I’ll bet you’ve probably never heard of the Nissan MID4. Even though there were only three to four actually produced, the MID4 was the cradle for all of Nissan’s sports cars from the late eighties to the early nineties.
1985 Nissan MID4 Concept
The first MID4 (1985) had a mid-engine layout (hence the ‘MID’), powered by the VG30DET (the same engine as the third generation Maxima and Z31 Fairlady!) churning out 230 HP. But what about the ‘4’? This foxy lady was 4WD (33/67 torque split)! The MID4’s 4WD setup was the predecessor to the legendary ATESSA-ETS (used later on the GT-R, Pulsar GTi-R, Cefiro SE-4, etc). Also this car had the first HICAS four wheel steering system (used later on the 180SX, Z32 Fairlady, GT-R, etc).
1987 Nissan MID4 Concept
There was another MID4 concept built in 1987 that had all of the above… with the twin turbo engine used in the Z32 Fairlady (which came out in 1989) tuned to 330+ HP. What the MID4 boils down to is the sex appeal of the Fairlady Z with the uncompromising 4WD performance of the Skyline GT-R. It’s really too bad that it never made it out of the concept stage and being essentially a tech demo. Nissan says that it would have been too costly to produce, and I don’t doubt their rationale one bit. If everyday joe (circa 1985) was offered a choice of either a Porsche 911 Turbo or what to him must have seemed like a incredibly overpriced Datsun, you know that the Porsche would win nine times out of ten.
i think they should have made em. throw a v8 in that sheit. ls1 swap what!
i duno just throwin it up in the air
it would be neat to see one at the track on 18+ psi. or even with 4wd disabled and drifting. from the 80’s that car is hot. honestly that car?? or a nx2000 LOL! sorry. nx2000 targa top
The white car shares ALOT of the same lines as the s15 silvia especially the back end, wow for 1987 that wouldn’t even have dated styling today. Awesome car.
first one is such a magnum pi spoiler, it’s a ferrari with some rx7 thrown in
second is definately an nsx ripoff, proportions are messed up, the ass is too small… but then all the japanese rip each other off and they do have to have some obvious changes
did the nsx have any concepts in the early 80’s? or were u refering them to ripping the nissan off?
i still think it would be great to see one of thoes rollin down the road rhd and all. def a import i would import if or when or if it already happined…you all know the importing law
i don’t remember there being 96 nsx’s in the 80’s, but then i was born mid 80, so what would i have known!! u rag on the car for looking like other cars, what about the nova chevelle cutlass all old muscle cars, they all look the same just different font and rear ends. but the body styling is all the same. i think thats a sweet ass car, 300hp awd, 240ish styling, solid looking car, i’d buy one if they were on the market.
every car is the same, just shaved in different places. they all start from a block of clay.
i was not raging on the car at all i wouldnt have posted it if i didnt like it, someone was sayin something abot it lookin like a nsx i was just askin … the red one has a bit of 240 in it for sure.
Both of those cars look so awesome!!! The red one reminds me of a cross between a pignose and a Ferrari 308 gts, and the white one looks like a cross between an NSX and a Ferrari Testarossa.
G-E, Nissan must have the smartest minds on the planet since they managed to rip off an NSX before they were even made. I guess they have time machines. Or, they somehow ripped off the design of the NSX concept, the HP-X which was released in 1984, and they somehow extrapolated how the final NSX would look, 6 years later, since it was completely different then their concept.
Uhhh … that hurt my brain. I’m going to sue SON one of these days for making me … less … smart-like in the … uh … head.
Anyway … the Chevelle looks nothing like a Nova. A Chevelle is the same thing as a Pontiac Beaumont and Buick Skylark and Oldsmobile Cutlass … they’re all A bodies.
Just like a Dodge Charger is the same thing as a Plymouth Superbee.
Or Dodge Talon/Mitsubishi Eclipse
Or Dodge/Chrysler/Plymouth Neons.
They’re the SAME COMPANY!!!
If Ford sold something that looked like a Chev … then there’s a problem.
The MID4 to me looks like what it started out life as … a Z31, mixed with what it ended up actually being made into … a Z32.
It looks similar to anything angular and mid engine.
What with it being angular and needing a place in the middle for the engine.
Wow a closer look i really think the s15 silvia was styled with almost the exact same lines as the white car check out the roof and rear window areas etc. down to the wedge shape.
