7 Raddest Cars from Radwood Greenwich

Spotting an Audi from the early 1990s is already a tall order in the US, but this inexplicably clean V8 sedan was almost hypnotic to observe. The model helped inaugurate Audi's 4.2-liter V8 era while also signaling Ingolstadt's arrival as a serious player in the German luxury sedan game. The clean lines of the V8 made it a little anonymous in traffic at the time, but these days we can spot one from a mile away, simply because they're so rare these days—especially compared to their contemporaries from BMW and Mercedes.

It's safe to say that just about all of these are in enthusiast hands by now, but few are in concours condition like this one, complete with a Monroney sticker in the rear door window. Perhaps not many now remember that early on the V8 itself was a 3.6-liter unit, or that the sedan was offered in two wheelbases. The A8 that arrived in Europe in 1994 would largely mirror this lineup, adding even more engines to the roster. But the V8 is where is all started for Audi's true executive sedan lineup.

A futuristic design from Infiniti, the J30 was once far more common than it seems today. Intended to play the role of the midsize offering, sitting between the full-size Q45 and the small and sporty G20, the J30 was the third to arrive, going on sale stateside in 1992, by which time the worst of the recession seemed to be over. It also arrived in time for the US market's obsession with gold trim on Japanese luxury cars.

Actor Jonathan Pryce pitched Infinitis in TV commercials with his Welsh accent, just before his turns as the villain in Tomorrow Never Dies and Ronin, lending the brand a touch of sophistication. The J30 itself, however, spent just five years on the market, selling well enough but remaining a bit overshadowed by the Lexus ES and the Acura Legend. Reviews of the time also noted its snug interior, which was too modest at the time for this segment.

Finding a clean J30 these days is not easy, which is why it was a treat to see this well maintained example.

Ever heard of the Biagini Passo? Before there was the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet, there was the Biagini Passo. This small 4x4 is what happens when you combine the platform of the VW Golf Country with the front fascia of the Fiat Panda hatch, and some generic 4x4 hardware like a burly bumper and some flared wheel arches. The Passo filled an interesting niche in Europe, somewhere between the Lada Niva cabriolet and a soft-top Mercedes-Benz G-wagen, while offering parts commonality with the Golf. Unfortunately, that niche was also filled by an endless variety of small Japanese 4x4s at the time, which made the Passo a rare and not particularly cheap engineering and styling exercise. A 1.8-liter underhood with 98 hp on tap assured the Passo would pose no challenge to more serious 4x4s of the day, though as a beach car it still hit a certain sweet spot.

This particular Passo captured the Raddest in Show award, and it's no surprise as it was easily one of the rarest machines on the field, with plenty of '80s and '90s tech inside and out from more than one automaker. That's not something a lot of other contenders could boast.

The Peugeot 505 is by no means a common sight in traffic today, but Radwood had not one but two 505 sedans on the show field this year. This particular example, as some of our readers may note, received a Euro headlight retrofit along the way, which is quite a common mod for 505 owners. Speaking of 505 owners, the Northeast was a stronghold for Peugeot dealers (along with Northern California and the Mid-Atlantic states), which meant that 505s could still be readily found in daily use until about 15 years ago. Their numbers are still strong, with hundreds of examples on the road nationwide, as this was Peugeot's most popular model for much of the 1980s and beyond.

Of course, the lack of direct replacement contributed to the automaker's fortunes stateside, with the 405 sedan being unable to hold its own against competitors from Germany and Japan during the short time that it was offered here. We see about a dozen 505s each year at various shows, and this one was one of the best condition-wise.

Despite Toyota having a generous lineup stateside for decades, there are still some cars that the Japanese have kept to themselves. This Toyota Crown Royal sedan, owned by Jacob Cirulis, is one of those, a model rarely seen outside of Japan or the handful of RHD markets around the world. But the Crown is nothing short of a legend in its home country, even wearing its own distinct grille badge, and has traditionally been known for its big and comfy interior. With a V8 underhood and a large trunk, the Crown has played the role of the plush business sedan in its home country, with other versions of the Crown serving as taxis.

Thanks to the 25-year rule, Crowns from 1996 and prior are now importable into the US, and can often be found for rather modest prices. This 1991 example traveled a long way for the event, and had several other JDM cars to keep it company on the field at Greenwich.

One of the more popular kei cars to import for the past few years has been the Suzuki Cappuccino, to the point that we see several of these each year, often just making their way through traffic.

The tiny roadster, in production from 1991 till 1998, is nothing short of a hit with private importers, offering a design that has aged surprisingly well and 63 hp, courtesy of a 657cc three-cylinder engine. This may not sound like much, but the Cappuccino doesn't weigh a lot to begin with. And if you're skittish of shifting a manual gearbox in an RHD car stateside, you could even seek out an automatic version. Pretty soon the US will need Suzuki dealerships again, selling and servicing Cappuccinos from the 1990s.

Conan O'Brien may have periodically given the Taurus SHO publicity well past its sell-by date, but this doesn't mean that this car was easy to find even 20 years ago, when it was still relatively fresh. The second-gen Taurus, arguably more stylish than the minimalist RoboCop-generation model, offered 3.0- and 3.2-liter V6s during the model's brief run from 1992 through 1995, serving up 220 hp at a time when this number was more frequently associated with domestic V8s.

This Taurus SHO that appeared at Radwood Greenwich looked spectacularly well maintained, and is pretty much ready to star in a film set in the mid-1990s, which is now far enough in the past to require "retro" cars. That's right: a film produced in the year 2002 that looked equally far into the past would be dealing with the 1970s. That's a somewhat unnerving thought if you remember the 1990s in all of its splendor, and odds are you knew someone who had a Taurus sedan back in those days.