Drift King Tsuchiya takes you for a blast of Nissan nostalgia with some of their 90s hits
Dinesh · Aug 3, 2022 12:08 AM
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Ahhh, the 90s. Some claim it to be the best of times… mostly if those some were petrolheads and became aroused by Japanese sports cars of the era. While certain parties may debate labelling some of the nostalgic Nissans here “sports” cars, they all possess a distinct pedigree of performance in their DNA that more than justifies the parallelism.
Plus, why can’t we all just enjoy a video that takes some honest examples of these cars and not blow some up their arses but instead make them out to be precisely what they were; affordable cars that could give you a boner behind the wheel.
Hosted by the DorikinKeiichi Tsuchiya together with Takashi Oi, the almost hour-long video is a candid look at 6 examples of Nissans from the era that aren’t exactly mint condition but well maintained even with constant use.
The former needs no introduction while the latter is a renowned endurance racer. Takashi has participated in endurance racing and hill climb events, including the Sepang 12 Hours as well as Pikes Peak.
It’s genuinely refreshing to see the 6 nostalgic Nissans here comprising the S13 Silvia, 300ZX, Skyline R32 GT-R, Skyline R32 Type M, Bluebird U12 SSS-R and Cefiro A31 Autech.
Each of them don’t even come close to resembling museum condition specimens but that’s the beauty of it; you can tell they’re instead well-maintained examples with plenty of miles on them and will continue to punch in thousands of kilometres to come.
We lament about car collectors that lock their prized cars away in climate-controlled garages so here’s the very anti-Christ of that.
Starting with the Bluebird U12 SSS-R, they go on to highlight some of its unique points such as the CA18DET RR that made more power over the standard version. Coupled with the weight reduction, Attesa all-wheel drive system and 5-speed manual, it was essentially a perfect platform for rallying.
Bluebird U12 SSS-R
Next up was the 300ZX Z32. As Dorikin said, this was the car to pick up girls in. It was distinguished by the uniquely positioned buttons on the side of the instrument cluster and the grand tourer status.
The underrated 300ZX that was a masterstroke in the grand tourer segment.
Then came the legend of the early 90s, the Skyline R32 GT-R. Spawning the Godzilla name, Dorikin claimed it could hit 300kph with some minor boost up work on its RB26DETT powerplant.
Godzilla needs no introduction.
Following that was the more domesticated version of the GT-R, the Skyline R32 GTS-t Type M. This sedan made for a very multipurpose platform that appealed to a wide demographic. Even Dorikin claimed that his wife used it as a daily while it could easily be transformed into a drift machine with some simple mods.
A Skyline sedan? Say no more.
As the penultimate example, the Cefiro A31 Autech was made out to be the poor man’s R32 sedan. Using the suspension from a Silvia S13 and the RB-series engines from the Skyline, its initial purpose of a luxury sedan was lost on budding drifters. Here, the limited edition Autech version meant a factory installed 5-speed manual, Autech body kit and Autech rims.
Probably the rarest among the 6, the Cefiro A31 Autech.
Lastly came the Silvia S13. Against its contemporary Z32 positioned as grand tourer, the S13 was the proper affordable sports coupe of that era. It continues to hold relevance in the world of drifting and to a larger extent, motorsports in general.
The dream car of every drifter, the Silvia S13 is a fixture at any drift event around the world.
Nissan made some fine sports cars in the 90s. They may have lost their way for a bit but if the new Nissan Z Coupe is anything to go by, redemption is around the corner. Nonetheless, once in a while, old will always be gold.
“Better late than never.” Some despise it, others begrudgingly agree with it but he swears by it… much to the chagrin of everyone around him. That unfortunately stems from all of his project cars not running most of the time, which in turn is testament to his questionable decision-making skills in life. A culmination of many wrongs fortunately making a right; much like his project cars on the rare occasions they run, he’s still trying to figure out if another project car is the way to go.
