ‘Busso’ V6 (sonorous, operatic, greatest V6 engine of all time, etc, etc).

Unfortunately, it sent that 247bhp through the front wheels, and despite the best efforts of Alfa’s engineers, it couldn’t really cope. But then you look at it, listen to it, and discover what a relatively easy and totally transformative mod a Q2 limited-slip diff is, and all those flaws fade away.

Honda Civic Type R (EP3)

The early noughties generally weren’t a brilliant time for hot hatches, but the second-generation Honda Civic Type R – and the first to be officially sold outside of Japan – was an exception to the rule.

With a robust K20 VTEC-equipped four-pot that zinged its way to 8000rpm and a lightweight, chuckable chassis, it was evidence that hot hatches could still be great in the era of the stodgy Mk4 Golf GTI and underwhelming Ford Focus ST170. Euro-market LHD cars are naturally the best suited to the US, but if you’ve got the wherewithal and can deal with right-hand drive, you’re best served hunting down a JDM example – these got lots of extra chassis goodies, including an LSD, and boasted 212bhp rather than the Euro version’s 197bhp.

Honda Integra Type R (DC5)

The Civic wasn’t the only sensational Type R Honda to launch in 2001 – the second iteration of the hot Integra arrived on the scene too. The US got the DC5 ’Teg as the Acura RSX where, in Type S guise, it came with a healthy 200bhp.

The ultimate version, though, the Type R, was limited to Japan, where it boasted 217bhp, a close-ratio six-speed ’box and an LSD, plus that fantastic boot spoiler. And at the end of the day, do we really need to say any more than ‘Championship White with red Recaros’? Thought not.

HSV Maloo (VU)

For two nations with a shared love of the pickup truck, it really is remarkable that America and Australia’s domestic industries in these workaday vehicles went in such totally different directions, the US pursuing the dedicated truck with Oz favouring the car-based ‘ute’. Of course, they’ve both done a fine line in versions of these pickups that aren’t workaday at all, and one of 2001’s contributions from Down Under was the VU HSV Maloo.

Based on the then-new Holden VU Ute, the Maloo saw Holden’s Special Vehicles division cram in a 5.7-litre LS1 V8 from a Corvette, good for 342bhp. With that power all going to the rear wheels, and very little weight over said wheels, we’ve only got two words for you: oversteer, mate.

Lancia Thesis

The Lancia Thesis would probably be the weirdest European car launched in 2001 if it weren’t for something else found later on this list, but it’s still pretty darn weird. A big saloon occupying a strange dimensional limbo between the E-Class/5 Series and S-Class/7 Series categories, its oddness was only compounded by its styling, full of mad art deco flourishes and That Face.

Throw in the fact that the only engines available were straight-fives or V6s, and the Thesis really was unlike any of the other European executive saloons of its time. It was also perhaps the last gasp of Mad Lancia, and that alone makes it worthy. If you are brave enough to import one to the States, you’d better prepare for a lot of questions.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII

It would take until 2003 and the Evo VIII for Mitsubishi’s fabled rally-bred saloon to finally be officially sold in the States, but what if you wanted one that’s basically the same car but older and generally regarded as not quite as good? Does anyone hear the distinctive scraping sound made by the bottom of the barrel?

There must be some people out there who prefer the VII’s chisel-jawed looks over the pointier VIII, though, and there are surely some JDM bragging rights in having the last Evo never to be sold Stateside. Also, if you want an Evo of this era but can’t drive a manual, the VII also has you covered thanks to the one-generation-and-done automatic GT-A version, which launched in… 2002. Okay, onto the next one.

Nissan Skyline GT-R M-Spec (R34)

Ever since the first R32 iterations of the three RB26-powered Nissan Skyline GT-Rs became eligible for import back in 2014, every year has brought a fun game of Which Highly Specific Version Can Be Imported This Year? And for 2026, it’s – drum roll please – the R34 Skyline GT-R M-Spec.

This was the GT-R pitched at those in search of a little more luxury, which meant leather seats, slightly cushier suspension and ‘Ripple Control’ adaptive dampers. Don’t think this meant it had gone all pudgy and wallowy, though – it was still an R34 GT-R, complete with a highly tuneable 2.6-litre twin-turbo straight-six that was definitely making 276bhp, honestly.

Renault Clio V6

The recipe for the Renault Clio V6 was so simple, we can’t believe more car companies haven’t replicated it. All it took was taking a runabout supermini, ripping out the rear seats, and completely re-engineering it to take a mid-mounted, 3.0-litre V6 and send all its power to the back. Okay, maybe it’s not so simple.

The Clio V6, though, is the sort of automotive lunacy you rarely get these days, a 227bhp mid-engined sports car disguised as a squat little hatchback. A word of warning, though: for the next few years, it’ll only be the pre-facelift Phase 1 cars, with their infamously spiky handling, that’ll be eligible for import. Maybe invest in a decent supply of clean underwear to go along with it.

Renault Avantime

There was clearly something in the water at Renault in 2001, and by ‘something’ we mean mind-altering hallucinogens. Because not only did it launch the Clio V6 that year, but also the Avantime, a bizarre cross between a spacious people carrier and a 2+2 grand touring coupe.

It was such an enormous success that it was dropped after only two years and 8500 examples, but it’s now a certified cult classic, and for good reason. Available with petrol and diesel four-cylinders and the same V6 as that Clio, perhaps its biggest USP was the button that dropped all the pillarless windows and retracted the glass roof in one go. The short-lived Fisker Ocean would do something similar 20 years later with its California Mode, but now, finally, you can experience its progenitor in actual California.

Skoda Octavia vRS Mk1

Mk4 Golf GTI a bit predictable for you? From 2026, you can start importing its cool Czech cousin, the Skoda Octavia vRS. It had the same 1.8-litre, 178bhp turbo four-pot as the only versions of the Mk4 GTI worth caring about, and sat on the same platform, but came with liftback saloon or estate bodies instead of the boring old Golf hatch.

We reckon it’s a more handsome thing than the Golf too, especially in some of the jazzier colours it came in. A quick note – we’ve called it the vRS because we’re in Britain, and that’s what it was called here, for reasons. If you’re sourcing from mainland Europe, which you will be if you want left-hand drive, it was known as the Octavia RS there.