6 Unsung Performance Heroes Americans Didn’t Notice

If I could make one wish for all my fellow American petrolheads, it would be to have their eyes and minds opened to the wide, wonderfully rich performance culture available to us in this country. I’ve certainly devoted many words in my weekly columns to American muscle, but I hope I’ve also made clear my appreciation of performance in all shapes, styles and sizes. There are many Americans like me, but I still encounter a fair share of individuals who are so caught up in fanatical fandom for a specific brand, they never realise just how many great cars there are to experience.

This is why I want to take a moment and shine some light on a few models that deserved more from American enthusiasts. These are just a few cars out of many, so by all means share your own overlooked performance rides in the comments. We can’t open the minds of everyone, but just maybe we can open a few.

Mazdaspeed Protégé

Long before the legend of the Mazdaspeed 3, there was the Mazdaspeed Protégé. This chunky sport compact was only offered in North America and only in 2003, but its 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot delivered 170bhp and was easily tuneable to make more. Equally impressive was the suspension tuning and factory limited-slip differential, which gave the Protégé seriously sharp handling for a front-wheel driver, even by modern standards.

Pontiac Bonneville GXP

The Bonneville name ended its 47-year run in 2005, and I’m happy to say it went out with something of a bang. The full-size GXP was given a version of Cadillac’s 32-valve Northstar V8, making a smooth 275bhp driving the front wheels.

It wasn’t blazingly fast, but the big GXP still had guts to hang with many sport compacts of the day, and it handled surprisingly well for something so large. Had Americans not been so transfixed on hating the new 2004 Pontiac GTO, they might have noticed this iconic nameplate - perhaps one of the best Bonnevilles ever - disappearing into the night.

Ford SVT Contour

The Ford Mondeo has long enjoyed success across the pond, but its American Contour cousin was never much of a hit among buyers. Even with an SVT makeover in 1998 to ultimately produce 200 horsepower with truly epic suspension tuning, it wasn’t enough to impress. The Contour disappeared in 2000 after just a five-year run, and though the SVT variant does have a small-ish cult following, its smooth 2.5-litre V6 and go-kart reflexes remain unknown to many American enthusiasts.

Mitsubishi Eclipse GT

The first two Eclipse generations will be forever immortalised in the sport compact scene, and rightfully so. The third-generation was very much a step in the wrong direction, leading people to overlook the good things that made the fourth and final generation so good.

Aside from the styling improvements, it was the fastest factory Eclipse of them all with a 263bhp V6 and manual gearbox turning the front wheels. It handled well, and though it couldn’t pull off wicked all-wheel drive donuts it was still a surprisingly athletic performer.

By the time Mitsubishi got it right Americans were crazy for the Mitsubishi Evo, so the Eclipse never really had a chance to properly redeem itself.

Nissan Altima SE-R

The Nissan faithful have long known about the sleeper status of an Altima equipped with the 3.5-litre V6 and five-speed stick. Nissan engineers figured this out, and in 2005 redressed the Altima’s rental car appearance to something a bit sportier. They also bumped the VQ35 to 260bhp, added a sixth cog to the gearbox and buttoned up the suspension.

In truth, it wasn’t much of a performance improvement over the regular 3.5 Altima, but it did have a bit more swagger for the sport sedan enthusiasts who like emphasis on the sport. I guess the Altima’s rental car ties kept the SE-R off the enthusiast radar, because many people still don’t know this car ever existed.

Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6

There was an SRT version of that Mercedes-based, retro-styled Chrysler from the mid-2000s? Not only that, it borrowed AMG bits to make 330bhp, and with only 1500kg of heft to contend with, this glorified hairdresser’s car was damn fast.

That power went to the rear wheels, and with some serious suspension tuning from SRT, this classy coupe made harder-edged performance cars look pretty bad on the track. But the SRT-6 pulled too many strings in too many directions - it wasn’t quite macho enough for enthusiasts, plus it lacked a manual transmission.

On the other side, it was too hardcore for typical Crossfire buyers. Hence its obscure existence despite being a uniquely handsome and capable performer.