Latest Nissan imports are bristling with exciting contemporary features

Press, 25 July 1985, Page 30

Latest Nissan imports are bristling with exciting contemporary features

Nissan New Zealand, Ltd, has always tried to provide its dealer network with the latest models in its locally assembled range, but, almost inevitably, there have been delays in getting them into production. Moreover, because local assembly lines have to be cost-efficient, New Zealand has often ended up with a bread-and-butter range of Nissans. The latest Nissan models, bristling with contemporary features, are now going on to New Zealand’s roads, thanks to the opening up of the imported car market under the Government’s motor industry plan. Although the influx of completely built-up Nissan cars includes a turbocharged version of the Bluebird, most interest will probably centre on the V - engined models, of which the 300ZX sports car and the Laurel hardtop fourdoor models are the most representative. Nissan believes its V 6 is the lightest 3-litre, 6-cylin-der engine in the world. With a cylinder block length of just 390 mm and overall length of 670 mm, the company also believes it to be the 'smallest. In fact, it is 10mm shorter than Nissan’s 1770 cu. cm 4-cylinder engine used in the Bluebird Turbo and, at 168 kg, it is 21kg lighter than the in-line 6-

cylinder engine that was used in the older 280ZX sports car. This V 6 is claimed to be one of the most efficient in production today. It is said that computer-aided design (C.A.D.) enabled Nissan engineers to get it right on paper long before any metal was machined. The 50deg V 6 is available in three variants in this country, the standard engine being the VG3OS, a 2960 cu. cm unit which develops HOkW at 4800 rpm to power the Laurel Hardtop. With electronic fuel injection, this engine develops 126 kW at 5600 rpm. In this form it is known as the VG3OE and it powers normally aspirated versions of the 300ZX. The VG3OET is basically the same engine as the VG3OE, but it is fitted with a turbocharger, has a lower compression ratio and a more advanced injection system. It develops nearly 165 kW at 5400 and is employed in the 300ZX Turbo which, Nissan claims, is one of the fastest and most sophisticated sports cars in the world. Although Mitsubishi, a pioneer in the field, is probably the most technologically advanced turbocharger manufacturer in Japan, Nissan, that country’s second largest vehicle manufacturer, makes more turbocharged cars than any other and has won an envi-

able reputation for their reliability. Nevertheless, Nissan has not embraced turbocharging to the exclusion of everything else. Nissan is also to the fore-

front in multi-valve head development for everyday cars. Representative of this development, if not in an everyday car, is the four-valves-per-cyiinder, double overhead camshaft, 2-litre,

4-cylinder engine used in the sporty Silvia Coupe. This is the basis of the 240 RS Nissan rally car and, with 112 kW on tap, the Silvia is another example of Nissan's technology.