In 1985, the prototype of a promising Japanese sports car appeared at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The car clearly inspired by the Ferraris of the time was called Nissan MID4 and mounted a V6 from 3 liters in place central, capable of developing 245 horsepower. With a five-speed manual gearbox and four-wheel drive with four-wheel steering, it would have had the characteristics, if the project had gone ahead, to anticipate a similar car by four years, which then had enormous success. Let’s talk about the Honda NSX.
The prototype wasn’t an isolated meteor, after all: with the MID4Type IIwhich debuted two years later at the Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan had already upped the ante to 330 horses, with various aesthetic changes able to make it more ’round’ and characteristic. The car could reach 250 km / h thanks to the V6 VG30DETT engine which was then used to accompany the performance of the 300ZX. Furthermore, the four-wheel drive itself was in fact a first version of the ATTESA system, with a split of the torque that favored the rear (33:67) and which then equipped the famous Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 And R34. The new MID4 it barely weighed 1400 kilos. In the gallery you can see the images of the two versions in sequence.
The design team led by Shinichiro Sakurai started the project. Technicians began work in the spring of 1984 and the MID4 was immediately imagined with a four-wheel drive and mid-engined layout (hence the name). The car used a unitary steel platform chassis, with a wheelbase of 2435mm. The suspension was fully independent with double wishbones at the front and a multi-link arrangement at the rear. As mentioned, a pioneering feature was the HICAS four-wheel steering system, which made the car more agile and gave more stability. The rear wheels could turn in the same or opposite direction as the front ones (up to 0.5 °), which also aided low-speed maneuverability.
Other very important elements of the engine included multi-point electronic fuel injection, mechanically timed electronic ignition and variable timing control for the camshafts, as well as the exhaust gas recirculation system. The engine block was in cast iron and the heads were in light alloy. The engine was mounted transversely.
When everything seemed to come to a successful conclusion, the MID4 project was abandoned, it is said, due to the high production costs that had appeared before the eyes of the Japanese engineers. Too bad, because the car is still aesthetically pleasing todayin a style that then inspired not only Honda, but also other Japanese manufacturers such as Mazda.
The article was originally published in February 2019, and updated in 2022.
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