This Forgotten Nissan Sports Coupe Was Cooler In America Than It Was In Japan

One of the more annoying aspects of being an import car enthusiast in America is seeing other countries get better versions of your favorite cars. Europe and Japan have routinely left the best versions of awesome cars to their own markets, but there are rare exceptions. One of them is the 200SX SE. This mid-1980s small sporty coupe was not only one of the fastest sport coupes in town, but it also harnessed V6 power that only Americans got to enjoy. Then, it was seemingly immediately forgotten.

Back in January, something exciting happened in the import world. The very first Nissan Silvia S15s became legal to bring over to America. If you’re like me, you grew up driving S15s in video games and maybe you marked January 2024 on your calendar as the month you could start making your dream come true. Unfortunately, you’ll quickly discover that so many of the S15s left in Japan have been modified beyond recognition and the prices are frankly ridiculous, even if you skip the dealership and import one yourself.

But all is not lost. You can still get a hot holy grail-level Japanese coupe and you won’t even have to learn how the Japanese auction system works to buy it. This story was originally sent in as a tip from our old friend Aaron at The Rad Report. Aaron’s site is a great place to visit if you dig the cars of the so-called Rad Era. It took us way too long to write about it, sorry about that!

Automakers spent much of the 1980s downsizing their vehicles and moving from rear-wheel-drive platforms to front-wheel-drive chassis. Some of the hot affordable cars of the 1980s, like the Honda Prelude and Volkswagen Scirocco, were front-drivers. So were cars like the Renault Fuego and anything Chrysler’s brands built on the K-platform. Ford had its Escort while front-wheel-drive dominated GM’s portfolio.

This made some cars sold by Toyota and Nissan sort of anachronistic compared to their competition. The Toyota Celica stubbornly stayed as a rear-wheel-drive car until 1986 while the Nissan Silvia never gave up on rear-wheel-drive even into its retirement into the early 2000s. Nissan’s reluctance to follow the trends might have been weird to car buyers back then, but it’s a good thing for today’s enthusiasts who favor cars where the steer tires aren’t also doing the driving.

For just a couple of years, Americans were able to buy a Nissan Silvia S12 with the V6 engine lifted out of the 300ZX and a five-speed manual transmission, turning a humble coupe into a V6 pony car killer. The reason why we got this car will sound a little silly at first, but then it’ll make sense once you realize that this is a product of the late 1980s, when automotive refinement wasn’t exactly what it is today.

A Pioneer

The Nissan Silvia has been dead for over two decades now, but Nissan has been thinking about a revival. For decades, the Silvia represented a simple formula. These cars were small, light, rear-wheel-drive, and affordable. These cars were good drivers, and their later generations became synonymous with the sport of drifting. Nissan claims the 1966 Silvia CSP311 was a pioneer of the sports coupes we know today:

The first generation Silvia CSP311 was rolled out as “Datsun Coupe 1500” at Tokyo Motor Show in 1964 and was released in 1965 as a Nissan car with the name Silvia, a goddess in Greek mythology. The exterior and interior were designed by Nissan internal designers (K. Kimura & F. Yoshida) with advice from then-consultant A. Goertz. The jewel-like styling was one of the features.

As few as approximately 550 units were built for 4 years because nearly seamless bodywork and elegant interior on chassis for Datsun Fairlady 1600 SP311 were semi-handmade. It was known as the pioneer of sports coupe and the first highway police car in Japan.

Part of what made the Silvia CSP311 so rare were those handmade body panels. Sure, it was just a Fairlady underneath, but as Motor Trend notes, the Silvia CSP311 was about twice as expensive as the next-closest model.

The CSP311 was followed up in 1975 with the introduction of the Silvia S10. This car was based on Nissan’s then-new S platform and it was supposed to set itself apart with its futuristic design and by getting power from a Wankel rotary engine.

Nissan says that never happened due to the oil crises of the 1970s, so the car instead got a pair of four-cylinder engines. America got the hotter of the two engines as well as goofy 5-mph bumpers. Well, it was the Malaise Era, after all.

As Hagerty notes, buyers in both Japan and North America largely chose the Toyota Celica over the Silvia, but Nissan kept trying. Next came the Silvia S110 in 1979, which was sold as the Datsun 200SX, Datsun Silvia, Nissan Gazelle, Datsun Sakura, or other names depending on the sales market.

Once again, Nissan really wanted to give this car a rotary engine, but it, much like most automakers and motorcycle builders, learned the hard way that rotary engines weren’t as reliable or as economical as desired. So, once again, the S110 had piston engines like the S10, but these engines had the options for turbochargers and had power outputs that would be usable today. The American 200SX got as much as 103 HP.

The Forgotten Generation

The Silvia would start becoming the sports coupe we know more today beginning in 1983 with the launch of the S12. Nissan offers a short history of the S12:

[T]he S12, the fourth-generation model, was launched on August 23, 1983 (its sibling, the Gazelle, was launched at the same time). The Silvia was on the cutting edge, with its innovative styling and lively performance. The S12 was no exception: with its bold front mask and fully retractable headlights, a powerful wedge-type silhouette, and high-performance twin-cam 24-valve FJ20 engine, this unique car was very popular. Two body types were available: a coupe with a notchback roof, and a hatchback with a wide-opening rear gate.

Following a minor change in February 1986, the FJ20ET and FJ20E engines were replaced with the new 1.8-liter twin-cam turbo 145PS (net) CA18DET engine, following which all models were powered by the CA18 family.

The twin-cam turbo RS-X was the top-of-the-line model for both the coupe and hatchback series. Following a minor change in February 1986, it was equipped with an electronically controlled 4-speed lockup automatic transmission with overdrive that automatically switches between power and economy modes.

What’s interesting is that Nissan itself seems to be forgetting the version of the Silvia I’m about to talk about here. Weirdly, it’s not just Nissan being forgetful, either. If you look up Motor Trend‘s history on the Silvia, that publication mentions the CSP311 and the S10, and then just skips straight to the S13 generation that’s a drift culture icon today.

The hatchback version of the S12 features a fantastic 1980s wedge design with a greenhouse and headlight setup that I wouldn’t blame you for confusing with a Toyota AE86. The two cars launched in the same year and I wonder how much confusion there was among the buying public back then.

The S12 was also made right before the Bubble Era’s technological leaps, so the car was relatively simple, but still had some nice touches. You have a compact piston engine up front, a live axle in the rear, and power in the way of turbos or extra displacement. The greatest piece of tech advertised by Nissan was the electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission, which had the ability to switch between power and economy modes. A high-end Japanese Gazelle model had the option of voice controls, too.

Nissan also gave the S12 rack-and-pinion steering over the previous generation’s recirculating ball steering. The coefficient of drag even got better, getting to 0.34 over the previous generation’s 0.42.

Here in America, we got the S12 as the Nissan 200SX and the base engine was a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four that had all of 102 HP to its name. The better engine was the 1.8-liter turbo four, which pumped out 120 horses. However, as Hemmings notes, Nissan’s American division wanted a bit more power out of the S12 in our market.

America Gets Something Japan Doesn’t

Over in Japan, the hottest engine available to the S12 was the 2.0-liter FJ20ET four, which pumped out 188 HP by way of a turbocharger. In 1986 for the 1987 model year, Nissan gave the S12 a facelift, which featured a number of cosmetic changes. Under the hood, the FJ engine series was replaced with the CA engine series, with the hottest engine being the 1.8-liter CA18DET turbo four, which made 169 HP.

Reportedly, Nissan’s American division wasn’t really interested in the turbo four. The division wanted to deliver its customers more power, but with a smoother power delivery than offered by a turbo engine. Remember, turbo engines back in those days were known for tons of lag before they finally kicked like a horse.

Curbside Classic offers another reason why Nissan placed a V6 in the S12 chassis. As the site writes, the company just retired its S11 240RS from the World Rally Championship and for its next car, it wanted to field a new rally car with a heaping of power.

Nissan had a powerful turbo engine in Japan, but there were so many different 200SX engine configurations in the country that none sold enough to meet homologation rules. Things were better over here in America where the 200SX had both enough demand and only a couple of engines.

The solution? Nissan built a special 200SX just for America. The company cribbed the VG30E 3.0-liter V6 from the naturally aspirated 300ZX and put it into the 200SX, creating the 200SX SE. In doing so, Nissan also reinforced the driveline and beefed up the suspension for the extra power and weight.

When all was said and done, the 200SX SE gained about 200 to 300 pounds over a four-cylinder model. But, it did give Nissan some bragging rights. It now had the only compact sport coupe with a V6 and it was only the second remaining compact sport coupe with rear-wheel-drive. The Isuzu Impulse was the other and you couldn’t order it with a V6. Oh, and you were still able to get your 200SX SE with a five-speed manual transmission.

All of this allowed Nissan to field a VG30E-powered 200SX cars in Group A rallying in 1987 and 1988. Two 200SX rally cars finished second place and third place in the 1988 Safari Rally and took an overall win later that year in the Ivory Coast Rally.

Hemmings continues how the car was reviewed:

Other changes accompanied the mid-generation facelift: The turbo’s tacked-on-looking hood scoop was gone, and the rear wing was body color instead of black. The former on-again, off-again bumper rub strips were now carried completely around the beltline of the car, and topped a gentle ground-effects kit. New alloy wheels were included, the optional digital dash had been banished from the option sheet, and a new three-spoke steering wheel was installed. And strangest of all was the low production run: Just 5,000 were built for 1987 and 1988.

Car and Driver admired the aesthetic changes of the 1987 SE in their March 1987 issue, calling it “a step closer to the German ideal of functionalism…[it gets] the job done without gimmickry or theatrics.” Even so, they questioned the mechanical alterations, which made the car 200-300 pounds heavier and sapped up the 40 new horsepower despite quicker responses and smoother power delivery. “We suspect a lazy engine,” they wrote. It could well be: While their top speed was 122 MPH, members of Club-S12.org (a top site for 1984-’88 200SX models) claim to have seen 130 MPH and higher. They also accused the all-independent-suspension chassis of being strictly average.

MotorWeek‘s John Davis gave even more context. He noted that the engine bay, which wasn’t really meant for this engine, gets properly filled up with the V6 inside. It’s not as bad as a Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI, but Davis notes some shade tree mechanics might think twice about doing any hardcore wrenching.

On the track, Davis noted that the car’s pure acceleration is slightly slower than the turbo, but the V6 finally made the car feel balanced. The slower acceleration is noted in the performance test, where the V6 completes a 60 mph run in 10 seconds, 1.3 seconds slower than the 120 HP turbo model. What’s going on here? Well, Davis notes that the V6 builds its power gradually whereas the turbo car’s power was more like a light switch. You’re trading some speed for better down-low torque and overall smoother operation.

But it’s not all bad news in the performance department, Davis says the beefed-up suspension and its larger stabilizer bars reduce both body roll and understeer compared to the old car. The front tires no longer skidded during MotorWeek‘s slalom. The review continues by saying that the nose tucks in tight around corners and that the rear end could be positioned by lifting the throttle. Davis concluded that the 200SX SE was the first tossable 200SX and one that was a ton of fun.

In listing downsides, Davis noted that the brakes did get larger in the 200SX SE, but they did lock up during hard braking and the rear end swayed under braking, but this went away after the brakes warmed up. Davis also thought the steering didn’t have enough feel for the track, but was precise and would be great for zipping around a parking lot. Finally, the car scored 31 mpg in MotorWeek‘s hands, which is pretty great for a sporty compact car with a V6 back then. Davis even liked the list price of $14,449 ($41,016 today), which was a realistic hike over the base XE model’s $11,044 ($31,350 today) sticker.

MotorWeek‘s review concluded by saying:

“So what do we really have here? Good looks, a superb engine, and fun-to-drive handling all for under 15 grand. A poor man’s Porsche, perhaps? A Tremor Z/28? Both? Neither we think. The Nissan 200SX has always been compared to someone else’s car. Now as the SE V6, it finally has the personality and performance that are uniquely its own.”

Those are pretty high praises! Things got even better in 1988 as well because the V6 gained five ponies to reach 165 HP and 174 lb-ft of torque. That was about the same twist as Japan’s best turbo four and only 20 fewer horses but with smoother power delivery.

Rare And Still Affordable

So, what happened? It’s estimated by sites like Hemmings that a total of 5,000 units were built in Japan and sold in America between 1987 and 1988, satisfying the FIA homologation sales requirement by double. It’s not unusual for homologation specials to sell in low numbers and that’s part of what makes them special.

However, this homologation special was no Audi Quattro or Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione. Some of these Group A specials fade into obscurity once their respective rally cars are done on the stage. Though, weirdly, Nissan did sell a rally-inspired 200SX variant in Europe called the Silvia Grand Prix (above), but it didn’t look like the S12 rally cars and didn’t have a similar engine, either. Instead, the Euro version seemed to be inspired by the looks of something like the Audi Quattro.

Anyway, we should get back on track here. Another reason the S12 fell into obscurity is because of what happened after. The newer Silvia models from the S13 and forward are legends in the drifting and tuning worlds. Parts support remains incredible for the later S-chassis cars and people are still tuning them to within an inch of their lives.

This has left the S13 in a rather sad spot. It’s not a beloved classic like the earlier Silvia models but it’s not a drift king like the later Silvia models. At the same time, it’s also old enough that manufacturer support is also limited.

This means that people who own S12s today have to be dedicated individuals who don’t mind having to get creative to obtain parts or perform modifications. Motor Trend notes that S12 owners end up repurposing S13 parts to get their projects to work. As someone who owns a handful of cars without parts support, I can confirm that it’s not for the person who wants to stroll into the local AutoZone to fix something on the same day it breaks.

The good news is that because few enthusiasts care about these cars they do seem to be quite affordable. You could get one for under $10,000. The most expensive I could find was sold by Aaron for somewhere around $17,000 and that one looked minty. Unfortunately, also be prepared to find some of these to be clapped out beyond belief. But such is the life of a car that isn’t famous.

Should you find one of these cars in acceptable condition, you’ll be getting a cool little ride that, in one way, is sort of weirder than the versions Japan got. You’ll also be getting a sweet ride that, for now, has avoided the JDM and drift “taxes” that have made old Japanese cars so expensive. As far as I’m concerned that’s a win for everyone.

(Images: Nissan and The Rad Report)