With perhaps the most nineties introduction to a Best Motoring segment we’ve seen, the stage is set for a battle between some serious racing machines; some with racing pedigree, and others that seem out of place. It’s those seeming misfits that really turn the heads here, and demonstrate the value of lightweight.

Leading the misfit brigade is the Group A Civic, which looks a runty by comparison with the big guns it’s up against. It may only boast 300 horsepower, but that only has to propel 2,100 pounds. Up against it is the fearsome Group A Porsche 964 Turbo – one of the last of Porsche’s turbocharged racing 911s. This air-cooled monster is a huge handful, as previously demonstrated by Tsuchiya.

So much of a handful that it gets the best of Takashi Ohi – a seasoned Super GT racer and major contributor to the Gran Turismo franchise. As Ohi rounds the corner, perhaps with his attention focused on the Civic passing him, rolls on the throttle a hair too quickly and the car spins off, even with the car mostly straight. These cars required a quick set of hands and plenty of respect, and despite a long throttle travel and the grip offered by a rear-engine layout, the massive single turbo and cold slicks are enough to embarrass even professionals. To the clearly sheepish Ohi, driver and co-presenter Naoki Hattori says, “you must drive the car as slowly as a baby carriage on the first lap.” A hard lesson learned, as that car couldn’t have cost little.

Piloting the high-revving Civic is a young Hattori, who would go on to become one of the Japanese Touring Car Championship’s finest racers, as well as a constant threat in Formula Nippon. His aggressive style complements the hard-charging man in the Group A NSX he fights tooth-and-nail against.

Naturally, it’s Keiichi Tsuchiya in the bellowing NSX – the car he associated with, if slightly less often than with the AE86 Corolla. The Team Kunimitsu NSX is the machine he took to class victory at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans, and his comfort with the steed shows.

The NSX weighs a significant 200 pounds more than the featherweight Civic, and only makes 80 horsepower more, putting the two racecars on a fairly level playing field. Yet, with the hills at Ebisu East, the mid-engine NSX should have an advantage there.

However, it seems the NSX’s advantage is its stability on brakes; less likely to lock the front wheels as they’re not the ones directly affected by the downshifting. As Hattori brakes too late and runs onto the marbles – the portion of the racetrack covered in rubber particles thrown from the tires – he takes a trip into the undergrowth, and proves this comparison of strengths.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this battle is not the wrecks, but the similarity in performance. Despite totally different layouts, the two cars clock the exact same lap time in similarly-talented hands! It just goes to show that it’s not all about power at the end of the day. Ohi can attest to that.