Model: 1988 Nissan EXA CanopyPrice: 395,000
So here is where I lose all credibility. I'll come straight out and admit that I have been infatuated with this piece of 80's kitsch for quite some time. Ever the superficial aesthete, this unhealthy fixation has nothing to do with the EXA's handling prowess, or the potency of whatever may lie under its rakish wedge of a 1980's bonnet (a 1600cc 16-valve DOHC unit putting out 120ps, for those interested), although I am sure both are more than adequate. With the EXA Canopy it is purely visual, a design thing - lust at first sight if you like.
To my mind any car that combines those two hallmarks of '80s sports car design, pop-up headlights and a T-bar roof, is worthy of inclusion on any self-respecting petrolhead's automotive wish list, but the EXA brings a host of other peculiar design novelties to the 80s themed party. Take for example those rear lights, which look as though they evolved within the fertile mind of an 80s Casio watch designer during an acid fueled all-nighter. The result is something which wouldn't look out of place on a lunar module. Then we come to the car's eponymous Canopy. While Honda, with its Accord Aerodeck, may have beaten Nissan to it in bringing the first Japanese 3-door shooting brake to market, the Canopy has a further ace up its sleeve. The EXA's modular structure allowed the car's shooting brake rear to be removed completely for true wind in the hair motoring, or alternatively, replaced with the standard EXA's rear hatch for a more conventional coupe look. I would however be in favour of keeping the rear canopy firmly in place, as it is only in this configuration that the space-age aesthetic of the EXA is truly complete, almost rendering it suitable transport for a cosmonaut during a lunar landing.
Fortunately, I am not alone in my appreciation of the EXA's look. Back in its day, not only did the EXA receive a Good Design Award from the Japanese Ministry of Trade and Industry, but it also received international recognition in the form of a design award from the American Society of Industrial Designers. Perhaps this goes some way towards restoring my credibility, or perhaps there was just something in the water back in the 80s when all those awards were being doled out.
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